Home » Watch A Tesla Cybertruck’s Rear End Completely Tear Off In This Ridiculous F-150 Durability Battle

Watch A Tesla Cybertruck’s Rear End Completely Tear Off In This Ridiculous F-150 Durability Battle

Cybertruck Wd Fail Ts5
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YouTuber WhistlinDiesel is extremely entertaining while also being — in some ways — insufferable (no disrespect). The channel is a guilty pleasure that I only occasional partake in, but this video showing the destruction of a Tesla Cybertruck is absolute gold. I cannot stop watching it, so I’m going to share it with you, dear reader. Watch as the Cybertruck’s rear gigacasting literally tears off the truck, which, it turns out, is literally bomb-proof.

My god this video. I know, I know; this guy does some really strange and over-the-top and nonscientific nonsense, but sometimes you just have to turn off your brain and allow entertainment to fill your mind with happy chemicals.

Vidframe Min Top
Vidframe Min Bottom

It’s OK to watch, just this once. Trust me, it’ll be worth it:

After struggling to figure out how to charge the Cybertruck, the host, Cody Detwiler, begins the test by taking both vehicles over a large stack of logs:

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Screen Shot 2024 08 02 At 5.17.04 Pm

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Both trucks manage the obstacle, though clearly the Cybertruck — with its big 35s and fully independent suspension — offers a significantly better ride. From there, WhistinDiesel and his team race the two trucks, and the electric Cybertruck unsurprisingly destroys the gas F-150.

After that, the two machines go over some big cement pipes — well, one of the trucks does. The Cybertruck manages to crawl over the top of the line of pipes, though it ends up high-centered before it’s able to drop off the end:

Screen Shot 2024 08 02 At 5.19.17 Pm

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The F-150 comes to the rescue, yanking the Cybertruck off the obstacle, though the tail end of the stainless steel-skinned machine hits that last pipe pretty hard:

Screen Shot 2024 08 02 At 5.21.15 Pm

The F-150 is unable to crawl over top of the pipes (I bet with a bit of a run-up it’d have managed, but WhistlinDiesel just called it at this point):

Screen Shot 2024 08 02 At 5.19.40 Pm

The Cybertruck comes to the rescue, pulling the F-150 off the obstacle, though, then this happens:

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Ct Holy Crap

 

Screen Shot 2024 08 02 At 5.23.29 Pm

Stress Riser Ct

The rear gigacasting… just fails! I mean, it just tears right off! You can see in the screenshot above that a bolt hole acts as a stress concentration.

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After that, the crew of content creators straps “C-4” to both trucks, and the Cybertruck withstands it quite nicely! Check out what one pound of “C-4” does to its door:

Screen Shot 2024 08 02 At 5.24.19 Pm

And now compare that to the aluminum door of the F-150:

Screen Shot 2024 08 02 At 5.25.31 Pm

The rest of the video shows the Cybertruck’s numerous build quality issues, its steer-by-wire failure making it hard to tow the thing onto a trailer, and other problems, though it does ultimately demonstrate the truck’s superior off-road capability and the toughness of its body panels.

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The Cybertruck’s performance in the video is mixed, though the host ultimately crowns the F-150 the winner by one point.

Now, how much should we judge the two trucks based on this video? How big of a deal is the Cybertruck’s rear casting failure? Is the build quality really as horrible as it seems in this video? Are the F-150s’ aluminum panels extremely weak?

The answers to these questions cannot be found in an extremely unscientific, giggle-filled video like WhistlinDiesel’s. It’s just a bunch of guys screwing around with some vehicles, and it should not be taken as any sort of real, valuable review. Honestly, if you do view it as a review, you’ll just be disappointed; if you view it as entertainment, well, I bet you’ll actually enjoy it. Maybe with a bit of guilt, but you will enjoy it.

Screenshots: WhistlinDiesel (YouTube)

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4jim
4jim
3 months ago

Chain is not to be used for vehicle recovery!

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  4jim

oh great, a chain hater. No, chains are not typically as safe as a strap for vehicle recovery. No, you are not likely to have an issue if the chain is in good condition and appropriately sized for the load. This is obvious, because in the video they used a chain for vehicle recovery more than once and had no issues with it.

