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379

Some Cybertruck Owners Say Their Trucks Are Shedding Body Panels; One Thinks He Knows Why (www.roadandtrack.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

95 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.crimedad.work/post/542998

"It does suck, because everybody kind of makes fun of the Cybertruck. To the outside person, it's kind of weird, it's ugly, whatever. Once you actually get in it, drive it, you realize it's pretty frickin' cool," he says. "It's kind of been sad, because I've been trying to prove to people that it's a really awesome truck that's not falling apart, and then mine starts to fall apart, so it's just... Yeah, it's kind of unfortunate and sad."

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[–] [email protected] 157 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

the trim piece that flew off of his truck is connected to a plastic frame bolted directly to the car; that trim piece, he says, is stuck to the frame with adhesive rather than welded or bolted to anything. That adhesive has seemingly failed in multiple places on his truck, leading to the loosened roofline trim panels.

[–] [email protected] 129 points 2 weeks ago (9 children)

How the hell is that thing legal to sell??

[–] [email protected] 123 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (4 children)

I worked at the Tesla plant in Fremont for a bit and most of every car is held together with adhesive. They claim it's super strong and once heated, it's stronger than welding... But, I mean... They are still falling apart and I don't know if that's because the adhesive sucks or if it's because every single day, they had to have someone remind everyone that the glue pattern posted at every station where it's applied isn't just a suggestion, it's an engineering requirement for the structural integrity of the part. People were just slapping the adhesive onto shit in any old way they pleased a lot of the time.

[–] [email protected] 62 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

it’s stronger than welding

(X) to doubt

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Adhesives can be incredibly strong.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

But never a weld.

MEK welds styrene. Cynocrylate forms a mechanical bond. MEK will be stronger in tension, cyno stronger in shear.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Good ole methyl ethyl ketone.

Dropped a rubber boot in a vat of it once to see what would happen.

No idea why, but it came out much larger/expanded.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago

Fun fact, you can shrink barbie doll heads in acetone.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I don't even know the name of the adhesive they used. I do know that it was made by 3M and that it's orange.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

Well, OK. So maybe that adhesive is stronger than a weld on that particular plastic. Of course, if you're talking about adhering a plastic to a metal you cannot weld it so Elmer's would be "stronger than a weld". But whatever's going on it's not adequate.

E: and actually welding plastic together typically isn't that strong, a mechanical bond can easily be stronger than melting the plastic to weld it.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

they had to have someone remind everyone that the glue pattern posted at every station where it's applied isn't just a suggestion, it's an engineering requirement for the structural integrity of the part. People were just slapping the adhesive onto shit in any old way they pleased a lot of the time.

In other words, the things were being designed by underqualified engineers who didn't understand factors of safety, design for manufacturability, or that precision comes at a cost.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I suspect the real issue is the workers aren't given enough time on the line to do this correctly so they just churn them out to hit the needed metric knowing it will fail after being delivered to the owner.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Essentially every car has a windshield and trim attached only by adhesive, and has for decades. This ought to be a solved problem.

Is that trim piece steel? Maybe something about the material, usually they’re gluing on plastic trim pieces. They’re relying on heated adhesive but it’s a long skinny piece made of a material that conducts heat?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah, used properly, adhesive can be stronger than just about any other form of fastening. Properly is the key word. Contaminates, or improperly prepped surface will drastically reduce the effectiveness.

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 2 weeks ago

There's a reason why Musk is paying to dismantle the government.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Adhesive binding can be significantly stronger than mechanical bonding when done right.

...when done right. Yeah. Guess where I'm putting my money.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

There's a reason why the EU won't allow the sale of cybertrucks and it all has to do with ~~build quality and~~ safety.

Edit: strikethrough added based on incorrect assumption as pointed out below

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I thought it was purely due to inadequate rounding of angles on the body due to stricter pedestrian safety laws that the EU has. Does the EU have some kind of build quality testing and standard that the cybertruck failed?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago

I actually didn't quite remember the reason, so I checked it. The rounding is one main reason and the fact it is so heavy it requires a drivers license for trucks, as well as basically no demand. So no build quality requirements failed, but definitely safety related.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 weeks ago

orange is the new blue

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 weeks ago

It's not over here in the UK. They're not road legal.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 2 weeks ago

There's no consumer protection agency anymore. I wonder why.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago

Adhesives are used everywhere on cars, especially on trim pieces. But you have to prep the parts, which could mean sanding and scuffing, cleaning with solvents, or even (on larger parts) flame or plasma treatment.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (6 children)

What. The. Fuck...

Are we taking lessons from Samsung now? I mean are they serious? Adhesive for car parts?!

Well gee, as long as car exteriors don't experience extreme heating/cooling cycles on a daily basis, then adhesive should work just fine. Oh wait.

It's like they wanted this vehicle to fail.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 weeks ago

Adhesive is fairly common in cars now. Some higher end cars are held together almost entirely with adhesives that bond carbon tubs to the frame.

