Several early Tesla Cybertruck owners are already noticing some rust spots after exposure to just a bit of rain despite having a “stainless steel” body.
The reason behind the rusting is very clear at this point and there is also an easy fix to alleviate customers’ growing concerns.
Early owners report rust spots
New Cybertruck owner Raxar shared the rust issue warned by his Tesla advisor to their online community Cybertruck Owners Club.
“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 never read anything about rust and Cybertrucks.”
Cybertruck Owners Club member Raxar
Other Cybertruck owners also shared some images of the rust spots they noticed on their Cybertrucks, with some of them noting exposure to water.
It is not entirely true that stainless steel does not rust as it is still prone to stains but only less than other kinds of steel. There are also various stainless steel types with different resistance levels to rust.
According to the Musk-led company, it utilized its own 30X alloy in building the Cybertruck. Notably, most 30X stainless steel types rust in various extents.
Nonetheless, it is still surprising to hear early reports of rusting involving the Cybertruck, considering that it only started customer deliveries on November 30.
Potential explanation and solution
The emerging rust spot issues among the early Cybertruck units are highly likely due to environmental contamination. The orange spots reported by Cybertruck owners may be rail dust caused by transportation on trains.
The metal tracks’ metal wheels apparently produce fine particles that can accumulate on the body surfaces of the vehicles. When exposed to other elements, it can become corrosive.
Therefore, Tesla indicated in its Cybertruck owner manual to “immediately remove corrosive substances (such as grease, oil, bird droppings, tree resin, dead insects, tar spots, road salt, industrial fallout, etc.)” to avoid such rusting issues. Cybertruck owners must only clean their units to solve the orange rust spots concerns.
Cybertruck specs
Despite the emerging durability concerns, the Cybertruck’s remarkable performance and capabilities remain a tremendous appeal to customers. For reference, here are the key specifications of the Cybertruck’s variants:
| Tesla Cybertruck | Rear-Wheel Drive | All-Wheel Drive | CyberBeast |
| Price | $60,990 | $79,990 | $99,990 |
| Range | 250 miles | 340 miles | 320 miles |
| Range with extender??? | Not mentioned | 470+ miles | 440+ miles |
| Acceleration 0-60 mph | 6.5 sec | 3.9 sec | 2.6 sec |
| Top speed | 112 mph | 112 mph | 130 mph |
| Power | – | 600 hp | 845 hp |
| Torque | – | 7,435 pound-feet | 10,296 lb-ft |
| Towing capacity | – | Up to 11,000 lbs | Up to 11,000 lbs |
| Payload | – | Up to 2,500 lbs | Up to 2,500 lbs |