Jonathan Jones
Jonathan Jones
3 months ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

“More than once”, is not a useful durability metric.

Given the necessity, I’ll take the strap; it is at least less “M*V” aiming chaotically to maim one of my many random parts.

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  Jonathan Jones

I agree, and I use straps rather than chains for recovery. But I have used chains before, and I don’t get evangelical about the virtues of a strap vs a chain in the comments of an unrelated article.

EVDesigner
EVDesigner
3 months ago

Why are we posting this guy? His channel only appeals to brain rot audiences

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  EVDesigner

And David Tracy, and me

Bassracerx
Bassracerx
3 months ago
Reply to  EVDesigner

this video was amazing. it’s ok to have content that is only for entertainment.

Shop-Teacher
Shop-Teacher
3 months ago

I’m not screwing up my algorithm, by clicking on this chucklehead’s channel of wanton destruction.

The Mark
The Mark
3 months ago

Never heard of this guy, but it was definitely a fun watch. I could probably waste half a day on his channel.
Apparently, I’m in the minority here!

Last edited 3 months ago by The Mark
Ian Cox
Ian Cox
3 months ago
Reply to  The Mark

Once you watch enough of his stuff and you learn his character and charactor a bit.. you’ll realize he’s actually a stand-up guy with a really good heart. Few take the time..

Mechjaz
Mechjaz
3 months ago
Reply to  Ian Cox

I wish everyone didn’t have a “character.” I get it, it’s decentralized, democratized television, but “my character” is so often used as a shield for being an absolute shithead in real life.

It’s all access, all reality TV, right up until someone is jumps out of a working plane, films in sensitive places, shoot fireworks back and forth from a helicopter to a Lambo, runs into “bank poles,” says and does really egregious and awful things. Then all of a sudden it’s a “character.” No, it’s not. You’re an asshole and you just happened to clue people in by showing your ass.

This is not a beef with this video; I haven’t watched it. But if you’re gonna act like an asshole, the least you could do is own it, rather than shedding your skin and slithering away every time you do something with costs and consequences.

Bassracerx
Bassracerx
3 months ago
Reply to  The Mark

nah everyone watching him and telling others they aren’t. he’s “fun” to hate on but has entertaining content. It’s like Nickleback people shitting on them saying their music is trash when they literally have multiple platinum albums.

Gene1969
Gene1969
3 months ago

Nope. I refuse to watch anything by someone who enjoys insulting destruction of things that people like. (This is not like Top Gear UK where they destroyed cars in cartoonish fashion or others that take cars that were headed to the crusher and give it one last hurrah.)

That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t watch it, or anyone else. Watch what you like. Just don’t ask me to.

For the record, I skipped this entire article right after seeing the logo on the truck. I personally hate Cybertrucks but others love them, and I respect that choice and will not enjoy in their destruction.

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  Gene1969

No, it’s actually just like Top Gear destroying cars in cartoonish ways. Which you might know if you had watched the video.

Gene1969
Gene1969
3 months ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

I watched the guy destroy a Ranger years ago. There was nothing cartoonish about it. It was just automotive bullying and crapping on the previous owner.

He loves to say these things “mean nothing to me.” His channel means nothing to me.

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  Gene1969

Lol you missed the entire joke of that video, the “previous owner” was a fictional character

Gene1969
Gene1969
3 months ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

Maybe. It’s still not my style. You enjoy it though.

Bassracerx
Bassracerx
3 months ago
Reply to  Gene1969

Bro this is EXACTLY like top gear! albeit a much lower budget version of it! If someone wants to do demolition derby i’m going to watch weather it’s a new car or an old car destruction is fun!

Gene1969
Gene1969
3 months ago
Reply to  Bassracerx

I disagree but you do you.

MikeInTheWoods
MikeInTheWoods
3 months ago

I know the Autopian isn’t into Kink shaming. David, this one you might want to keep to yourself. Simply because that guy does not need financial and click support. I’m not going to watch it since I imagine it will be a completely silly destruction of products for clickbait.

Last edited 3 months ago by MikeInTheWoods
Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  MikeInTheWoods

But it’s not completely silly destruction of products for clickbait. It was, although extremely unscientific and goofy, a legitimately useful comparison test of the Cybertruck, and I(and David) actually learned some things I did not know before.