More info here

That being said, they're obviously not using it correctly or in the right circumstances on the cybercuck. What a piece of shit.

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[–] [email protected] 74 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

I think I know why too - because they are pieces of shit that are poorly constructed.

If you haven't seen the clip, watch the guy that shuts the door kinda hard but not crazy and it no longer opens. Find me another vehicle like that - don't worry, I'll wait.

The clip

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago (6 children)

https://youtu.be/S6R0UtJlBGU

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[–] [email protected] 55 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

If the in-car cameras don't see you do Heil Hitler before every ride, they will occasionally instruct the computer to drop parts of the car. That is a standard feature. If you do the V sign, it will engage autopilot and crash you into the nearest wall. Pro-tip: if you want to do some sort of anti-nazi activity in your Cybershit, do it in winter, or early spring, as the "truck" can't do fuck, as the wheels don't work on snow or mud.

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

"I bought a very expensive piece of shit, and everyone else thinks it's a piece of a shit, but when I try to convince them that it's not a piece of shit... it ends up doing piece of shit things. I just don't get it."

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago

I also really liked this part

"[...]I love Teslas," he says. "I'm just trying to share what's going on to better help the engineers to fix this super fast."

He's just so cute, the way he's keeping his copes up despite everything

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[–] [email protected] 51 points 2 weeks ago

Toughest truck ever built, bullet proof, yada yada yada.

Well apparently it's not even wind proof. 🤣🤣🤣

[–] [email protected] 50 points 2 weeks ago

Ah, Spring. When the Swasticars shed their winter coats...

[–] [email protected] 33 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

The fuck is this website ?

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago

You went further than I did. I closed the tab as soon as I got that "press and hold" crap. If they value their page that much, they might as well keep it.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Elon promise: 10nm precision Elon Delivers: truck stuck with glue.

I think the problem with Tesla is that they have too many legacy hires making decisions.

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[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 weeks ago

Because the truck is embarrassed, it's trying to mask itself

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Whatever glue they're using has a different expansion/contraction rate than the stainless steel, and the fairly smooth metal doesn't give much surface area to hold, anyway. So in cold or hot days, you're going to see separation.

And it doesn't help when they don't even glue the right pattern from the factory.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I find this offensive, it can't possibly be true, because Elon knows more than anybody else on this planet about production. He has said so himself!!
And one thing we know for sure, is that you can trust Elon. We will have FSD by 2017, and a manned base on the moon by 2024. And Hyperloop will revolutionize public transportation.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 weeks ago

it just flew off while driving

Lol

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (7 children)

As someone who isn’t a car guy, this is a legit question: Do other manufacturers also glue panels onto plastic parts?

That doesn’t seem like something that would be the norm but maybe I’m clueless.

Edit: Thanks for clarifying. I certainly learned something new.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes, and many planes and jets are glued together too. This isn't your cheap school glue. That said, Tesla's good at fucking up, so who knows what they did wrong. Probably everything.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 weeks ago

They used Elmers because Xelon saw it and thought it said Elons Glue... and then he ate some. I say 'some' but I really meant a few gallons, and that's why he carries around a chainsaw.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Work for a somewhat expensive automotive brand and yes it is very common. We have cars from $60k to over $400k and beyond, and they all are glued together everywhere you look, that or plastic clips, very little is actually bolted on. Sometimes because in a crash it is better that a piece breaks and fly's off then to stay mounted to the car, and in (most) other cases, probably for cost reasons. But it is a common thing, and has been for a long while, and if executed right, it is tried and true, however if you don't have good quality control and workers who don't care, they're not gonna mount pieces right, and create a hazard

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

The rear spoiler thing on my hatchback trunk is starting to peel and I thought it would be easy to remove and repaint myself. But I was surprised to learn it’s just glued on. But it’s just a trim piece of plastic with a brake light and a fluid nozzle in it. Not a body panel per se.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 weeks ago

A Tesla owner who wraps the vehicles for a living has come up with a hypothesis as to why his truck lost a piece of its bodywork at speed.

The car is shit and poorly built. I don't think there is much of a mystery here.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 weeks ago

Teslas have had shit build quality forever. They ripped out so many features from the cockpit and replaced it all with a single shitty display. Elon said it's radical and better, fans sucked it up.

He was a scammer right from the start. He bought the company to ride the green wave and rip off idiots with garbage EVs. Everyone knew his shit cars don't cost much money to build, Chinese EV makers proved it.

He couldn't even turn a profit with his fucking company and had to resort to stock manipulation. People seem to forget what a piece of human garbage Elon was all along.

It's no surprise that garbage truck falls apart. Trade it in for the roadster you fucking idiot!

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 weeks ago

It’s going through puberty obviously

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

Edolf Muskler’s swastikars are self-yeeting out of shame and anxiety at having been built by a corporation owned and run by an unapologetic Nazi. I would, too.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 weeks ago

Lmao

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