Can Tesla’s Cybertruck Soon Become Reality?
More than three years after Elon Musk stunned the auto industry with an electric pickup truck that looked more like a stealth fighter than a way to haul things, Tesla said last month that it would begin building the vehicle by the end of 2023.
The announcement has helped fuel a recovery in Tesla’s share price, but also revived a debate about whether the pickup, called the Cybertruck, is a work of genius or evidence of Mr. Musk’s hubris.
With its angular stainless steel body, the Cybertruck is an attempt to redefine the pickup in the same way that Tesla upended the conventional wisdom of the auto industry by proving that battery-powered vehicles could be practical and profitable.
The truck is important because it will be Tesla’s first new passenger vehicle in three years and could help breathe life into a model lineup that some consider dated. Ford, General Motors and Hyundai have released several new electric models since the Model Y, Tesla’s most recent car, went on sale in 2020.
The Cybertruck is two years behind schedule, and some auto experts wonder if it is an example of Mr. Musk’s penchant for pushing tech boundaries too far. The use of stainless steel for the Cybertruck’s body has industry experts questioning the vehicle’s design.
Stainless steel resists corrosion and doesn’t need to be painted, eliminating a cost and the need for environmentally toxic chemical coatings. But it is also expensive and difficult to shape and weld. Stainless steel is heavier than the steel used in most other vehicles, reducing driving range.
The steel used in most cars is also designed to crumple in a crash, absorbing energy and protecting passengers. Stainless steel does not crumple as easily, exposing passengers to more of the force from impact.
Only one car company has ever tried to mass-produce a car with a stainless steel body. That was DeLorean, which went bankrupt after building fewer than 10,000 cars.
Stainless steel costs more than the steel used in most automobiles because it contains chromium and other ingredients, like nickel and molybdenum, that are in high demand. And stainless steel’s tendency to spring back to its original shape means it cannot be stamped into fenders and other parts as easily as the more pliable steel used by most automakers. It also requires special welding techniques.
Tesla’s delays have allowed traditional carmakers to beat it to market with electric pickups, with buyers clamoring for them.
The company has shared virtually no details about the truck, and did not respond to a request for comment.
Tesla is taking reservations, which cost $100, for the Cybertruck even though it has not named a price for the vehicle.
If nothing else, the Cybertruck will stand out.
“Broadly the concept could make sense,” said Kip Findley, an engineering professor at the Colorado School of Mines. “This is pushing steel development forward and making people think about steel in a different way, which is good.”
A stainless steel body that could be difficult to produce.