Thinking about a Tesla truck

[MRG]

meeting a $40k price point would be a huge advantage in the pickup truck segment.

If they are able to meet that...

+10,000

 

[Fermion]

Well, I just put in a order for a dual motor Cybertruck. It is only $100 anyway.

 

[cbo111]

Well, I just put in a order for a dual motor Cybertruck. It is only $100 anyway.

I did the exact same thing. Sort of a speculation order, with the hope that the final version will have softer lines. Most "experts" who have followed Tesla for years believe the price point is going to go up to meet actual cost of the build. Worse case, I get my $100 back in a couple years.

 

[Fermion]

I figure the cost of electronics and batteries will go down by 2022 and the cost of metal will go up, about with inflation.

I just wish that every purchaser of a Cybertruck was eligible to buy 100 shares of pre-IPO SpaceX, issued as a physical certificate with a pretty background of boosters landing side by side or something.

Someone with a twitter account tweet that idea to Elon...he is the type of person who would probably do it on a whim.

 

[NW-Bound]

The failed demo of the "unbreakable" window reminded me of this incidence.

Earlier this year, a driver of a Tesla S got himself in an accident when he hit a tree. The car shortly burst into flames. A policeman along with many bystanders came immediately upon the scene, but they could not open the door because the car did not extend the door handles. All they could do was to watch the man died of smoke inhalation, then burned completely along with the car.

What I find disturbing is that they could not break the glass to rescue the man. The autopsy showed that he suffered no broken bones, and would have walked away from this accident if he could get out.

Now, even with stronger glass, a car can really become a death trap.

And I read further about how the passengers in the rear seat of the Tesla 3 would have a hell of a time escaping from the car in an accident, if the car does not unlock the door. It's a tougher problem with the Tesla X rear gullwing doors. Interested people can search the Web to learn more.

 

[T-Minus]

Will it pull a horse trailer (about 7,500lbs with both horses and all related crap) about 300 miles? How does it do going down a long grade? Is there an integrated brake controller? What about the mirrors? Until I can learn stuff like this, it’s not even up for consideration as replacement for our current truck.

 

[Midpack]

I keep hearing how Tesla's death is imminent from forum members, going back to the old Tesla thread, yet it hasn't occurred. Will any admit publicly they were wrong?

Jury is still out. Too early for either side to declare victory.

Are you kidding Mr T? And this doesn’t show all the prior losses. Revenue up, still thin margins or losses - Model 3 bump is over, and I’d be surprised if the (goofy) truck helps. Model Y? I’d say way too soon to tell, until the next recession maybe.

 

[dirtbiker]

The failed demo of the "unbreakable" window reminded me of this incidence.

Earlier this year, a driver of a Tesla S got himself in an accident when he hit a tree. The car shortly burst into flames. A policeman along with many bystanders came immediately upon the scene, but they could not open the door because the car did not extend the door handles. All they could do was to watch the man died of smoke inhalation, then burned completely along with the car.

What I find disturbing is that they could not break the glass to rescue the man. The autopsy showed that he suffered no broken bones, and would have walked away from this accident if he could get out.

Now, even with stronger glass, a car can really become a death trap.

And I read further about how the passengers in the rear seat of the Tesla 3 would have a hell of a time escaping from the car in an accident, if the car does not unlock the door. It's a tougher problem with the Tesla X rear gullwing doors. Interested people can search the Web to learn more.

But how often does a situation like this actually happen? This reminds me of a guy who never wore his seat belt. His reasoning was that he didn't want to get trapped in the car if he ever crashed into the water.

This being said, I would like to See Tesla address this issue somehow. But if given the option of 'unbreakable' glass in any vehicle, I'd gladly take it.

 

[ERD50]

Will it pull a horse trailer (about 7,500lbs with both horses and all related crap) about 300 miles? How does it do going down a long grade? Is there an integrated brake controller? ...

Any EV (or hybrid) relies on regenerative braking. That is, it runs the motors as generators, which creates a drag on the car, and captures that energy to charge the batteries, instead of wasting it by turning it into heat as traditional friction brakes do.

But if the battery is already near full charge, it may not be able to absorb this extra energy from braking. In an ICE car/truck, you downshift and use the engine for braking. On a long downhill grade, you can burn up your brakes if you don't do this. Or sometimes overheat them to the point that any residual moisture in the brake fluid turns to steam, which is compressible, and renders the brakes near useless.

