Who knew stainless steel might not be such a good idea for the exterior of an electric SUV? The entire automotive industry, that’s who.

FDA approved stainless steel (316L) doesn’t actually rust. Otherwise you’d have sprinkles of rust in your food and drink from production, and you’d have to buy new utensils and a kitchen sink because they’ve rusted.

There are different grades of stainless steel with their varying properties.

316L absolutely can corrode. Add a bit of acid in the water and it will start showing rust soon enough. Typically you can find chemical compatibility charts for various metal grades to see what does and doesn’t work with a metal.

316L is perfectly capable of rusting especially under pitting corrosion. I don’t know who told you it is physically incapable. It is just unlikely under normal food conditions.

Rust is just iron oxide, it’s not a big deal in food in small quantities.

Though alloys containing chromium might be a different story.

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