Tesla Cybertruck Owners Are Reporting Vandalism Incidents Involving ‘Invisible Paint,’ But It Turns Out to Be a Factory Defect

Over the past few months, Tesla Cybertruck owners have been reporting vandalism incidents involving invisible paint.

This hydrophobic paint is only visible when the vehicle is wet and spells out the letters “MPS, BVT, WC, BLT, 36NJ.”

Since these letters seemed a bit nonsensical, there was confusion about why someone would go to the trouble of applying a hydrophobic coating to vandalize a Cybertruck and spell out these letters, which aren’t particularly offensive.

Recently, a Cybertruck owner who wishes to remain anonymous shared that he, too, has been a victim of this invisible attack.

The Cybertruck owner writes…

“Any ideas on how to remove a hydrochromic paint? Someone vandalized my truck. It only appears when wet. Shaking my head.”

Below his post, the Cybertruck owner shared a picture of his B-pillar. As you can see above, when the vehicle gets wet, the letters MPS appear out of nowhere.

The Cybertruck owner blames vandals for this damage, but further investigation suggests it was Tesla’s own work rather than the act of a hooded criminal.

Looking at the comments, several Cybertruck owners who experienced similar acts of “vandalism” reported the incidents to Tesla, and the EV maker has taken responsibility.

The issue here seems to be that Tesla is using a wax pen to mark these letters on the Cybertruck, which are simply codes indicating the delivery center where the vehicle will go to after leaving the factory.

A fellow Cybertruck owner, Christian Maciel, who faced similar issues, writes…

“This happened to me as well. It’s from the factory. Tesla will fix it under warranty.”

Below his post, Christian uploaded a screenshot of his Tesla service report, confirming that Tesla was responsible for the “invisible" mark.

The Tesla service note reads…

“Concern: Customer states: Requests service for a persistent mark ('BVT) on the driver-side B-pillar of their new Cybertruck. The mark is only visible when the surface is wet.

Other owners report different initials (MPS, BLT, WC) with the same symptom. This has been confirmed as residue from the factory's protective film after removal. Since this is a known factory issue, I am requesting a complete removal under warranty. 

Repair Notes: Technician inspected the driver-side B-pillar and confirmed a persistent mark (‘BVT’) that appears when wet, identified as factory protective film residue.

The issue was caused by residual material left after removing the factory protective film. The technician replaced the left-hand B-pillar applique to fix the problem. The repair was validated by ensuring the mark no longer appears when wet.

Correction: Applique - B-Pillar - LH - Remove and Replace

Parts Replaced or Added

B PILLAR APPLIQUE - LEFT HAND(1848575-00-F)

Quantity - 1

Pay Type: Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty”

In Christopher’s case, Tesla appears to have accepted responsibility for the invisible paint and replaced his B-Pillar applique free of charge under warranty.

Looking at the comments, other Cybertruck owners also agreed that the issue was caused by Tesla.

However, a fellow Cybertruck owner, Mike Brucker, disagrees with Christopher and the Tesla technician about the cause of these marks.

Mike says that the “invisible paint” was caused by a wax pen rather than a protective covering.

Mike shared a picture of his Cybertruck B-pillar with wax pen writing that says “36 NJ” before it was cleaned off, leaving an invisible mark.

As you can see, the letters are from a wax pen rather than the protective covering Tesla uses on the B-pillar applique.

For now, this appears to solve the mystery of the invisible paint bandit. However, please let me know what you think in the comments.

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Image: Screenshot from Cybertruck Owners Only group on Facebook. Reposted under fair use copyright law.

For more information, check out: A Tesla Cybertruck Owner Shares That His Door Got Stuck After Leaving His Truck Parked In The Rain. He Adds, “Water Got Into The Door, & It Only Opens If I Roll Down The Windows First”

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.