So going down a long grade in an EV with a near full battery could be problematic. And in this context, "problematic" means: "Oh cr@p!!!! I don't have any brakes, and I can't downshift!!!".

-ERD50

 

[Chuckanut]

The failed demo of the "unbreakable" window reminded me of this incidence.

I am also reminded of this incident from way back. (Note: this may be apocryphal.)

Boeing was working on a new jet plane. They wanted to test the pilot's window to see how it would react if a bird hit the window at high speeds. So, they developed a cannon to shoot bird carcasses at the window. They send a guy to the grocery store to buy some whole chickens. He returned, placed the chicken in the cannon and FRIED!! The chicken body smashed through the window and penetrated into the cabin causing great damage. The engineers where shocked!

Then somebody noticed the newly purchased chicken body. It was still frozen.

 

[aja8888]

Any EV (or hybrid) relies on regenerative braking. That is, it runs the motors as generators, which creates a drag on the car, and captures that energy to charge the batteries, instead of wasting it by turning it into heat as traditional friction brakes do.

But if the battery is already near full charge, it may not be able to absorb this extra energy from braking. In an ICE car/truck, you downshift and use the engine for braking. On a long downhill grade, you can burn up your brakes if you don't do this. Or sometimes overheat them to the point that any residual moisture in the brake fluid turns to steam, which is compressible, and renders the brakes near useless.

So going down a long grade in an EV with a near full battery could be problematic. And in this context, "problematic" means: "Oh cr@p!!!! I don't have any brakes, and I can't downshift!!!".



-ERD50

I pulled a horse trailer for several years, even down steep, long grades. Trailer brakes are the key. But they should be supplemented with brake effort from the towing vehicle.

 

[braumeister]

I am also reminded of this incident from way back. (Note: this may be apocryphal.)

Alas, it is indeed apocryphal. At least Snopes couldn't verify it.

But the chicken gun is definitely a real thing.

 

[REWahoo]

I am also reminded of this incident from way back. (Note: this may be apocryphal.)

Boeing was working on a new jet plane. They wanted to test the pilot's window to see how it would react if a bird hit the window at high speeds. So, they developed a cannon to shoot bird carcasses at the window. They send a guy to the grocery store to buy some whole chickens. He returned, placed the chicken in the cannon and FRIED!! The chicken body smashed through the window and penetrated into the cabin causing great damage. The engineers where shocked!

Then somebody noticed the newly purchased chicken body. It was still frozen.

Are you suggesting the Tesla folks forgot to thaw the steel ball?

 

[ERD50]

Are you suggesting the Tesla folks forgot to thaw the steel ball?

Now I'm picturing the guy tossing a crucible of molten steel at the window! I wonder how that would go? Hope he has an asbestos suit (or whatever they use now-a-days).

-ERD50

 

[cyber888]

The top level version can achieve 500 miles of driving on one charge and tow 17,000 lbs. It can also go from 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, faster than a low-entry Ferrari. And the body cannot be dinged by a sledgehammer. And it has Full Self-driving capability. Starts at $39,900. Well, there was a niche market that bought the big Hummer when it came out at $100,000+. Why not. The front lights of the Cybertruck looks like the Knightrider car.

I would buy it - if I need a truck, because the chassis can't be dinged, and it does not need gas at all. But I'm a station wagon guy (never SUV), so that 600 Horsepower Audi Beast of a Wagon is a ice catcher.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/refreshing-revolting-2020-audi-rs-6-avant/

 

[Fermion]

But how often does a situation like this actually happen? This reminds me of a guy who never wore his seat belt. His reasoning was that he didn't want to get trapped in the car if he ever crashed into the water.

This being said, I would like to See Tesla address this issue somehow. But if given the option of 'unbreakable' glass in any vehicle, I'd gladly take it.

Also, there are many more incidents of people being injured or even killed by objects being thrown from overpasses and penetrating the windshield. Maybe those are more common than the person not being able to break the windshield to escape and thus unbreakable glass is a net safety win?

 

[cyber888]

The mirror in the Cybertruck that you look at in front (to see what's on your tail) is actually a camera video feed.

