Thin, weak body panels

[LevelHeaded]

supposed use of 3mm (1/8") stainless on their body panels

If that’s true, sounds insanely heavy… especially given it’s no longer an exoskeleton/now uses a unibody for structural integrity a la most cars and CUVs on the road today

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[itselectric]

FWIW- I've had quite a few EV's since 2012: A Plug-in-Prius, a Volt, a Bolt, a Model Y, a Model 3, a BMW i3 and the R1T. By far, the R1T has the most fragile body panels of all those vehicles. The most robust IMO are the fiberglass/carbon fiber body panels on the i3.. car doors literally bounce off them with no damage. I would absolutely love for Rivian to use something that strong, durable and lightweight on their vehicles.

One of the main reasons I'm even interested in the CyberTruck is their supposed use of 3mm (1/8") stainless on their body panels. That is massive thickness for automotive use and should be almost dent resistant in normal use (not including Walmart and Home Depot parking lot use).

I have a VW ID4 and it feels like a normal car. You have to hit it with something to put a dent. No oil canning at all.

 

[NY_Rob]

I have a VW ID4 and it feels like a normal car. You have to hit it with something to put a dent. No oil canning at all.

Same with the Bolt and Model 3 (except for the aluminum hood on both).

 

[NY_Rob]

If that’s true, sounds insanely heavy… especially given it’s no longer an exoskeleton/now uses a unibody for structural integrity a la most cars and CUVs on the road today

That was the last spec they published, but as with all things Elon.. it needs to be verified on an actual retail production vehicle.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Yes. Compared to my 10 yro diesel X5, the R1T’s body feels like a soda can.

 

[thrill]

...The most robust IMO are the fiberglass/carbon fiber body panels on the i3.. car doors literally bounce off them with no damage. I would absolutely love for Rivian to use something that strong, durable and lightweight on their vehicles...​

The panels are an "injection molded thermoplastic" (made, FWIW, from a polypropylene-ethylene-propylene-diene monomer), and they do indeed work very well. I've had more than one humongous SUV park beside me and slam their door into the vehicle and it just pops back out.

When BMW abandoned the i3 for the god-awful big-mouthed redesigns, I abandoned BMW (the i3s was my 11th BMW). If Rivian would put some serious focus on quality instead of pursuing "the cheapening" they could own the EV game.

There's a good detailed article on the i3's composites if you're interested: https://www.compositesworld.com/articles/bmw-leipzig-the-epicenter-of-i3-production-

 

[NY_Rob]

^ Thanks @thrill .. interesting read regarding the i3. No doubt it's the most complex automobile (materials wise) ever produced!
I love our little i3, it just gets the job done with no fanfare and in a super efficient way. The research and development BMW put into the i3 literally put BMW years ahead of any other automaker which is why it was so sad to see the short sighted decision (made by a now departed exec) to cancel the i3 after producing 250,000 of them. If they had continued with the materials development and production advances they pioneered in 2013 when producing the first i3's there's no telling were they would be today vs playing catch-up with other EV makers.

 

[mini2nut]

Here is a video frame of a Cybertruck RC (Release Candidate) that was being transported recently in a trailer.

I would guess that the SS quarter panel is roughly 2mm thick (thickness of a nickel).

 

[mini2nut]

They definitely don’t hold up well to door dings

Ouch!!! Door dings are a huge pet peeve of mine.

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