3mm thick 30X stainless steel body panels / exoskeleton

[ReddykwRun]

If they could also install stiffeners between the outer skin and inner skin will enhance strength.

Now you are talking my language, longerons, stringers and lightening holes, oh boy.

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[fritter63]

I can't believe we've got a thread on the realization of how thick 3mm is.... then again, I've been using metric in my wood shop for years. And most guitar materials are measured as like 0.125", etc.

 

[plucas]

Hey Mini2nut, love the visual of 3mm. I have been on a search for where 3mm thick came from but can't find it. I have quoted the same figure of 3mm think but then when I went looking for it I can't find it. I thought I saw it or herd it on the original Cybertruck presentation video but I can't find it there. Anyway yes it is nearly 1/8", 3mm = .118" decimal, where as, someone else has pointed out, 1/8" is .125" decimal... It does seem too think and yes, even regular mild steel that is 1/8" will be bullet proof to a 9mm hand gun (I think). But I think I got something wrong here. 3mm is just too thick for all the body panels to be that thick.

 

[CyberCop]

I am really looking forward to this truck...

 

[Cyberman]

The paintless dent repair folks are going to need a new set of tools for the CT that DOES get a dent. ?

If my Cybertruck gets dented, I think I'll take a picture of the car that hit me, and when anyone asks WTF happened, I'll pull out the pic, and say "you should see the other car..." ?

 

[Newton]

Hey Mini2nut, love the visual of 3mm. I have been on a search for where 3mm thick came from but can't find it. I have quoted the same figure of 3mm think but then when I went looking for it I can't find it. I thought I saw it or herd it on the original Cybertruck presentation video but I can't find it there. Anyway yes it is nearly 1/8", 3mm = .118" decimal, where as, someone else has pointed out, 1/8" is .125" decimal... It does seem too think and yes, even regular mild steel that is 1/8" will be bullet proof to a 9mm hand gun (I think). But I think I got something wrong here. 3mm is just too thick for all the body panels to be that thick.

3mm was in the original cybertruck presentation directly from tesla. edit...hmm I could have sworn i heard it on the presentation but I rewatched and didn't see it. Perhaps a tweet was said or perhaps it is just rumor. People getting confused by the starship skin being 3mm and tesla saying its the same alloy

It is this thick because the outer skin or the truck IS STRUCTURAL.
Meaning, its required to be this strong for the truck to hold itself together.

Realistically the doors and other parts dont need to be 3mm, and I'm sure some won't be, but why not? It will help sell it for not too much more money

 

[Newton]

This is space x starship skin. Not proof of 3mm cybertruck

 

[MEDICALJMP]

Hey Mini2nut, love the visual of 3mm. I have been on a search for where 3mm thick came from but can't find it. I have quoted the same figure of 3mm think but then when I went looking for it I can't find it. I thought I saw it or herd it on the original Cybertruck presentation video but I can't find it there. Anyway yes it is nearly 1/8", 3mm = .118" decimal, where as, someone else has pointed out, 1/8" is .125" decimal... It does seem too think and yes, even regular mild steel that is 1/8" will be bullet proof to a 9mm hand gun (I think). But I think I got something wrong here. 3mm is just too thick for all the body panels to be that thick.

As a dedicated firearms shooter with decades of experience Shooting steel for recreation and competition , 1/8” of steel is not Buller proof to 9 mm.

 

[Geo]

You're right Jeff, Mild Steel 3mm thick may not be Bullet Proof to a 9mm hand gun.

But the Cybertruck is 3mm Stainless Steel, (much more dense) and it cold rolled 30x making it significantly harder again.

See Motortrend Article below.


Motor Trend 21/11/2019

"The Tesla Cybertruck's skin will be made of the same stainless steel that is used by sister company SpaceX for its coming Starship spacecraft. That means 301 stainless steel and, in the Cybertruck, 3mm thickness. Tesla claims this makes it bulletproof to 9mm rounds but does not mention any armor rating certification.

"If fully hardened, 3mm of 301 stainless is more than adequate to stop any 9mm Luger round I can think of, apart from exotic stuff like dedicated armor piercing bullets, which you're not going to find on gun store shelves," said Iain Harrison, editor-in-chief of Recoil as well as a competitive shooter and former British Army captain.

Tesla says each door panel will weigh about 60 pounds as a result of the thick stainless steel skin. The carmaker had thought about increasing the thickness to 4mm for even more bullet resistance, but that would have made each door 80 pounds.

Apparently, the Cybertruck may also have a bulletproof windshield. Tesla chief Elon Musk says the laminated windshield, which appears to be completely flat, will stop a 9mm round, as well. We tested its strength by dropping weighed metal spheres from various heights. It didn't break. "

 

[hridge2020]

Structure, pillars, rear tailgate, doors, hood, and front end should all be made out of the same material and thickness. My suggestion.

 

[OneLapper]

3mm is .1181"
1/8" is .1250 in decimal world
1/8" sheet steel is 11 gauge. Which is .1250". Which is approximately 3mm (.1181").

So, if Space X and Elon use conventional fraction and decimal equivalents, and use conventional sheet metal nomenclature, it could be safe to assume the CT will have 11ga stainless steel (of some undisclosed stainless steel alloy being 30X where x = ??) on it's exterior.

 

[Mini2nut]

And 30X SS resists heat quite well. Supposedly 1500-1600 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s why it’s being used on the Starship that is under development. From Space.com

"So, typically aluminum or carbon fiber, for a steady-state operating temperature, you're really limited to about 300 degrees Fahrenheit [150 degrees Celsius]. It's not that high," Musk said. "You can take little, brief excursions above that, maybe 350 [degrees F, or 180 degrees C]. Four-hundred [degrees F, or 200 degrees C], you're really pushing it. It weakens. And there are some carbon fibers that can take 400 degrees Fahrenheit, but then you have strength knockdowns. But steel, you can do 1,500, [or] 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit [820 to 870 degrees C]."

 

[Mini2nut]

From Motor Trend...

“Tesla says each door panel will weigh about 60 pounds as a result of the thick stainless steel skin. The carmaker had thought about increasing the thickness to 4mm for even more bullet resistance, but that would have made each door 80 pounds.

Apparently, the Cybertruck may also have a bulletproof windshield. Tesla chief Elon Musk says the laminated windshield, which appears to be completely flat, will stop a 9mm round, as well. We tested its strength by dropping weighed metal spheres from various heights. It didn't break.“

 

[CyberCop]

I can definitely see this vehicle used for both private and commercial use in dignitary and personal protection.

 

[Sirfun]

I just realized I have a 4' section of diamond plate galvanized steel that we used for a wheelchair ramp in my backyard. It looks like it's 1/8". It's hard to imagine a car using Stainless Steel that thick.