But you didn’t know what was in the video because you didn’t watch it. You just made an incorrect assumption about its contents, and then wrote that incorrect assumption on the internet for everybody to see.

MikeInTheWoods
MikeInTheWoods
3 months ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

Thanks for being so nice on the Autopian. See above: I stated I imagined it would be clickbait destruction. My point was that I don’t want to support that channel by watching it. My comment was to state concern that the article was a bit too close for comfort to other sites that just pander the trending video of the day. I know DT would never do that, and he’s my hero, hence my joke to him in the opening of the comment. Apparently my message flew completely past you. Sorry to bother you with a contextualized assumption posted on “the internet”.

Bassracerx
Bassracerx
3 months ago
Reply to  MikeInTheWoods

wouldn’t it be clickbait if he did NOT destroy the car? Also how many truck frames have you seen completely snap regardless of the circumstances. Bend maybe but not just break in half!

Horizontally Opposed
Horizontally Opposed
3 months ago

Why is that channel / character getting a boost here? We know where to find that kind of content.

Bassracerx
Bassracerx
3 months ago

Mr fancy pants over here.

Vic Vinegar
Vic Vinegar
3 months ago

I see the defense from the Tesla fans is that he slammed the back end on the concrete pipe earlier and that “any truck” would fail after that. I don’t know if I buy that.

Crank Shaft
Crank Shaft
3 months ago
Reply to  Vic Vinegar

Yeah, steel just isn’t going fail in the same way. This was a design fail.

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  Vic Vinegar

There’s no question that that was cruel and unusual punishment, and that no engineer designed it to survive that. But, like you said, a normal steel frame and hitch would not fail from the same abuse. I have seen steel hitches survive worse.

The Cybertruck hitch would likely survive a long and full life of gentle highway towing, although I don’t know for sure. What I DO know for sure is that, at least with certain vertical shock loadings, the hitch structure of the Cybertruck is significantly weaker/worse than the industry standard. And that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be any weaker under normal forces, but it might……….. And that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

Dinklesmith
Dinklesmith
3 months ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

I’ve banged more than a couple hitches backing out of inclined driveways. I’m not so sure the concrete slam isn’t a good use case

AlterId
AlterId
3 months ago
Reply to  Dinklesmith

I’ve banged more than a couple hitches backing out of inclined driveways.

Not only is that definitely TMI, but the way you describe it is more than a little miso… oh, that’s an “h”.

Never mind.

PlatinumZJ
PlatinumZJ
3 months ago

Is this the same guy who intentionally destroyed a pristine-looking square body Chevy truck by securing a load to the rear wheels (for the lulz, of course), or am I thinking of another influencer?

Either way, I hope featuring ‘content’ like this doesn’t become a regular feature here. I enjoy vehicles, but not when it comes to destroying them for attention. (Just to clarify, I think the Cybertruck is overall ridiculous, and ol’ Elmo is a mess of a human, but I still enjoy spotting Cybertrucks in the wild.)

Last edited 3 months ago by PlatinumZJ
Fasterlivingmagazine
Fasterlivingmagazine
3 months ago
Reply to  PlatinumZJ

Yes its the same guy, people need to realize he is not a car (or truck) guy. Just a spoiled brat who used daddy’s money to start a channel that appeals to 13 year olds.

Mercedes Streeter
Mercedes Streeter
3 months ago

Do people actually think he’s a car guy? I’ve always thought of him as a guy who found a clever way to make a ton of money.

Take note that most of the vehicles he destroys have devoted fanbases. He’s not out there destroying Toyota Corollas and Ford Fusions, but classic trucks, supercars, and Japanese imports. I guess he’s also gotten into destroying pre-war classics, which…come on!

I say it’s “clever” because he’s crafted a channel where the house always wins. He wins when people watch to see something destroyed, he wins when people watch to complain about destruction, and he wins when someone watches to complain about his lack of car knowledge.

In other words, he basically lives for the haters because they make him rich, too! A part of me is jealous, but I know I couldn’t sleep at night with that big of a vehicular body count behind me.

Last edited 3 months ago by Mercedes Streeter
Fasterlivingmagazine
Fasterlivingmagazine
3 months ago

Well said!

