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submitted 11 months ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

The stainless steel body of Tesla's Cybertruck is reportedly leading to issues with gaps in between the panels::The Cybertruck's steel is made in "coils that resemble giant rolls of toilet paper," WSJ reported.

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[-] drdiddlybadger@pawb.social 217 points 11 months ago

You mean the thing everyone said was going to happen actually happened. Lmao

[-] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 202 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The Cybertruck's steel is made in "coils that resemble giant rolls of toilet paper,"

All steel is shipped from the steel mill in coils just like that.

Other manufacturers of all manner of stainless products seem to have figured out a solution to the problem.

[-] WaterWaiver@aussie.zone 90 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Other manufacturers of all manner of stainless products seem to have figured out a solution to the problem.

Two design choices together probably make the problem multiplicatively worse:

  1. Flat panels are not anywhere as stiff as curved panels.
  2. Mechanical parameters of the stainless alloy they're using (eg it might retain the coiled shape more than some other plain steel alloys).

I can't get over the flatness... those panels surely rattle too? Or do they void-fill the doors and body with something?

[-] ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.de 44 points 11 months ago

Flat panels are not anywhere as stiff as curved panels

Same for windows. So much for "thermonuclear explosion-proof glass", Elon.

Also, the shape has horrible aerodynamics. If it had a combustion engine, they couldn't sell it in large parts of the world due to fuel efficiency.

[-] Aganim@lemmy.world 63 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Also, the shape has horrible aerodynamics. If it had a combustion engine, they couldn't sell it in large parts of the world due to fuel efficiency.

I doubt it will get a type approval in Europe anyway, seems absolutely no consideration for pedestrian safety has been given. If this thing is as stiff and solid as Musk said it was it is also going to fail miserably during crash testing. Having been in a car crash this weekend I can testify how crumple zones save lives. Good thing the whole "but it's a light truck" loophole they used in the US isn't going to fly here.

[-] SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone 29 points 11 months ago

Knowing about crumple zones makes you ask why you would even want a "stiff and solid" vehicle in the first place lmao.

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[-] orclev@lemmy.world 25 points 11 months ago

Point 2 in particular is huge. Depending on the exact alloy steel can vary wildly in characteristics. One alloy might bend almost as easily as aluminum, while another might be nearly as hard as tungsten. Adding to that proper heat treatment and the difference in the mechanical characteristics of the finished product can be absolutely massive.

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[-] mosiacmango@lemm.ee 29 points 11 months ago

Seems like tesla has an answer too:

sell the poorly made trucks to rubes while you crank out more as cheaply as possible.

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[-] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 131 points 11 months ago

I saw one of the “RC” release candidates in the wild in San Francisco two weeks ago. It looked like shit in person. Marker lights weren’t aligned, the stainless already had fucked up scuffs and discoloration, etc. Water spots showed up just like my stainless kitchen sink.

You can see the stainless smudges and water spots here. I wish I got the tail lights when the brakes were off.

Also, the brakes flashed at you. Super annoying.

[-] jennwiththesea@lemmy.world 37 points 11 months ago

It's not even smudge free stainless? LMAO

[-] CmdrShepard@lemmy.one 34 points 11 months ago

Similar to the one I saw in Oregon a few weeks ago. It had fingerprint smudges all over the body. Seems like it'd be a huge pain to keep clean and probably need a sealant or clear wrap over the top.

[-] misterundercoat@lemmy.world 33 points 11 months ago

QC issues aside, the design is pure ass

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[-] SmokumJoe@lemmy.world 120 points 11 months ago

Well, Duh. Everything is over promise, delay, underdeliver. All Teslas have crappy panel gaps. Why would anyone expect anything better?

[-] reddig33@lemmy.world 54 points 11 months ago

I wonder how much better Tesla quality would be if they dumped Elon. Is it a systemic problem, or just poor leadership?

[-] jonne@infosec.pub 48 points 11 months ago

I'm hoping shareholders do push him out. They're still in a great position to compete if they focus on the right things (build quality, designing cars people actually want, etc). The charging network is still the best around and they're still ahead in battery tech, but they need to stop chasing FSD and give up on this cybertruck thing.

[-] mean_bean279@lemmy.world 34 points 11 months ago

Charging network doesn’t matter anymore for them since basically every manufacturer (save for VW as of this writing) has signed on for the NACS. You should be seeing fords charging at Tesla chargers by either late December or early January.

Battery tech they’re mid on. They haven’t seemed to improve the pack much compared to rivals. Some Chinese manufacturers are even producing better packs.

FSD is something they should continue to pursue, but Elon needs to pull his head out of his ass and accept that things like LiDar and Radar are important additions to the car so that it can continue to “see” even when the cameras aren’t seeing perfectly or at all.

Build quality is their biggest uphill. It could be systemic, but I also suspect there is a bit of “move it along” coming from upper management and Elon. So that’ll never get fixed.

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[-] JiveTurkey@lemmy.world 82 points 11 months ago

Not a Tesla fan but this article is garbage. Basically all sheet metal comes on coils "that resemble toilet paper" including the metal that other manufacturers use.

