Thinking about a Tesla truck

[brewer12345]

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.

 

[jim584672]

I heard it runs on 1.21 gigawatts to power the flux capacitor.

 

[foxfirev5]

If that thing is a truck and sells despite its appearance, I will resign myself to the fact that I am totally out of touch.

 

[GravitySucks]

The shape and fugglyness will be excusable if helps with the Stealth radar tech and glancing rocket blows.

 

[Fermion]

We are all mostly out of touch. Everything today is spelled with fewer or different letters than normal, has you post all your personal info so they can sell it, and goes up wildly despite all rational thought.

I really don't see why this truck would be any different. If we all think it looks ugly and will never sell, it will probably be the most popular model ever.

 

[NW-Bound]

Hah! You are my new hero NW! That fleet lineup you have is ideal! Who you kidding. Everyone should own a Voyager at least once.

Hey, back in 1986, Chrysler defined the minivan category with the Voyager. Before it, there were only the full-sized van and the station wagon categories. You can also count the Chevy Suburban, which is a cross between a van and a station wagon.

I bought it to haul my first-born kid, and boy, we made many road trips with it. My wife could move from the right seat to the rear seat to tend to the kid, and it was great. There was nothing prior to this on the market. Minivans ruled!

The ability to haul 4x8 plywood with the gate closed, I discovered later. But I am sure that was not by accident, because the dimensions were snug.

 

[NW-Bound]

Back in those years, there was a movie where a gangster drove a minivan because it was so cool.

I am trying to remember this movie.

 

[aja8888]

Hey, back in 1986, Chrysler defined the minivan category with the Voyager. Before it, there were only the full-sized van and the station wagon categories. You can also count the Chevy Suburban, which is a cross between a van and a station wagon.

I bought it to haul my first-born kid, and boy, we made many road trips with it. My wife could move from the right seat to the rear seat to tend to the kid, and it was great. There was nothing prior to this on the market. Minivans ruled!

The ability to haul 4x8 plywood with the gate closed, I discovered later. But I am sure that was not by accident, because the dimensions were snug.

We have a late model Dodge Grand Caravan right now. Traded the Hyundai Santa Fe for it after the recent California driving trip. We will need motorized wheelchair platform capability in the near future and the Dodge GC can be easily set up for it with aftermarket kit parts. Also, I can carry a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood in it (or two new toilets) as the seats fold into the floor. I won't need the F150 anymore, but I can't seem to part with it.

 

[NW-Bound]

We have a late model Dodge Grand Caravan right now. Traded the Hyundai Santa Fe for it after the recent California driving trip. We will need motorized wheelchair platform capability in the near future and the Dodge GC can be easily set up for it with aftermarket kit parts. Also, I can carry a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood in it (or two new toilets) as the seats fold into the floor. I won't need the F150 anymore, but I can't seem to part with it.

There ya go. You needed a minivan when you first had your kids. Then, you need it again for yourself in later years.

These youngins may not know it yet, as they are still thinking about the time to go from 0 to 60. Give them a few decades, and they will learn.

 

[38Chevy454]

FUGLY. Anyone thinking that looks good has very poor sense of design. This luddite will keep my traditional style trucks, 2 of 3 with diesel engines.
That Tesla truck is one of the biggest fails in recent memory.

 

[Bogie]

I heard it runs on 1.21 gigawatts to power the flux capacitor.

I see O'reilly's already has replacement parts.


https://www.oreillyauto.com/flux-capacitor?q=121g

 

[Ducati52]

Back in those years, there was a movie where a gangster drove a minivan because it was so cool.

I am trying to remember this movie.

Get Shorty. "It's the Cadillac of minivans . . ."

 

[GrayHare]

BTW, the new Tesla skyscraper is going to be made entirely of that unbreakable glass.

I suspect the body style of that truck, when it finally goes into production, will be less angled. Anything that significantly departs from a long standing style is going to look weird. I remember thinking the Ford Taurus ugly due to its rounded edges, then other cars adopted that style and it became the norm.

 

[aja8888]

BTW, the new Tesla skyscraper is going to be made entirely of that unbreakable glass.

I suspect the body style of that truck, when it finally goes into production, will be less angled. Anything that significantly departs from a long standing style is going to look weird. I remember thinking the Ford Taurus ugly due to its rounded edges, then other cars adopted that style and it became the norm.

The Ford Taurus ended up looking like a catfish. This abortion will be reshaped into a cockroach once they add the antennas and smooth out the angles.

 

[Fermion]

Someone also pointed out that the way they did the headlines, a single long stripe of LEDs, won't fly with current regulations at least in the USA. You also need turn signals, mirrors, etc.

The final production will probably look a bit more car like, I agree.

I actually would love a Tesla van. Essentially a 4wd electrified version of a Ford Transit. We have a 2018 Ford Transit mid roof which already looks ugly, so that problem is solved, but man it is the most useful vehicle ever! It has 11 feet of cargo space behind the seats and yet is the same length as our F-150. I would sell the F-150 if the Transit could deal with snow.

