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The stainless steel body of Tesla's Cybertruck is reportedly leading to issues with gaps in between the panels
(www.businessinsider.com)
this post was submitted on 28 Nov 2023
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If they were smart, they would pursue nitinol body panels or a similar memory metal. Get a ding in a panel? Take a heat gun to it or leave it out in the sun and the dent is gone. Another benefit would be a ~25% weight reduction.
All they would have to do is figure how to make large panels; which is no easy task, but neither is rocket science. The patent licensing could be a major revenue stream.
Isn't this what Saturn did or is nitinol some sort of metal alloy?
AFAIK they did plastic fenders and nothing with "exotic" alloys.
Nitinol is an alloy of 60% nickel and 40% titanium (usually). It can be used in memory materials or to capture energy from heat. Basically it can be bent when it's below a certain temperature (like a regular metal) and it creates force to restore its shape when it's heated.
Yes, I did learn that by playing modded Factorio. Why do you ask?