The Tesla Cybertruck was by no means designed to mix in. From the second Elon Musk unveiled the prototype in 2019, inviting a pacesetter of the design workforce to display its indestructibility by taking a sledgehammer and a metallic ball to the truck, we knew we had a unique beast arriving within the automotive jungle.
Nonetheless, similar to that demonstration — which didn’t go in accordance with plan – the 2 years following its launch to the general public have been fraught with surprising setbacks. With its brutalist design and futuristic Mad Max power, the Cybertruck has ignited each cult-like devotion and visceral hatred. Cybertruck house owners report every little thing from strangers taking selfies to others hurling verbal insults, to outright acts of aggression like street rage, keying, and throwing rocks.
So what occurs if somebody spots your automobile in a grocery retailer car parking zone and feels moved to commit slightly informal Cybertruck vandalism? Although its design is minimalist, repairing its chrome steel physique just isn’t all the time so easy. It was type of designed that approach.
The chrome steel dilemna
The Cybertruck’s physique is comprised of cold-rolled, 30X-series chrome steel. Not like most automobiles, it comes inventory from the manufacturing facility with out paint and missing a protecting clear coat. On paper, its lack of conventional physique panels makes it extraordinarily sturdy. Nonetheless, ought to somebody be really dedicated to inflicting injury, the Cybertruck proprietor’s handbook recommends one answer: an orbital sander. Sure, actually.
Movies and experiences from house owners affirm that scratches will be buffed out by sanding the panel in lengthy, constant strokes. To be clear, you’d have to resurface your complete panel to get a fair end. Do it improper, and you will make the issue worse. Do it proper, and you have nonetheless misplaced a layer of the very materials that makes the truck so supposedly bulletproof.
Random acts of violence apart, there have been loads of different points with the Cybertruck’s metal physique. Some house owners reported rust spots showing on their new EV’s exterior after driving it within the rain or inside only a few days’ publicity to the weather. Then, in fact, there’s the voluntary recall issued by Tesla relating to the potential for elements of its physique coming unglued and flying off whereas on the street.
Wrap it up
A rising variety of Cybertruck house owners have determined to not gamble with Mom Nature or indignant strangers and have begun wrapping their vans. Tesla launched a brand new vinyl wrap program in late 2024 to exchange its earlier pricier PPF (Paint Safety Movie) wraps, although it is solely obtainable at choose areas and the colour palette is proscribed.
Nonetheless, there are third-party wrap retailers throughout the nation which can be very happy to adorn your Cybertruck with any variety of garish colours or patterns. Not solely does wrapping provide safety, however it provides house owners a possibility to face out much more. Let’s be actual, nobody purchased one within the first place hoping to fly underneath the radar. It is a Cybertruck, not a Corolla.
Regardless of the problems with remembers, design complaints, and sturdy opinions about Elon Musk, the Cybertruck nonetheless retains its diehard followers. Earlier this yr, the second annual Cybertruck Rodeo in central Texas drew in 120 Cybertruck house owners and much more followers that traveled from as distant as Canada. The occasion was a protected area the place devotees may collect with out criticism or menace of violence.
For many who imagine within the firm’s mission or just wish to drive one thing that appears prefer it got here from a sci-fi film, the Cybertruck is a dream come true. For everybody else it appears to be a menace to the thought of what a truck ought to be, and in some circumstances a menace to democracy itself. In case you select to get one, be ready for intense reactions. And possibly purchase a sander.
