Some Cybertruck owners say their Teslas are starting to rust in the rain
Cybertruck deliveries finally began late last year.Getty Images
Some Cybertruck owners say their Tesla vehicles are developing rust spots from rain.
At least two members of a Cybertruck owners’ forum claim their vehicles have orange specks of rust.
Cybertrucks do not have a clear coat on their stainless steel body, according to the owner’s manual.
Some Tesla owners claim their Cybertrucks are starting to rust after being caught in the rain.
In a post on the Cybertruck Owners forum, a member called “Raxar” wrote that they’d collected their vehicle that day and were warned that rain could cause it to rust.
The member wrote: “The advisor specifically mentioned the Cybertrucks develop orange rust marks in the rain and that required the vehicle to be buffed out. I know I heard the story of never take out your Delorean in the rain but I just never read anything about rust and Cybertrucks.”
In another post Raxar said: “I haven’t washed the car yet but it’s only been two days in the rain.
The user also shared photos of small orange specs of rust on the stainless-steel body, which they claim were taken after a “dish soap wash.”
According to metal supplier Mead Metals, stainless steel is prone to rust in certain environments. It said in a blog post that rust is often due to water exposure, although it can also be caused by “exposure to damaging chemicals, saline, grease, or prolonged exposure to heat.”
Forum member Vertigo3pc said they took their Cybertruck to a service center to have it checked out. “Throughout the LA rain, I noticed the corrosion was forming on the metal like other people have noted, so I decided to start documenting it and bringing it to Tesla’s attention,” they wrote.
The Tesla owner added that a service center worker documented the corrosion and that they would be in touch the following month to repair it once they had the correct tools.
Vertigo3pc also posted some images of what they said were corrosion spots on the Cybertruck and added: “The spots are definitely everywhere in the metal.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed the Cybertruck is “literally bulletproof” with its “ulta-hard stainless steel body” when he first revealed the EV in 2019.
Elon Musk at a Cybertruck event.Tesla
Then last September he said Tesla might be able to offer owners an option to get tungsten carbide coating, a ceramic material that helps protect against corrosion. Musk said the coating is “basically scratch-proof to everything below diamond hardness.”
The Cybertruck’s owner’s manual, which hasn’t yet been shared publicly by Tesla, apparently says the EV doesn’t have “a clear coat” on its exterior stainless steel body, according to two videos posted online.
The videos give a glimpse of the owner’s guide, which states: “To prevent damage to the exterior, immediately remove corrosive substances (such as grease, oil, bird droppings, tree resin, dead insects, tar spots, road salt, industrial fallout, etc.).”
Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.