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago

He’s definitely a car guy and a redneck mechanic, if you watch some of his really old videos it is apparent that he is an able fabricator and mechanic, and that he has a number of cool cars which are not just for the videos.

Mercedes Streeter
Mercedes Streeter
3 months ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

Ah, I figured the whole sort of dumb guy destroying popular vehicles thing was just a persona. I wonder how hard it is for him to destroy cars he likes? Or maybe he’s able to separate the inner car guy from his business. Either way, it’s still a brilliant way to rake in cash.

I don’t like the whole destroying nice things for views style of content, but that’s me disliking “the game, not the player,” so to speak. If anything, he found a way to get rich which doesn’t involve actively harming people, so that’s good!

Last edited 3 months ago by Mercedes Streeter
Ian Cox
Ian Cox
3 months ago

His Daddy gave him nothing. You really do buy the propaganda. His Jehovah Witness parents disowned him

100percentjake
100percentjake
3 months ago
Reply to  PlatinumZJ

other than the Toyota Hilux, damn near every vehicle he has ever destroyed has been a very obvious unsavable pile of trash or something that is still in current production. The square body video was actually the first one of his that I saw because of the uproar on Facebook and, my brother in christ, he folds the truck in half with a skid steer and chunks of rust start shedding from the frame and welded (or, let’s be honest, riveted) sections of the floor pan start popping off.

Mortalcombatant
Mortalcombatant
3 months ago

Oh no, dont give this spoiled brat a free publicity…

AlterId
AlterId
3 months ago

What percentage of Cybertruck sales so far have been to video makers who tear it down to inspect its construction, show off its capabilities or damage it with all hopes of destroying it for additional clicks? It’s as of this is the first true meta-vehicle, which exists only as a subject for commentary and not as an object for transporting people and things..

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  AlterId

Not a very large percentage, considering that over ten thousand Cybertrucks have been sold so far.

Dodsworth
Dodsworth
3 months ago

Gee, my first snuff video.

Brau Beaton
Brau Beaton
3 months ago

Say what you like about the presenter, but in his ape-shit manner he’s the only one who has exposed some previously unseen major CyberTruck flaws. That video gave me pause for thought. The unfixable frame and all around basic build quality issues are far below anything I’d expect at that hefty price. Seeing the finger chopping trunk lid in action was chilling for me as I experienced that back in the late 60s when Cadillac offered that feature on their trunk and I didn’t know about it until my fingers got trapped.

Dimitar
Dimitar
3 months ago

I’d honestly expect better from the Autopian than to be sharing this moron’s videos. Seems like now you can just act like a lunatic and destroy stuff and be successful, I’m sorry for me that’s despicable, no matter the product.

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  Dimitar

Do you think torture testing or destructive testing is always despicable?

Captain Muppet
Captain Muppet
3 months ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

For test and development engineers that’s every day at work.

Part of my job as a design engineer is to tell them about features I’m worried about so they can try to break them. I’ve got a part on test right now that’s being hammered with a hydraulic ram hundreds of times a minute for a few weeks.

Dimitar
Dimitar
3 months ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

This isn’t testing, just senseless destruction.

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  Dimitar

I learned something from it, and David learned enough from it to write a whole article.

It’s senseless destruction if you don’t learn anything or gain anything. If you accomplish the goals of learning something about the Cybertruck and providing entertainment, then it’s not senseless and is actually useful destructive testing.

VanGuy
VanGuy
3 months ago

I don’t watch his videos and don’t intend to start/continue after watching most of that one, but I do feel like there’s a few serious points to be made there.

The glass seemed…weirdly durable. I’d feel “safe” up until the point where I needed to break out of it. Would a glassbreaker even work from the inside? Is it possible for it to be so durable against external attacks (ignoring that it wasn’t shot at, but you’re not looking at Cybertrucks if you’re that serious about security) but shatter on demand if it’s sinking in a lake, for example?

The explosive results seemed…predictable and reasonable, per se.

I think the thing that gave me the most pause was actually just how easily he removed its mirrors while the entire F-150 shook when he tried the same.

Not that I’m cross-shopping the two–but I did like how he disrespected them both plenty.

