Tesla's Cybertruck

[public hermit]

Any thoughts on Tesla's Cybertruck?

Cybertruck

I like it.

 

[Paulos23]

It reminds me of the flying cars in Bladerunner.

I guess we will find out how practical it is going to be.

 

[civilwarbuff]

I think the only people who will be interested in it will be city people who, in general, have no need of a truck except to look cool. Most who need the cargo space/hauling capacity will probably stick with the usual suspects.....

 

[public hermit]

It reminds me of the flying cars in Bladerunner.

I guess we will find out how practical it is going to be.

I was wondering about practicality, as well.

 

[rockytopva]

My gosh is this truck boxy!

 

[public hermit]

I think the only people who will be interested in it will be city people who, in general, have no need of a truck except to look cool. Most who need the cargo space/hauling capacity will probably stick with the usual suspects.....

It beats F-150 in towing capacity and cargo space. You can run tools directly from the battery and it has a built in air compressor (from the suspension system). Pretty impressive.

Tesla’s Cybertruck Stuns—For Better or For Worse

 

[DamianWarS]

Any thoughts on Tesla's Cybertruck?

Cybertruck

I like it.

reminds me of the delorean. I googled it and it turns out I'm not the only one. maybe it's the whole futuristic theme they're going for.

it also looks like it was designed in minecraft, maybe that's the demographic they are going for.

 

[civilwarbuff]

Seems like Fortune and I agree on this:

"But for many traditional truck buyers, those utility advantages may simply be ignored in the face of the truck’s extreme aesthetics. Musk’s big design swing seems more likely to attract a different kind of buyer.

“They’ve talked about marketing to a luxury consumer who wants to own a truck,” says Altman, which is a small though potentially influential market segment. In particular, the truck's promised performance, including both a 2.9 second 0-60 acceleration and pneumatic suspension for off-roading, seem more aimed at weekend fun than workday utility."
Tesla’s Cybertruck Stuns—For Better or For Worse

 

[zippy2006]

Any thoughts on Tesla's Cybertruck?

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned yet is reliability. Tesla struggles in that area, and it might be a sensitive spot for truckers.

 

[public hermit]

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned yet is reliability. Tesla struggles in that area, and it might be a sensitive spot for truckers.

That's a good point. All of my trucks have been reliable. It's one of the many reasons for having one, I would say.

 

[civilwarbuff]

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned yet is reliability. Tesla struggles in that area, and it might be a sensitive spot for truckers.

They have especially struggled in the delivery area. A big question is when it needs service are you going to have to ship it somewhere like you do with the cars?

 

[rockytopva]

I must go along with an analysis here... "It looks weird ... like, really weird," wrote Sanford Bernstein

Tesla Cybertruck: Elon Musk pickup design stuns, aims at niche buyers

 

[SimplyMe]

Seems like Fortune and I agree on this:

"But for many traditional truck buyers, those utility advantages may simply be ignored in the face of the truck’s extreme aesthetics. Musk’s big design swing seems more likely to attract a different kind of buyer.

“They’ve talked about marketing to a luxury consumer who wants to own a truck,” says Altman, which is a small though potentially influential market segment. In particular, the truck's promised performance, including both a 2.9 second 0-60 acceleration and pneumatic suspension for off-roading, seem more aimed at weekend fun than workday utility."
Tesla’s Cybertruck Stuns—For Better or For Worse

I can't agree with the "luxury buyer" idea -- considering the Cybertruck costs roughly the same as other trucks. I can agree with marketing to different buyers, at least to some degree. One of the things that Musk pointed out is how there is a huge amount of "brand loyalty" with pickups, much more than with cars. I suspect the Cybertruck will largely be marketed more towards urban buyers, who don't have the same long term loyalty to Ford or Chevy -- and also have better access to Tesla sales and service.

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned yet is reliability. Tesla struggles in that area, and it might be a sensitive spot for truckers.

My understanding, this is a major reason for the unconventional look of the car. It is much easier to replace a flat, stainless steel panel than to get the correct curved piece of metal. It is also missing the complicated gull wing doors, that caused so many of the issues on the Model X.

The big issue, to me, is going to be how well it can work in everyday use for people. Ideally, it would need to last a day for a person, where they can recharge the truck overnight. The question is, for someone that frequently tows, how much efficiency will towing rob from the truck -- for a gas powered truck, the loss of efficiency can be offset by the speed of refueling, whereas the Cybertruck will take most of an hour to recharge (with a fast charger).

If the charge can last a normal day of use, then it starts to make a lot of sense. This is doubly true if they need the "extra" features, like being able to use the truck's battery to power electric equipment they use daily. If the charge can't last a normal day, then it makes no sense for a person to buy it, due to the slow recharging.

 

[Kenny'sID]

Hummer's ugly little brother.

Being a fan of e bikes, I'd probably like everything else about it.

 

[wing2000]

...curious to see if the electric ATV is eventually offered for sale separately (currently, it's an add on).

 

[Chesterton]

I'm guessing aesthetics were an afterthought here. I've seen toaster ovens with more elegant design.

 

[zippy2006]

...how dare you! I love toast!

 

[wing2000]

I'm guessing aesthetics were an afterthought here. I've seen toaster ovens with more elegant design.

...design flexibility is the trade off in using a hardened steel exoskeleton:


The problem with this hardened steel exterior is that traditional auto-body stamping machines are made to deal with much smaller, more malleable pieces of sheet metal. These machines take a flat piece of metal and then smash it against a mold, creating the curve of each body panel separately.

But since the panels of the Cybertruck are so stiff, machines aren’t strong enough to stamp them. In order to add curves to the Cybertruck’s body, Tesla would need to build a whole new type of stamping press — or just design the car without curves. They did the latter.

https://ww.electrek.co/2019/11/24/t...rwise-it-would-break-the-machines-to-make-it/

 

[Go Braves]

Well I hate the way it looks but like the concept. I love trucks. I hate my current truck on account of how it just guzzles up gas.

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

When I see it I can't help thinking of either this..

Or this