Will it pull a horse trailer (about 7,500lbs with both horses and all related crap) about 300 miles? How does it do going down a long grade? Is there an integrated brake controller? What about the mirrors? Until I can learn stuff like this, it’s not even up for consideration as replacement for our current truck.

 

[ERD50]

The top level version can achieve 500 miles of driving on one charge and tow 17,000 lbs. It can also go from 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, faster than a low-entry Ferrari. And the body cannot be dinged by a sledgehammer. And it has Full Self-driving capability. Starts at $39,900. Well, there was a niche market that bought the big Hummer when it came out at $100,000+. Why not. The front lights of the Cybertruck looks like the Knightrider car.
....

Good luck on finding one at $39,900. I still don't see the promised $35,000 Model 3, and the tax credit is running out soon, raising the effective price by $7,500 over when that promise was made.

It sure will be a niche market. The question is, how small of a niche? I really wonder if they can even recoup their R&D from the "I always wanted an ugly truck" market niche?

BTW, is there a group that likes the looks of that thing? Maybe it's just us old pharts but I haven't seen any glowing comments from any of those new-fangled labeled age groups (I can never keep straight the labels and ages - why not just say "20 something's" or "30 something's"?).

-ERD50

 

[Chuckanut]

Are you suggesting the Tesla folks forgot to thaw the steel ball?

That is something I did not think about. Or, in making the prototype, they put in ordinary glass, never considering that the Big Boss would actually throw something at it.

OTOH, Mr. Musk is famous for his make it, test it, fix it way of designing products. So, maybe we simply witnessed another test.

 

[Fermion]

Form over function or function over form?

 

[Midpack]

Good luck on finding one at $39,900. I still don't see the promised $35,000 Model 3, and the tax credit is running out soon, raising the effective price by $7,500 over when that promise was made.

It’s come and gone, you missed it.

February 2019: Tesla announced that the $35,000 Model 3 was finally available to order. It was said to be a stripped-out version of the Model 3 with cloth seats and a "Standard Interior" configuration with few standard features, priced starting at $36,200 ($35,000 plus a $1200 destination charge).

April 2019: Tesla removed the Model 3 Standard Range from its online ordering system and announced that it would be a special-order-only model available only at physical Tesla stores. The company also said that the Standard Range model would now be a software-limited version of the Standard Range Plus with the "Partial Premium Interior" and with certain features locked out, rather than the previously announced model with cloth seats and a "Standard" interior setup.

One of many sources last Spring https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a28691921/tesla-model-3-standard-range-price-change/

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

Any EV (or hybrid) relies on regenerative braking. That is, it runs the motors as generators, which creates a drag on the car, and captures that energy to charge the batteries, instead of wasting it by turning it into heat as traditional friction brakes do.

But if the battery is already near full charge, it may not be able to absorb this extra energy from braking. In an ICE car/truck, you downshift and use the engine for braking. On a long downhill grade, you can burn up your brakes if you don't do this. Or sometimes overheat them to the point that any residual moisture in the brake fluid turns to steam, which is compressible, and renders the brakes near useless.

So going down a long grade in an EV with a near full battery could be problematic. And in this context, "problematic" means: "Oh cr@p!!!! I don't have any brakes, and I can't downshift!!!".

-ERD50

Incorrect. One would go down the long grade and simply apply the regular brakes. Same as you would an ICE car. When the battery is full in a Tesla, a notification appears on your monitor that "regenerative braking is limited". So you don't capture the energy to charge the battery while driving until the battery lowers its full charge.

The standard brakes in an EV are the same as an ICE car.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

Are you kidding Mr T? And this doesn’t show all the prior losses. Revenue up, still thin margins or losses - Model 3 bump is over, and I’d be surprised if the (goofy) truck helps. Model Y? I’d say way too soon to tell, until the next recession maybe.

I'm referring to the folks from that thread who stated Tesla would soon be toast. Yet here we are, 2 or 3 years later, and we are watching more models being released. More factories being built (Germany being the newest location designated to get one).

Several forum members were quite skeptical about Tesla's survival. I haven't heard anybody admit they were wrong.

 

[Fermion]

You could also turn up the radio really loud to drain the battery while you are going downhill.

 

[btdt22]

I like people/companies who think outside the box. Space X and Tesla are a great example. Ordered a Tesla cyber-truck for my wife two days ago