Tesla Cybertruck crumple zones depend on shattering gigacastings — repair cost implications could be dire

[Nick134566]

The giga casting cannot be welded back together (and remain safe).
When broken, it must be replaced.
When "replacing" the gigacasting, the body repair tech must disassemble everything from the gigacasting frame.  The labor to do so would be more than the cyber truck's residual value.

Most responses are incorrect.  Current design frames can be bent back and most reputable body repair shops have the equipment to do so with reasonable labor costs.  No, current cars are not just "totaled" from a bent frame.

The vitriol towards the author over the topic demonstrates the upcoming culture war over the cybertruck.  Stay tuned for more foaming-at-the-mouth defense of it, regardless of facts.

You are full of s***.  My car got side swiped and the only damage was to the rear driver side door and it set off the airbags.  My car was considered totalled. You think frame repair is not costly? The insurance company called mine totalled and you are complaining about a front end collision at 30-50 mph. Secondly that would be a huge black mark on the car if it has frame damage.  The insurance company in ALL situations is going to call a car totaled that has enough damage to cause frame damage especially it you completely smashed in the front end.  Who repairs a car after they were in a serious enough accident to smash in the front end?  ANY car in that type of accident would be considered totalled by all insurance companies.  What a stupid thing to complain about.  Guess what, all totalled cars are more expensive to repair than their initial cost.  That's why insurance companies just pay you out rather than repair. You also said on the initial investment it is cheaper to construct it that way.  So your article should read Tesla's gigcasting is a great cost savings.

The gigacasting is a part that the consumer would NEVER (or EXTREMELY RARE situations) have to replace.  And if it did insurance would cover it. It is only destroyed when the car would also be considered totalled.  What a stupid article.  Find a new job or at least a different topic because you are incompetent at this one.

[Nuh uh]

Perfect example of how someone just writes the s*** they've read on X into a nice article without ever checking any facts and knowing little about crashtests.

[Bob Hope]

We currently have 3 Tesla Model S plaids in our shop with minimal damage to the aluminum casting but is required to be replaced to properly fix. All 3 might end up totaling because of it. We torn down one to basically the shell and insurance says they will probably total it and since the same insurance company has one of the other plaids, they will total that one also without tearing it down first.

Uhh, does model S even have castings? I think you sir might be a straight up liar...

[Ikaris]

The Cybertruck has rear direction, the wheels aren't attached directly to a rear axle spanning the full width of the car. The way they move forward as if they snapped in the crash test video doesn't mean they do and doesn't put into question the build quality of the vehicle.

If anything, the rear wheel continuing forward at the moment of impact means their kinetic energy gets transferred and dissipated just that little bit later, thus is a small benefit to safety.

[Eli jones]

Jon doe.. that is an absolute lie! No model S has a gigacast frame.. yet... get that crap off of here!

[Eli jones]

The giga casting cannot be welded back together (and remain safe).
When broken, it must be replaced.
When "replacing" the gigacasting, the body repair tech must disassemble everything from the gigacasting frame.  The labor to do so would be more than the cyber truck's residual value.

Most responses are incorrect.  Current design frames can be bent back and most reputable body repair shops have the equipment to do so with reasonable labor costs.  No, current cars are not just "totaled" from a bent frame.

The vitriol towards the author over the topic demonstrates the upcoming culture war over the cybertruck.  Stay tuned for more foaming-at-the-mouth defense of it, regardless of facts.

You are full of s***.  My car got side swiped and the only damage was to the rear driver side door and it set off the airbags.  My car was considered totalled. You think frame repair is not costly? The insurance company called mine totalled and you are complaining about a front end collision at 30-50 mph. Secondly that would be a huge black mark on the car if it has frame damage.  The insurance company in ALL situations is going to call a car totaled that has enough damage to cause frame damage especially it you completely smashed in the front end.  Who repairs a car after they were in a serious enough accident to smash in the front end?  ANY car in that type of accident would be considered totalled by all insurance companies.  What a stupid thing to complain about.  Guess what, all totalled cars are more expensive to repair than their initial cost.  That's why insurance companies just pay you out rather than repair. You also said on the initial investment it is cheaper to construct it that way.  So your article should read Tesla's gigcasting is a great cost savings.

The gigacasting is a part that the consumer would NEVER (or EXTREMELY RARE situations) have to replace.  And if it did insurance would cover it. It is only destroyed when the car would also be considered totalled.  What a stupid article.  Find a new job or at least a different topic because you are incompetent at this one.

Thank you for setting this straight.  And, another fact is that the casting CAN be replaced as a whole component (unlike straightening a frame, which weakens the frame and totaling the vehicle) this will allow a vehicle to be repaired and NEVER totalled!!! Think about it please.

[Shan3r]

Karman Ghia lessons lost on these types....  ins and repairs make a nightmare. Please insert excuses here X

[Owning You]

The giga casting cannot be welded back together (and remain safe).
When broken, it must be replaced.
When "replacing" the gigacasting, the body repair tech must disassemble everything from the gigacasting frame.  The labor to do so would be more than the cyber truck's residual value.

Most responses are incorrect.  Current design frames can be bent back and most reputable body repair shops have the equipment to do so with reasonable labor costs.  No, current cars are not just "totaled" from a bent frame.

The vitriol towards the author over the topic demonstrates the upcoming culture war over the cybertruck.  Stay tuned for more foaming-at-the-mouth defense of it, regardless of facts.

If the frame of an automobile is bent it is automatically totalled. No, body shops do NOT straighten frames. It is called a BODY shop, not a frame shop. Straightening a frame should be considered fraud unless that vehicle gets a salvaged title. You clearly do not own a vehicle or a drivers license for that matter. Stick to public transportation clown.

[Jesse]

I am going to save everyone the trouble of speculating. The parts catalog has been released and the price of the front casting is a little over 1k. The estimated time needed to replace a front casting is 6 hours. The entire front crumple zone is designed for rapid replacement. There are not a lot of components in the area like a typical engine bay and the drive units and steering assembly are one unit that is designed to survive front impacts by pushing it underneath the vehicle as the  front crumples. A front collision will cost around 12k to repair in parts and labor and frankly, the repairs are so simple that a mechanically inclined owner could do the work themselves without much trouble.