Gold-plated Cybertruck becomes latest $60,000 exercise in excess for Tesla's electric pickup truck ^↺

The Tesla Cybertruck has only been available for a few months, but it is already no stranger to controversy, with everything from faulty accelerator pedals to lacklustre off-road performance. One thing that has at least been interesting to see is the various wraps and customisation options that have come from Cybertruck owners, many of whom seem like the types of people with a strange combination of unorthodox taste and more plenty of money to spend.

The latest odd Cybertruck customisastion escapade sees Zack Nelson from the YouTube channel JerryRigEverything creating a gold-plated Cybertruck. As it turns out, gold plating the Cybertruck is a little more involved than it would otherwises be, thanks to the steel's protective oxidation layer.

The electroplating process saw Nelson and a team of experts from a company called Gold Plating Services remove the plastic trim off the side of the Cybertruck to expose as much of the stainless steel body as possible. The steel was then thoroughly cleaned with a solution that made the stainless steel body panels hydrophillic. This was followed up by treating the steel with an acidic solution that also applied a thin layer of gold to prevent re-oxidation of the steel panels.

Throughout the cleaning process, the requisite chemicals were applied using a brush connected to an anode, while the cathode was magnetically attached to the body panel being treated. After the steel had been stripped and acid etched, the team used the anode to apply a purple goop containing 99.7% pure 24-karate gold to the Cybertruck, depositing a microscopically thin layer of gold onto the surface of the Cybertruck's body.

Despite the incredibly thin layer of gold on the Cybertruck's surface, Nelson calculated that the amount of gold applied to the Cybertruck's body cost a total $60,000. The end result may not be for everyone, but it's definitely striking, if nothing else.

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