[-] arc@lemm.ee 49 points 11 months ago

It definitely seems like an irrelevant point. All car sheet steel arrives in rolls.

I'd be more concerned about how it is formed into panels, how resistant it is to corrosion, what tolerances parts have, how easy is it to replace parts, whether there are visible production flaws due to it being naked steel, and if construction techniques or material thickness makes it more dangerous to occupants or pedestrians in collisions.

I certainly won't be surprised if pictures start appearing in a year or two of cybertrucks that have been completely fucked by salt water corrosion, or heat warppage or other issues caused by their design.

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[-] Skwerls@discuss.tchncs.de 43 points 11 months ago

When they make plywood it comes wrapped up super tight in a tree

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[-] weew@lemmy.ca 39 points 11 months ago

yeah. panel gaps aren't a sheet metal issue, it's been a Tesla issue since forever.

[-] AlfredEinstein@lemmy.world 22 points 11 months ago

"Water? Like out the toilet?"

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[-] Munkisquisher@lemmy.nz 73 points 11 months ago

Flat panels suck for resistance to bending, the compound curves and folds pressed into most car panels give them more rigidity

[-] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 52 points 11 months ago

If only someone had figured that out in the last 120 years. Oh wait...

[-] mean_bean279@lemmy.world 26 points 11 months ago

What’s funny to me is how fast the Korean car companies learned “metal bending.” They went from generic easy shapes with little forming to adding in creases all over the damn car just to prove they could do it and replicate it, and they did that in the span of a couple decades at the most.

[-] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 68 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Well at least Elon can pretend that all the panels were within 10 microns of gap when they left the factory, and it totally warped 2 cm (20000 microns) on the way to the customers.

[-] prole@sh.itjust.works 32 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

So wait. You're telling me that materials can expand and contract due to many conditions such as shifts in temperature? Ya don't say (that was directed at Elon, not you).

Sure, he could say that. It's still his/Tesla's fault. Shipping the product is part of the process, and they'd still be responsible for that (or should be at least. Who knows in this dystopia).

He'd probably just say that it arrived in perfect shape, the customer just fucked it up and are lying. Or something like that.

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[-] clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works 62 points 11 months ago

What a surprise! The other well known stainless steel car, the Delorean DMC-12, is FAMOUS for being a huge pain in the ass to work on. Dents and dings are tremendous problems, and stainless steel is super heavy.

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[-] tungah@lemmy.world 60 points 11 months ago

Well, it wouldn't be a Tesla if it didn't.

[-] Red_October@lemmy.world 58 points 11 months ago

Panel gaps are just a ubiquitous feature of a Tesla. This isn't a surprise, and the apologists will say it's no big deal.

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[-] AphoticDev@lemmy.dbzer0.com 50 points 11 months ago

This isn't even the first time this has happened to a Tesla, at this point this particular problem is just expected.

[-] Reality_Suit@lemmy.one 50 points 11 months ago

Tesla's quality control just reflects Elons concern for all his biological children.

[-] Gazumi@lemmy.world 42 points 11 months ago

Much like the wealthy expert who built his own sub, there is a need to listen to other experts. Your employees that aren't fired will be the "yes" people

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[-] guacupado@lemmy.world 38 points 11 months ago

This is a problem with all of their vehicles lol

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[-] CADmonkey@lemmy.world 37 points 11 months ago

Every single thing you've ever had that had sheet metal in it came from "coils that resemble giant rolls of toilet paper". But it's the WSJ, I just assume the writer has never met anyone who works for a living.

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[-] Techmaster@lemm.ee 32 points 11 months ago

Watch what happens when people eventually discover what completely flat panels of sheet metal do in heavy wind.

There is literally a reason why no other auto manufacturer uses flat body panels on cars.

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[-] MeekerThanBeaker@lemmy.world 30 points 11 months ago

Cybertruck would be the time machine in a Back to the Future shitty remake if they would make one.

[-] ZeroCool@feddit.ch 25 points 11 months ago

Starring Jared Leto as Marty McFly

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[-] hOrni@lemmy.world 28 points 11 months ago

I love how this is a joke that just went too far. Elon presented a stupid design, just for attention, as with everything he does. And now they are seriously taking about releasing the ugliest car since the Fiat Multipla.

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[-] Roflmasterbigpimp@lemmy.world 23 points 11 months ago

Oh no! You have to respect the “Spaltmaß”! * cries in German *

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[-] Death_Equity@lemmy.world 20 points 11 months ago

If they were smart, they would pursue nitinol body panels or a similar memory metal. Get a ding in a panel? Take a heat gun to it or leave it out in the sun and the dent is gone. Another benefit would be a ~25% weight reduction.

All they would have to do is figure how to make large panels; which is no easy task, but neither is rocket science. The patent licensing could be a major revenue stream.

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[-] LEDZeppelin@lemmy.world 19 points 11 months ago

At this point Tesla customers deserve this crap

[-] Ravi@feddit.de 19 points 11 months ago

Just leaving a "Aber die Spaltmaße" comment here.

[-] ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk 19 points 11 months ago

2 million idiots clambering over themselves to preorder this brainfart of a vehicle.

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this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2023
534 points (93.8% liked)

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