It’s absolutely hideous. It’s rather reminiscent of a DeLorean with its stainless steel body and sharp edges, but... backwards. Did the designers drop LSD and watch
Back to the Future in reverse?
Of course, most concept vehicles are pretty wild and ugly. We don’t know what the final, street-legal version will look like. I expect some changes to be made; not a radical overhaul, but it might be less awkward in appearance. The designers have a small dose of my sympathy, because designing an attractive, aggressive-looking electric truck is hard. There’s no need for a “frunk” or a large engine compartment, leaving anything looking rather snub-nosed, but is this seriously the best they could come up with in the marriage between design and utility?
I was a bit disappointed that Tesla apparently didn’t showcase quality of life features, because that’s become big for trucks these days. Is there on-board tool storage? If so, is there built-in RFID tool tracking? Can the truck’s batteries be used to power equipment? Is there at least a fold-out step for easier access? The answer to all of these appears to be “no” at the moment, and that’s a shame. All Tesla has shown off is the ability for the back end to lower for easier loading and unloading, which is itself cool, but likely isn’t enough to sway anyone needing to use a truck at a job site regularly.
$40K for a heavy duty truck is a decent starting price. Not great, but decent. Pricing a couple full-size trucks with full beds and crew compliments, you could expect to pay a bit shy of $35K (base models), so a $5K premium isn’t terrible when weighed against the fuel savings (a Tesla roadster charging at home for ~12 hours costs under $3 in electricity). The tri-motor Cybertruck (ugh, what an awful name) is expected to cost $70K when it hits the market in 2022, and that’s... oddly right on the money. Fully kitted 2020 F-150s and Silverado 1500s are priced at $68K (before any deals or discounts). It remains to be seen if Tesla’s offering really compares to those competitors, though. Raw torque and towing capacity aren’t all consumers look at in a truck, despite what impression might be given by practically every pickup truck ad to ever exist.
The fact is, Tesla is going to have an uphill battle entering the pickup market. The people who buy trucks for practical use do not fit Tesla’s brand image, no matter how powerful or safe the Cybertruck is. Tesla is for yuppies. Tesla owners are Prius owners on steroids, with all of the baggage that entails. The reputation of Tesla drivers is that of smug, self-righteous, elitist douchebags, and they’re some of the most hated people out there. This isn’t always fair, just as it isn’t fair to paint pickup drivers as blue-collar, coal-rolling hillbillies with Trump 2020 bumper stickers, but this image disparity means Tesla is targeting an unreceptive market. They
need to break into the truck space, but I don’t know if they actually understand it or if it understands them.
I mean ARMORED GLASS really???
That makes a lot of sense for a heavy duty vehicle utilized at worksites, as does the rugged stainless steel body. You would want a truck that you know is hearty and could survive accidents. The side windows didn’t hold up all that well to the on-stage test, but they didn’t shatter the way normal windows would, so it could keep occupants safer.
But this isn’t a truck you’ll see at many worksites. All the ballistic test data they showed on screen suggests they’re hoping to enter the market for fleet (police) vehicles or are counting on increased shootings driving the public toward wanting “safer” options. The kinds of people who send their kids to school with bulletproof backpacks might also be interested in bulletproof carpooling, etc. People will spend a lot of money when they’re motivated by fear.
Almost certainly the tri-motor option. The torque strain would be too high on the single-motor setup and would use too much electricity when accelerating from a stop to make it anywhere near 500 miles. Electric vehicles don’t (usually) have transmissions as they don’t need them, so that same single motor would also be powering the wheels at speed on the highway, too. The dual-motor package might be able to reach that range in absolutely ideal conditions, but the tri-motor variant would have less strain and more even distribution, saving electric output.
Tesla’s given range for the Cybertruck is 250-500 miles. Other, gas (non-diesel) trucks of its class get around 300-430-ish, but they cost
a lot more in fuel.
Does he not understand the concept of “failure to control”? 0.o The moment he summoned it he became liable for its movement. It may not be his immediate fault, but he assumed responsibility when he activated it. Seriously, if someone is flying a drone and it stops responding to commands or is taken by a gust of wind and damages something, the operator is still fully responsible. In this instance the car is just a terrestrial drone.
This is the kind of thing that makes Tesla owners so reviled. If it had been his car that got hit he would have likely raised hell about it and demanded the other (autonomous) car’s owner be ticketed.
The cop should have just called for a tow truck when the owner refused to accept responsibility. “Either sign for this ticket or we’ll have to crush the clearly out of control machine to prevent the Skynet uprising.”
Guitarnutz2
This is my signature achievement.
