De-Rusting Your Cybertruck
New Cybertruck owners have been posting images and videos showing that their new stainless steel pickups have been showing signs of oxidation - or rusting - in little spots across the vehicle.
This has led to a slew of articles and social media posts criticising Tesla’s new truck - and responses that attempt to do a little myth-busting. This is where Cybertruck’s lead engineer Wes Morrill stepped in to address the issue, with a little help from the Bearded Tesla Guy on
In a video posted on February 16th, the Bearded Tesla Guy shows this exact rusting phenomenon happening on his friend’s brand new Cybertruck - going into the potential reasons, as well as ways to fix it.
Wes then took to social media to post his support for the video, saying that it was a good representation of what was happening, and adding some ways to treat the problem.
So, what is this problem, exactly?
Stainless steel cannot rust on its own - it has the ability to oxidize if it’s scratched deep, or badly maintained - but that’s clearly not what’s happening to these Cybertrucks. Most stainless steel is a slightly porus material - meaning it has a lot of microscopic divots and bumps along its surface, and those can hold on to a good amount of material. In this case, something called “Free” or “Rail” Iron.
This refers to small particles of iron from factories or railways that hang in the air, and end up sticking to passing vehicles. It happens on other cars as well, but their clear coat usually doesn’t allow many particles to cling long enough to rust on their own.
On Stainless Steel though, it’s another story - and even though these red spots don’t mean your new Cybertruck is rusting, you do have to clean it off before it has a chance to really stain the finish.
Luckily, the solution is easy, and both the Bearded Tesla Guy and Wes recommend using a product called Bar Keeper’s Friend, or Citrisurf-77, which loosens the bits of iron and allows them to just be wiped off like any other dirt. Wes also mentions that any stubborn bits can be scrubbed using a non-scratch Scotch Brite pad, as it won’t leave marks on the surface.
It’s a normal thing to get a little upset about seeing rust forming on your brand new truck - especially one that’s supposed to be stainless - but thankfully there’s a good explanation in this case, and an easy way to clean off those orange spots.