Tesla’s Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill says the truck’s side mirror caps are getting a durability upgrade that also saves money. In a post on X on Saturday, Morrill explained the caps were initially painted, but the paint scratched too easily when driving through brush, so Tesla switched them to the same grained plastic already used on the fenders (via Wes Morrill).
“Sometimes you can take out cost AND make the product better,” Morrill wrote. “It’s rare, but with focus, it can happen.”
The Cybertruck is built for off-road use, where painted trim takes a beating, so a tougher unpainted cap fits the truck’s bare stainless look. Tesla has been quietly refining the vehicle since its late 2023 launch, and the change follows other recent software updates like FSD v14.3.10 and Tesla App 4.61.0.
Small cost-downs like this add up, and it is the same playbook Tesla is running across the lineup. Tesla showed off the production Semi this week with powder-coated bodywork and no conventional paint shop at its Nevada factory. The Cybercab goes further still, with Tesla saying its reaction injection molding panels eliminate the need for a traditional paint shop by putting colour directly into the body material during molding. Less paint means fewer steps, less factory floor space, and faster production, which fits the manufacturing mantra Elon Musk repeats more than any other, that the best part is no part.
Expect more of these running refinements to keep landing quietly. Tesla rarely announces them, so owners usually first notice when the parts show up on new trucks.
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