Ranwhenparked
Ranwhenparked
3 months ago
Reply to  VanGuy

“The glass seemed…weirdly durable. I’d feel “safe” up until the point where I needed to break out of it. Would a glassbreaker even work from the inside? Is it possible for it to be so durable against external attacks (ignoring that it wasn’t shot at, but you’re not looking at Cybertrucks if you’re that serious about security) but shatter on demand if it’s sinking in a lake, for example?”

This is an issue with lots of modern automotive glass, not limited to the Cybertruck. Laminated “acoustic” glass is extremely tough, to the point where it can have limited small arms resistance, even if not specifically sold as ballistic glass. First responders are being instructed to use a sharp saw and slice through glass like a tree trunk instead of trying to shatter it

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  VanGuy

If you find yourself in a junkyard anytime soon, try breaking some windows. You will be amazed at how strong tempered safety glass really is, even with a dedicated glassbreaker tool, it is quite difficult, and it is extremely difficult to break a window with a rock or something.

The effectiveness of glassbreakers is very oversold; I’m not sure that it is practical to break a window to get out of a car ever, and a significant proportion of the population is literally not strong enough to do it no matter how hard they try, even with a dedicated tool.

Mantis Toboggan, MD
Mantis Toboggan, MD
3 months ago

I don’t know why so many people dislike this guy, I think he’s hilarious. His efforts to literally shred squatted trucks are commendable. And his total disregard of safety is inspiring. I thought he was going to die on camera that time he turned on a small helicopter inside a building and let it thrash around until it tore itself apart. Real Roman Colosseum stuff.

As for the Cybertruck, it’s no Hi-Lux. That survived like four videos and had to be executed by helicopter ride. I wonder if the rear end broke because it can take a load along the centerline but a force pulling up and to the side is too much? Could giga-casting be part of the issue whether this is an individual defect or something more broad?

Also, I doubt that was C-4. Probably tannerite. I’m no expert but I think a pound of C-4 would make it through a thin stainless steel panel and then some. Tannerite can cause a lot of damage though, especially if you use enough of it.

Alexk98
Alexk98
3 months ago

I’ll be the contrarian here and say I actually enjoy Whistlin Diesels content most of the time.

First off, Cody’s character in his videos is a character, by all accounts online from well-respected creators, he’s a genuine, good dude, and he knows what drives engagement, and drives clicks. He’s very careful in creating his on-screen persona to be what it is, because it does well for his content. There is an amount of recklessness that isn’t ideal, but it can be hard to separate actual recklessness from that fabricated for creative purposes.

Second, it’s gratuitous, I think that’s the point. There’s a certain joy a lot of people, myself included, get from these status symbol type vehicles being abused, showing they really are just objects. It’s extreme on purpose, its designed to get rage, frustration, and hatred from some, and adoration from others. This sort of content benefits greatly from internet engagement and discourse, positive or not.

And finally, with the way that social media trends have gone, and the sort of people who continue to be put on higher and higher pedestals, I see no problem with a simpler, no-motive burn-it-all-down style channel that does what everyone else is too scared to do. There’s no motive here, no person making themselves to be the greatest person in the world, just dudes having a good time, beating up shiny objects.

It is absolutely gratuitous, and wasteful of course. But honestly, how much more wasteful are the private jet habits of the ultra-wealthy, the thousands of new hyper-cars built that will never see more than 10,000 miles, the waste of traditional entertainment show productions, etc. While I think criticism of all forms of entertainment is valid, and should be welcome, I think Cody and the WD crew get a lot of hate that’s unwarranted, but that’s just me.

Last edited 3 months ago by Alexk98
Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
3 months ago

I don’t feel guilty at all.

Col Lingus
Col Lingus
3 months ago

Not sure who is more of a total d bag now.
Elon or this fricking lunatic. WTF?

That boy ain’t even close to being right as we say down here. Not even in the same area code as right…can see it all over his face. Pure nuts.

And who sells this walking rectal sore C4?

Seriously.

Last edited 3 months ago by Col Lingus
Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  Col Lingus

He’s not actually quite as insane as his video character.

Freelivin2713
Freelivin2713
3 months ago

CYbErJuNkTrUcK EV ugly trash destruction? Where do I sign up?
Forget C-4…well actually go ahead and fill up the whole thing w/ it and I’ll drive it off a cliff, and jump out at the last second…don’t worry about lighting it…it lights itself on fire all by itself!

