Gary Zhou 
Key Points
- 💎 Elon Musk is considering offering a tungsten carbide coating option for the Tesla Cybertruck to make it scratch-proof.
- 🚗 The Cybertruck’s stainless steel body is already durable, but this coating would enhance its resistance to scratches.
- 🗨️ Musk mentioned that the coating would be “scratch-proof to everything below diamond hardness.”
- 🚘 The use of tungsten carbide in the automotive industry for coatings is not entirely unheard of, as Porsche has used it for brake rotors.
- 🛠️ Tungsten carbide coatings are known for their strong resistance to abrasion, erosion, and wear, making the Cybertruck more durable.
With its stainless steel body, the Tesla Cybertruck is already on track to become one of the market’s most durable vehicles. But in a recent post on X, formerly Twitter, CEO Elon Musk suggested that Tesla might be able to come up with an option that would make the Cybertruck even more durable.
Jokes about the Cybertruck’s durability have been abounding since the all-electric pickup truck made its debut in late 2019. When images of a surprisingly intact Cybertruck that’s been through a rollover test were posted online, electric vehicle enthusiasts joked that the crash-testing machine probably fared worse.
Elon Musk seemed to appreciate these lighthearted Cybertruck posts, such as one from Tesla advocate James Douma, who joked that people who try to key Tesla’s all-electric pickup truck would end up ruining their keys. Musk responded that Tesla may actually be able to offer a tungsten carbide coating for the Cybertruck to make the vehicle practically scratch-proof.
“We might be able to offer an optional tungsten carbide coating, which is basically scratch-proof to everything below diamond hardness,” Musk wrote.
If Tesla does offer a tungsten carbide coating for the Cybertruck, it would truly make the all-electric pickup truck extra durable. It would, if any, really be resistant to scratches. Tesla owners would likely appreciate this, considering the number of keying incidents related to parked Teslas over the years.
While the idea of using tungsten carbide as a coating for the Cybertruck may sound crazy, the material has been used in the automotive industry. Porsche, in particular, has used tungsten carbide-coated brake rotors for its vehicles to foster better performance, less wear, less brake dust, and no rust.
As noted by Linde, a global multinational chemical company founded in Germany in 1879, tungsten carbide, when combined with a small portion of metallic powder, can be turning into carbide coatings that are known for their strong resistance to abrasion, erosion, and wear. Needless to say, a Cybertruck coated in the material would probably survive a lot of punishment — and then some.
