Tesla to use direct-injected PU paint to speed up Cybercab production

According to comments from Tesla’s vice-president of vehicle engineering, Lars Moravy, the company intends to integrate color into the plastic panels as they are formed, rather than applying paint in a separate finishing stage.

The approach effectively combines moulding and finishing into a single step. Instead of stamping metal panels and sending them through multiple coating and curing stages, Tesla plans to mould exterior panels from plastic and inject a polyurethane coating directly during the process. 

In practice, this resembles an in-mould coating (IMC) process. Polyurethane paint is introduced into the mould after the plastic substrate has formed, bonding to the surface while the component is still warm. The result is a thin coating integrated with the panel rather than sitting on top of it as a traditional sprayed finish.

Tesla says the technique could simplify production by removing one of the most complex stages of vehicle manufacturing. Conventional automotive paint shops occupy large factory footprints and are among the most energy-intensive and environmentally regulated parts of vehicle assembly because of solvent emissions and curing requirements.

If implemented at scale, the direct-injection approach could therefore reduce capital expenditure, factory space and production time. Because color is embedded in the material, Tesla also suggests that minor scratches would not reveal a contrasting substrate, potentially reducing the need for repainting or refinishing.

Tesla’s Cybercab will be produced using its “unboxed” process Unlike typical assembly lines that build vehicles from the ground up, the unboxed process involves constructing vehicle sections simultaneously and then assembling them. This approach increases the number of engineers working on a vehicle simultaneously and improves accessibility for workers and robots, leading to more efficient manufacturing.

A visualisation of the “unboxed” process was recently published on Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s social network, X (formerly Twitter):

The Cybercab, a two-seat autonomous vehicle intended for Tesla’s planned robotaxi network, is currently under development with production targeted for the second half of the decade. 

However, the manufacturing process and production timeline remain subject to confirmation. Tesla has previously announced technologies and products that were later delayed or substantially revised, meaning the industrial viability of the direct-injected PU paint approach will only become clear once vehicles enter series production.

Photo: © Tesla

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