Gerontius Garland
Gerontius Garland
3 months ago
Reply to  Freelivin2713

C4 will actually burn slowly if ignited by fire. In Vietnam soldiers would sometimes use a small chunk as a campfire. Not even gunshots will set it off. You need a detonator or blasting cap to trigger an explosion.

Frankencamry
Frankencamry
3 months ago

I have seen this chucklefuck’s “content” in a few reels and I will not knowingly be contributing any clicks, even if DT tells me it’s ok.

You are the company you keep and all that.

Frankencamry
Frankencamry
3 months ago
Reply to  David Tracy

In the age of the Heart Attack Grill and such, a 1/4 pound burger is a pretty reasonable choice. Barring it being made of unethical meat, no guilt there at all, Hollywood DT 😉

Ranwhenparked
Ranwhenparked
3 months ago
Reply to  Frankencamry

The 1/4 Pounder, is also, at least, the best quality burger McDonalds serves (it’s a totally differently patty from their other burgers). I mean, it’s a low bar to clear, but, still

Also, it’s like 400 calories without cheese, that isn’t that crazy

Last edited 3 months ago by Ranwhenparked
Peter d
Peter d
3 months ago
Reply to  Ranwhenparked

McDonald’s goes to incredible lengths to ensure consistency and safety – not my cup of tea, but very, very high quality. Only the best of the best can be suppliers – and it often ups the game for the suppliers other products.

A. Barth
A. Barth
3 months ago
Reply to  Ranwhenparked

“Royale with cheese…”

Jb996
Jb996
3 months ago
Reply to  A. Barth

They wouldn’t know what the f*(& a Quarter Pounder is.

Cloud Shouter
Cloud Shouter
3 months ago
Reply to  David Tracy

More like liverwurst.

Ranwhenparked
Ranwhenparked
3 months ago

Wow, it just sheared right off, like a Geo Storm getting yanked out of a snow pile.

Peter Andruskiewicz
Peter Andruskiewicz
3 months ago
Reply to  Ranwhenparked

Haha, great “early days of car internet videos” reference

A. Barth
A. Barth
3 months ago

Like the owner of the company, the CT is showing its ass.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
3 months ago
Reply to  A. Barth

ba-dum-tishhhhh

A. Barth
A. Barth
3 months ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

Thank you! I’ll be here all week

MrLM002
MrLM002
3 months ago

After the casting broke I felt slightly vindicated in saying Tesla should have went with an aluminum body over a stainless steel one.

The Cybertruck probably would have been better off competing against vehicles like the Ford Maverick. If they gave it an aluminum chassis and body, gave it a 4.5ft bed, carried over a bunch of parts from the Model 3 and Model Y, kept the height adjustable air suspension, kept the mechanical steering, had traditional utility vehicle features (like physical mechanically actuated latches for the doors, frunk trunk etc.), and didn’t market it as a truck “call it a pickup instead, like the VW pickups of old” it would
1.) Probably be nowhere near as polarizing

2.) Not be sold as something it isn’t.

3.) It would sell much better than it is selling currently.

The “Cybertruck” is not and will never be a Truck. It’s not even a good utility vehicle, it’s a muscle suit on a tech bro.

Last edited 3 months ago by MrLM002
Lally Singh
Lally Singh
3 months ago
Reply to  MrLM002

I’m pretty sure the gigacasted parts are aluminum.

MrLM002
MrLM002
3 months ago
Reply to  Lally Singh

They are, but the body is stainless for some odd reason, which is a prime opportunity for not just corrosion, but dissimilar metal corrosion as well.

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  MrLM002

It’s stainless because

  1. It looks cool
  2. There are some very real and very useful benefits to an unpainted, relatively thick body.
MrLM002
MrLM002
3 months ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

And polished aluminum

1.) Doesn’t look as good?

2.) Can’t be unpainted and thick?

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  MrLM002

Polished aluminum is vastly softer than stainless steel, and it is much more susceptible to corrosion from detergents of bird crap or whatever. In terms of hardness(scratch resistance) and corrosion resistance;
Aluminum<automotive paint<stainless. There's a reason that there have been 0 cars mass produced with bare aluminum bodies, while there are 2 models mass produced with bare stainless bodies and countless other with stainless trim.

