Magnets Compromise Tesla’s ‘Apocalypse-Ready’ Cybertruck

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For all that’s said about the Cybertruck’s hardiness, the vehicle has quite a few weaknesses—and magnets are now one of them. Cybertruck owners are finding that placing advertorial magnets on the side of the vehicle causes the stainless steel paneling to rust and corrode. While some of the discoloration can be removed, the metal’s pockmarks remain.

On the Cybertruck Owners Club forum, a user named Nick—also known as “Cybertooth”—shared Tuesday that an advertising magnet damaged the passenger door of his truck. “I feel like an idiot,” he wrote. “Decided to put advertising magnets on my CT. Happened to take them off to wash the truck after a month and my heart sunk [sic]…rust and corrosion.”

Nick’s photos reveal a door panel with pitting toward the bottom and some corrosion around what was likely the magnet’s edge. Before taking the photos, Nick used Barkeeper’s Friend (a commercial cleaning agent) and Windex to clean up most of the damage. But stains and white pits with “a slight rough texture to them” remained on Nick’s “Cyberbeast,” the most expensive version of the Cybertruck at $99,990 and up.

Credit: Nick (Cybertooth) via Cybertruck Owners Club

Some commenters suggested DIY solutions, like buffing the area with an electric orbital polisher and more Barkeeper’s Friend. Another suggested covering the area with the magnet again but putting a protective layer in between the ad and the door panel. Still others expressed that they, too, had seen corrosion occur on their Cybertrucks’ exteriors after placing decorative or advertorial magnets on top.

“I had the same with a magnet on my truck,” a commenter with a Cybertruck Founders Edition said. Another person wrote, “I had a small magnet on my tailgate for 4 months and it’s corroded underneath, not too bad but it’s there.”

The fact that an advertising magnet could compromise the appearance—and potentially strength—of the Cybertruck’s stainless steel exterior goes against Tesla’s marketing of the truck as a rugged and versatile pickup alternative. CEO Elon Musk has gone so far as to say the Cybertruck is the ideal vehicle for surviving the apocalypse. It’s no surprise, then, that some people who have dished out $80,000 or more for a Cybertruck are in denial about the vehicle’s fragility. 

“That’s impossible, this is the toughest made truck,” one Cybertruck Owners Club commenter wrote about Nick’s corrosion issue. “I think after a wash and buff you’ll be fine….”

Many Cybertruck owners have also expressed a desire for magnetic wraps, which would enable them to effectively change the vehicle’s color on a whim—and without the long-term consequences of using a conventional wrap on a Cybertruck. It appears that might not be such a great idea after all.