Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk announced Tuesday that the automaker is changing the alloy for making its upcoming Cybertruck all-electric pickup vehicle.What Happened The Space Exploration Company or SpaceX's Starship rocket will see a similar change, according to Musk. "We're rapidly changing alloy constituents [and] forming methods, so traditional names like 304L will become more of an approximation," the billionaire entrepreneur said in a tweet.> Yes> > — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2020Tesla and SpaceX are working together to create new materials, Electrek reported.In 2016, Musk had hired former Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) alloy expert Charles Kuehmann to head research into materials engineering at the two companies. Why It Matters At the time of Cybertruck's unveiling last year, Tesla said the Cybertruck's exoskeleton would be made from an Ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled stainless-steel structural skin similar to Tesla armor glass, Electrek noted. Musk had claimed then that the vehicle would be fabricated out of the same material used in SpaceX's Starship rocket.The automaker had also said that "if there was something better, we'd use it," while alluding to the need for eliminating dents and damage and affording passengers maximum protection.The production of the Cybertruck is slated for 2021 with the lowest-cost model priced at $39,000. Tesla has zeroed in on Tulsa, Oklahoma and Austin, Texas to build a manufacturing facility for the pickup truck. Price Action Tesla shares closed 4.5% lower at $1,568.36 on Tuesday. The shares 0.7% higher in the after-hours session.Photo Credit: Tesla Inc.See more from Benzinga * Tesla Launches Lease Option For Model Y SUVs At 9 A Month * Chinese Electric Vehicles Maker Xpeng Raises 0M After Reports Of US IPO * Twitter Hackers Downloaded Personal Data Of Some Affected Users, Company Says(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