 

[NW-Bound]

Back in those years, there was a movie where a gangster drove a minivan because it was so cool.

I am trying to remember this movie.

Get Shorty. "It's the Cadillac of minivans . . ."

Thank you!

That movie was in 1995. My trend-setting Voyager was 1985 model, bought in 1986. I paid $13,500 cash for it, which is $32K now. The minivan was the vehicle that saved Chrysler, and other car makers rushed to copy it.

Back then, I had no electric sliding door, let alone the left-side sliding door. But it could haul 7 passengers, or one couple and a baby, in real comfort on long trips. Oh man, it brings back memories.

 

[HFWR]

Obviously, people for whom this truck does not work will not buy it.

Is there such as thing as a universal vehicle that will work for everybody?

As for me, I don't think I will need any stinkin' truck. I have a 4x8 utility trailer, and all 4 of my vehicles have a hitch to pull it.

I used to have a long-bed pickup that could haul a 4x8 sheet of plywood, with the gate up. And even my very first minivan, the first of the minivan genre, a Chrysler Voyager, could haul a 4x8 plywood and had its gate closed.

Many F5000 pickups with are stuck in traffic, with the 1000-hp sports cars...

 

[cbo111]

This may be a dumb question, but to those of you who put down the $100 deposit, did this lock you in to a specific price and were you able to select features?

 

[6miths]

Many buy pickup trucks to go grocery shopping.

As pointed out above, those of us that do serious hauling own minivans!
Even with the 4 kids grown it is hard to give it up.

 

[Walt34]

I know a few pickup owners actually use theirs for the intended purpose, such as pulling a 5th wheel. But those are a minority.

It depends. I bought mine "just because". I wanted to haul big radio control model airplanes. They don't weigh much (my heaviest was a tad over 10 lbs.) but they're bulky and delicate, hence the cap over the bed. And I didn't have to spend half an hour at each end of the trip to assemble/disassemble the airplane. And as anyone who owns a house knows sometimes owning a pickup truck is just so danged convenient it's hard to justify not having one, at least as a second or third vehicle.

Given the current and foreseeable limitations of an electric I don't see one in my future though.

 

[Hermit]

As pointed out above, those of us that do serious hauling own minivans!
Even with the 4 kids grown it is hard to give it up.

1960 - something Corvair van replaced by a 1973 Ford Econoline replaced by a Ford Aerostar mini van replaced by a Honda Odessey replaced by a Jeep Wrangler. The Wrangler is by far the least useful when it comes to multiple capabilities, but it goes places the others couldn't. I'm looking at Ford F350 Tremor to replace the Jeep. That Telsa is way too ugly for me.

 

[Cessna152]

This may be a dumb question, but to those of you who put down the $100 deposit, did this lock you in to a specific price and were you able to select features?

If you go to the Tesla web site https://www.tesla.com/cybertruck/design#battery it says:
DUE TODAY
$100
Fully refundable. You will be able to complete your configuration as production nears in late 2021. Tri Motor AWD production is expected to begin in late 2022.

Edit to add: Saw a commenter on a teslarati.com article that said the following that may shed some additional light: “First off, I own a Model 3 and a full sized F150 Crewcab 4X4 6.5 ft bed and both fit in my garage. Second, I just reserved one to replace my F150. I place my order for a tri-motor AWD 2 hours after the unveiling and I am # 108141, so yes, there are people out there interested in owning one.”

 

[dirtbiker]

If you go to the Tesla web site https://www.tesla.com/cybertruck/design#battery it says:
DUE TODAY
$100
Fully refundable. You will be able to complete your configuration as production nears in late 2021. Tri Motor AWD production is expected to begin in late 2022.

Edit to add: Saw a commenter on a teslarati.com article that said the following that may shed some additional light: “First off, I own a Model 3 and a full sized F150 Crewcab 4X4 6.5 ft bed and both fit in my garage. Second, I just reserved one to replace my F150. I place my order for a tri-motor AWD 2 hours after the unveiling and I am # 108141, so yes, there are people out there interested in owning one.”

But what number did the first person get? I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they started at #100000.

 

[pj.mask]

Reading through this thread with all the ascetic comments makes me think back 20 years ago when cars had all kinds of color. Nowadays many different car models look almost identical and they all come in silver/gray/black with a few in white.

I think there is some movement in the newer generation towards not just trying to follow the standard design because that’s what everyone else is doing.

I’m interested in a model Y (SUV) provided it has decent off-road abilities. I don’t need crazy stuff but want confidence popping a curb, hitting potholes/speed bumps at speed, and driving through ice/snow. The truck fits a lot of that and may cross shop in 2023-2026 when I’m up for replacement. Either way I’ll be getting a Tesla (or equivalent) - whoever can drive me to work and back while I sip my coffee.

 

[ncbill]

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

IF they are able to meet that...