Elon Musk proposes Cybertruck tungsten carbide coating to curtail scratches and fingerprints

Images of smeary fingerprints and discoloured door panels have sparked well-founded issues in regards to the Tesla Cybertruck’s sturdiness, however a lot of the fear comes from the character of the end, which might make any imperfections tough to take away. According to a current submit on X (fka Twitter) by Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, the corporate may provide an answer within the type of a tungsten carbide ceramic coating to enhance sturdiness.

We would possibly give you the option to provide an elective tungsten carbide coating, which is principally scratch-proof to every thing beneath diamond hardness

For the uninitiated, tungsten carbide is a really exhausting, scratch-resistant ceramic that’s generally used to coat instruments and different industrial gear that wants to be uncovered to harsh situations and excessive temperatures. A coating of this nature on one thing just like the Cybertruck would certainly assist forestall the discolouration and fingerprints seen in earlier Cybertruck footage and scale back scratching considerably, however it might probably introduce different issues.

For one, tungsten carbide coatings should not low-cost. There are two processes usually used to apply the fabric — by way of detonation gun (D-Gun) utilizing acetylene gasoline, or by way of high-velocity oxygen gasoline (HVOF) spray — and they’re each high-temperature processes.

HVOF is reportedly the costlier of the 2 and produces a greater floor end, however each D-Gun and HVOF processes function at excessive sufficient temperatures that they might trigger discolouration of the Cybertruck’s chrome steel pores and skin. According to HTS Coatings, the gasoline temperature of each HVOF and D-Gun functions can attain nicely over 1,000 levels Celsius, whereas chrome steel begins to discolour at round 375 levels Celsius.

Tungsten carbide is not a newcomer to the automotive area. Porsche has used it to coat brake pads to super impact, though these brake rotors are many occasions costlier than the normal iron rotors, with some experiences claiming a substitute value of ~US$7,000. With regard to the Cybertruck, at that time, you could as nicely ship the automobile in to have paint or a wrap placed on over the flamboyant chrome steel.

Whether a tungsten carbide coating ever makes it onto the Cybertruck buying web page stays to be seen, but when it ever does change into a actuality, it would certainly be an costly add-on with its personal distinctive drawbacks.

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Julian van der Merwe – Magazine & Specialist News Writer – 357 articles printed on Notebookcheck since 2022

My curiosity in tech began in highschool, rooting and flashing my Motorola Defy, however I actually fell down the rabbit gap after I realised I may overclock the i7 930 in my Gigabyte pre-built PC. This tinkering habit finally lead me to research product design in college. I feel tech ought to enhance the lives of the individuals utilizing it, irrespective of the sector. I like to learn and write about laptops, smartphones, software program and developments in expertise.