Tesla recently filed a patent application for an “ultra-hard cold-worked steel alloy” that will likely make its way into the electric vehicle (EV) maker’s Cybertruck, according to a report from electrek.
Responding to a report on the patent application from fellow publication Tesmanian, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said it was a “new metal.”
New metal
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 25, 2023
The Cybertruck’s all-stainless steel body will be one of its defining characteristics, which is especially significant considering plenty of other fully electric pickup trucks have already beaten it to market. Tesla planned to develop its own alloy for the Cybertruck’s chassis, and that could be what the patent application is for.
In the filing, Tesla noted that this new alloy could be used to form the “exoskeleton” of a vehicle. The automaker went on to detail some technical specifications of this new steel alloy, including hardness of at least 400 HV and up to 500 HV in some embodiments, along with Epit-Eocp corrosion resistance of at least about 500 mV.
Tesla is expected to start producing the Cybertruck at its Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, sometime this summer, with deliveries beginning near the end of this year and volume production in 2024. Workers at Giga Texas have repeatedly been spotted setting up the “Giga Press” die-casting machine that will make the chassis and panels for the all-electric pickup.
Last year, Tesla confirmed that the steel used in the Cybertruck will be supplied by Steel Dynamics, which has a new plant located not too far from Giga Texas. Earlier this week, Tesla was seen testing the Cybertruck’s ability to jump curbs in California.
