Cybertruck to have patented steel body that Elon Musk calls “new metal”

Tesla’s Cybertruck, one of the most polarising products to be released in the automotive industry, is about to hit production in 2023. 

Now it’s been revealed that the external steel body material has been patented by Tesla. 

This was confirmed by Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of Tesla, who over the weekend described it as “new metal”.

While most vehicles produced today use aluminium, plastics and other more common materials for the external body panels, the Cybertruck will be manufactured with a stainless steel alloy which Tesla has now officially patented.

Due to this patent, it’s unknown the exact composition, properties and chemistry of this “new metal”. There is, though, the name that gives us a clue as to what it might be: “Ultra-hard cold-worked steel alloy”.

This suggests that Tesla wants to emphasise the hardness of the steel, making it one so the strongest possible materials used in an automotive exterior application.

From the name of the patent as well, Tesla will be cold-working the steel alloy which is a lot better than the traditional forming methods of heating the steel up and applying quenching techniques. The cold-rolling process of the steel will ultimately save Tesla time and production costs.

Part of this material development was done under Charles Kuehmann, VP of Materials Engineering at SpaceX and Tesla. 

This has ensured that the material used for the exterior has unique characteristics that only Tesla can achieve given the strong connection with SpaceX.

Last week, the Cybertruck was sighted going up a grassy hill at Tesla’s new engineering HQ. Tesla also put out an official post on Twitter showcasing the Cybertruck in a light studio.

Another video of the Cybertruck has also emerged this weekend by What’s Inside on Twitter. 

This time it is drone footage with a clear view of the roof and a blacked-out tray cover. It also showcases the triangular rear-view mirrors seen in other recent prototypes.

There appear to be more frequent sightings of the Cybertruck as initial production nears. This is good news for over a million reservation holders all around the world. 

We also expect an update on the Cybertruck’s production later in the week at Tesla’s investors day event.