You're right that aluminum panels of similar construction to the current Cybertruck could work, and maintain some of the durability advantages. But the stainless is a significantly more durable and longer lasting material, superior in almost every way except weight and cost.

MrLM002
MrLM002
3 months ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

I sincerely doubt aluminum is more susceptible to corrosion than stainless. Softness you may be right, but much thinner polished aluminum than what would have been used for an aluminum bodied Cybertruck had been used to haul Fat Man and Little Boy up in to sky to show the Japanese what it looks like to have a sun sprout up in your backyard. We’ve made APCs out of aluminum, it can handle being an off road capable vehicles.

I think long term the stainless will rust long term. Don’t get me wrong, I like stainless. However if your structural components are just cast aluminum that fail as easily as they did in the above video, they would have been better off with aluminum bodies to avoid the dissimilar metal corrosion issue. Right now it’s looking like Junkyards are going to be littered with perfect condition Cybertruck bodies with shattered aluminum skeletons underneath them

Nvoid82
Nvoid82
3 months ago
Reply to  MrLM002

Hard anodized aluminum may do a bit better in some cases, but it would be decently high production cost

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  MrLM002

Don’t take my word for it, look up the metals reactivity series. Aluminum is waaaaay more reactive than iron, nickel, or chromium.

The reason that aluminum is known for being corrosion resistant is because aluminum very quickly forms a VERY hard(aluminum oxide is literally almost as hard as diamond) passivising oxide layer. This is why anodized aluminum panels would likely be MORE scratch and corrosion resistant than stainless. But polished aluminum means that you have removed as much of that passivising oxide layer as possible. Anything that can make it through the oxide layer(which is only a few atoms thick on polished aluminum) will start aggressively corroding the surface.

An unpainted anodized aluminum body would be really cool, but it would be a dull whitish finish that I think would look terrible(maybe it could look cool in the right context?). Repairability would also be a huge issue. Stainless is much better in these respects.

In general, you’re right, airplanes and APCs made of aluminum hold up, and a bare aluminum Cybertruck would too. It would just get looking dull and scratched up sooner than a stainless one would(which I think is actually a huge problem, considering people are already complaining about the finish on Cybertrucks).

MrLM002
MrLM002
3 months ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

Perhaps then polished aluminum would be a factory option instead of standard.

Stainless steel is certainly harder, and while I would be one who would appreciate patina on stainless many of the people who buy Cybertrucks will not like it.

Personally I don’t think the body should be built to outlast the frame of the vehicle, especially since you cannot replace the gigacastings. They should have either went with a stainless frame or an aluminum body.

Instead it seems they went with the worst of two worlds, an overbuilt body and a weak frame.

TheHairyNug
TheHairyNug
3 months ago
Reply to  MrLM002

It’s stainless because it was originally intended to be a stressed frame member and therefore be load bearing. They couldn’t make that happen, for somewhat obvious reasons.

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
3 months ago
Reply to  TheHairyNug

Is it obvious? I was really hoping they would make the original concept, and they certainly could. BTW their “Exoskeleton” marketing is exactly the same thing as a monocoque, and is exactly the concept that things like F1 cars use.

TheHairyNug
TheHairyNug
3 months ago
Reply to  MrLM002

I’m pretty sure 90%+ of the general population would say that Model Y trucklet (Model T, hah) would have been a better choice. I’d go further and say that 90%+ of the general population would say that literally anything else would have been a better choice

Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
3 months ago

I hope he bought those trucks used.

But there’s no way I’m watching that – I will not contribute to rewarding the ongoing stupidity with my clicks.

Drew
Drew
3 months ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

Same. I felt a little weird even reading about his antics. I don’t want to encourage him, even indirectly.

Last edited 3 months ago by Drew
MrLM002
MrLM002
3 months ago
Reply to  Drew

Once in a blue moon I will watch his stuff. I think this and the Challenger on Amish wagon wheels are the only videos of his I have watched.

