How Hemp Could Save The Cybertuck

The Cybertrucks, controversial angular construction and cool factor is defecated upon by it’s parasitic stainless steel exoskeleton and sad towing range. That steel violates the main tenant when building any vehicle that must be efficient. 

This is especially true with an EV. Good engineers take measures, like using a structural battery to ensure the overall vehicle is lightweight. All those grams and pounds add up! 

Those ‘super cool’ stainless steel panels ensure towing long distance a charging extravaganza if attempted. Not to mention composite panels could have been fit together more uniformly and provided the same level of “bulletproof” protection as steel. 

The Cybertruck body panels should have been made from hemp composite. The frame could have been built with either carbon fiber or hemp composites as well.

This would have drastically cut the weight of this 8-10Klb electric piggy. Using hemp-based composite materials rather than stainless steel would have been truly game changing. This shift would have offered significant advantages, from weight savings, range, to cost-effectiveness and sustainability, not to mention economic aspects of Tesla cash investing in American Hemp, or Chinese hemp for the Shanghai factory. 

Hemp vs. Stainless Steel: A Comparative Analysis

1. Weight Reduction and Performance

Stainless steel is renowned for its strength but is also incredibly heavy. The Cybertruck’s exoskeleton is constructed from ultra-hard 30X cold-rolled stainless steel, which adds to the vehicle’s overall weight, impacting its efficiency and range. In contrast, hemp fiber composites are remarkably lightweight while maintaining impressive durability.

Hemp composites have been found to be 50-70% lighter than traditional steel, which means a Cybertruck made with hemp body panels could significantly improve energy efficiency and increase range per charge. Less weight also leads to better acceleration, handling, and reduced wear on tires and suspension components.

2. Manufacturing Costs: Higher or Lower?

At first glance, stainless steel appears to be the more industrially efficient material due to its established supply chains and automated fabrication processes. However, producing and shaping stainless steel requires:

  • Expensive forging, bending, and cutting equipment
  • Energy-intensive processes
  • Complex robotic manufacturing

Hemp-based composite panels, on the other hand, can be grown, harvested, and processed with significantly lower energy inputs. While the infrastructure for large-scale hemp composite production is still developing, it has the potential to become far more cost-efficient due to these factors:

  • Regenerative Growth: Hemp is a rapidly renewable resource that matures in just a few months, whereas steel requires energy-intensive mining and refining.
  • Simpler Molding: Unlike steel, which requires precise industrial machining, hemp composites can be molded into complex shapes with relative ease, reducing manufacturing costs.
  • Fewer Emissions: The production of hemp composites generates significantly lower CO₂ emissions compared to steel production.

Capital expenditures obviously would need to be made but, costs could be equal to or lower than steel due to hemps abundant and renewable nature.

3. Strength and Safety Considerations

Studies have shown that hemp composites have impressive impact resistance. For example, a study conducted by the University of Stuttgart found that natural fiber composites, including hemp, demonstrated excellent energy absorption in crash simulations, making them a viable alternative to traditional automotive materials. Bio-composites, such as hemp and flax mixed with bio-resins, can absorb crash energy more effectively than traditional metals (pioneered by Henry Ford), offering better crumple zones while keeping the passenger cabin intact. Additionally, these materials are more resistant to corrosion compared to stainless steel, which could extend the Cybertruck’s lifespan in harsh conditions.

Sustainability Benefits: A Green Revolution in Auto Manufacturing

  • Carbon Negative Production: Hemp absorbs more CO than it emits during growth and processing, making it an ideal material for reducing vehicle manufacturing’s carbon footprint.
  • Biodegradability: Unlike metals, which require extensive recycling, hemp composites can be broken down naturally or repurposed.
  • Reduced Mining Dependency: Shifting toward hemp-based vehicle manufacturing could decrease reliance on mining industries, leading to reduced environmental degradation and land exploitation.

The Future of Tesla Depends on More Than The Battery

Tesla has always been at the forefront of disruptive innovation, but the use of stainless steel was moronic. Tesla ignored the of the core tenets of building an EV, particularly in utilizing lightweight materials. Integrating hemp-based composite (or even carbon fiber) materials into the Cybertruck and future vehicles could be a step toward the next revolution in sustainable manufacturing and lightweight EV’s.

The long-term benefits in terms of weight reduction, cost-efficiency, and environmental impact make hemp an undeniably promising material (on par with carbon fiber) for the automotive industry to utilize as we move towards better efficiency. But until then this feels more like a way to subsidize steel for rockets.  

The world is already starting to integrate Hemp into industrial uses.  Given its sustainability benefits and potential cost savings over time, it’s only a matter of time before hemp becomes a major part of every Tesla. BMW, has already incorporated hemp composites into some of its vehicle interiors, demonstrating the viability of the material and setting a precedent for future adoption in structural components.