I've requested an add price to go to stainless steel, but after talking to the representative, it may not be a viable option. Deep drawing parts such as the retainer-cup is extremely difficult to do without cracking, and tooling overall is much more expensive. Pre-heating may be required, and cold-forming is preferred.
The dozen or so pre-production samples will be made available, but it will be hard to choose amongst the many who are truly worthy. Special consideration will be given to those I've had the distinct pleasure of working with, and learning from. I hope to give at least a couple out to be tested to destruction, just to see how far they go, and how they fail under normal riding conditions.