Ranwhenparked
Ranwhenparked
3 months ago
Reply to  Drew

Yeah, there’s not many YouTube channels I’d be that absolutist about, but this one and Scotty Kilmer on on that list, not clicking

Drew
Drew
3 months ago
Reply to  Ranwhenparked

Oh, god…I clicked a Scotty Kilmer video once…and only once. No thank you.

Jonathan Jones
Jonathan Jones
3 months ago
Reply to  Drew

Ayayay, Kilmer’s voice, like the sound of a kazoo and a water balloon getting strangled together in a concrete dungeon. . .upper limbs gyrating like an ungoverned wind-turbine in rapid unscheduled disassembly. . . the horror, the horror.

Cerberus
Cerberus
3 months ago
Reply to  Ranwhenparked

Damn Kilmer must put out multiple videos a day. I made the mistake of watching one and it took way too long for the algorithm to realize I in fact didn’t want to see any more of his clickbait title BS, but damn did they push him at me. Never got recommended this other clown, though.

Last edited 3 months ago by Cerberus
Steve Schriefer
Steve Schriefer
3 months ago
Reply to  Cerberus

Protip, go into your YouTube watched list and delete a video and it is out of your algorithm. I do it all the time.

Cerberus
Cerberus
3 months ago

Thanks for the tip! Stupidly, it never occurred to me to do that. Now I have a good number of videos to nuke…

Shop-Teacher
Shop-Teacher
3 months ago
Reply to  Ranwhenparked

I’m with you 100%. Not watching this guy. Not watching Kilmer. No clicks for them!

Joe Average
Joe Average
3 months ago
Reply to  Ranwhenparked

I can’t seem to get rid of Scotty Kilmer either. I can click on “Don’t recommend” and he still shows up occasionally. All I want to do is correct the guy or elaborate on what he rants about.

Peter Andruskiewicz
Peter Andruskiewicz
3 months ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

I feel exactly the same way, his whole schtick is insufferable, when it’s not pandering to truck bros it’s just downright stupid. Yay, this guy makes enough from YouTube or other sources to wantonly destroy some vehicles with hundreds of thousands of dollars … That’s not something to be celebrated or rewarded

Freelivin2713
Freelivin2713
3 months ago

Yeah, and I say these kind of “content creators” along w/ “influencers” have no life and it’s not a real job…I don’t care how much they make. They don’t contribute or DO ANYTHING. If they want to retire later and think “look at all the time I wasted not doing something real and worthwhile, then whatever, that’s just my opinion.
As George Costanza would say:
“We’re living in a society!”

VanGuy
VanGuy
3 months ago
Reply to  Freelivin2713

When he has 7.65 million subscribers at the time of writing, if you add up every hour of entertainment he’s given people (not including probably millions more who aren’t subscribed), what makes it any less valid than actors being paid to play parts in movies?

And he has to manage a company, come up with content ideas, etc. Which isn’t to say actors have it as easy as “here’s a script, memorize it, that’s it” because they don’t, but it’s a complicated entertainment job just as valid as acting.

I’d hate it if it was “how many Cybertrucks can we destroy in 20 minutes” or something, but just torture-testing one seems…well, not wholly unreasonable.

Freelivin2713
Freelivin2713
3 months ago
Reply to  VanGuy

Yeah, I did lump them together so that’s a good point, especially since I’m really into movies so of course think those are real jobs.
Maybe it’s just this type of content on YouTube that I don’t like, but yeah I’m sure they put in a lot of work. So separately, what I said before would be for “influencers” They are just so fake, shallow, it’s all about looks, all they do is be on their phone all the time taking pics of themselves (self absorbed/entitled) and they don’t actually DO anything so to me it’s not a real job. Thanks Vanguy for pointing that out though and listening while I rant about “influencers” which has nothing to do w/ cars!

Cheap Bastard
Cheap Bastard
3 months ago
Reply to  VanGuy

what makes it any less valid than unpaid cats banging on pianos?

FIFY

Cerberus
Cerberus
3 months ago
Reply to  Cheap Bastard

Cats on pianos all day long. Really, I’ll take any animal videos over all the influencers.

Jonathan Jones
Jonathan Jones
3 months ago
Reply to  Cerberus

In addition to their historic role as four-wheeling rodenticide, domestic cats are professional charmers. I feel they know their entertainment value, and are “in on the game”.

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