Anyone else watch the Tesla Cybertruck launch?

[SeaDawg]

So, you can preorder a Tesla pickup truck, starting tonight .

It's, of course, an unusual design. And, actually, somewhat affordable. Starts at 39,900, rear wheel drive, smaller 250 mile battery range. Top end, 500 mile range, almost 70k.

I wish they'd done some towing testing. But, they did drag an f150 uphill, in a tug of war video . And, of course, killed it against a Porsche in performance off the line.

Comes standard with air compressor, and 110 and 220 outlets. Stainless steel body.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/tesla-cybertruck-unveiled/

 

Sherry 

 

Edited November 22, 2019 by SeaDawg

[John E Davies]

I wish you had not posted that, IMHO it is obscene. As a body design it is far worse than an FJ Cruiser in terms of not having even one feature that I like.

I do love the concept of unbreakable windows, though that feature has some work left...

https://www.fastcompany.com/90434937/oh-my-f-ing-god-elon-musks-tesla-cybertruck-reveal-goes-awkwardly-wrong

Yikes..... It is 4:00 AM and I am awake and checking some websites, now I definitely will not get back to sleep.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited November 22, 2019 by John E Davies

[topgun2]

Unfortunately, I very much agree with John on this one.  And, now I hear that the "unbreakable windows" are not so unbreakable after all.  I know that many times these things simply come down to "taste", but, I'm simply not seeing anything here to taste at all.  Perhaps sitting next to a DeLorean?

Bill

[Overland]

I have to say, from a designer's standpoint, this is a far better attempt at what an electric truck might look like than the generic offerings from Bollinger or Rivian, the designs of which are just 'make it look like a truck'.  Those two vehicles remind me of the early automobile designs, which all looked suspiciously like horse drawn carriages. 

It's definitely a departure from the aerodynamic bodywork that you expect from a 'green' vehicle, but I suspect that's the entire point.  The faceted design is very much in keeping with what you see from offroad customizers, who work largely with plasma cut aluminum and steel; and of course it also has a very military vibe.  It's a design language that is perhaps polarizing, but will immediately resonate with the under-40 crowd.  For others, I suspect that this looks weird today; but a year from now it won't.  I would definitely say to watch the videos, because it looks much different there than in photos.  

Also, to me it looks a lot like an early Lotus Esprit on steroids, which is pretty funny if you know Elon Musk's history with that car.  Like Musk, I've always been a fan of the Italian wedge cars from the late 70's myself, so I can dig it.

I didn't watch the reveal, so they may have answered my main question, which is why they made it so long.  From what I've seen this morning, it has gobs of room inside, plus a 6.5' bed.  I would have thought that a short bed, extended cab model would be a better fit for the initial market.  But then, obviously they wanted to make a 'real' truck, so I guess that a full size long bed is where they wanted to go.  But that breakover angle looks ridiculous.

The exoskeleton structure is the most interesting aspect to me.  Range is what you'd expect.  Towing capacity is just a number at this point - I don't think it will really matter until they can double the range, and even before then, towing figures need to be indexed back to range to be meaningful.  I do like the variable suspension.

Overall - pretty cool.  I'm really eager to see where this leads.  I suspect that in five or six years, we'll see new owners asking serious questions about towing with an electric truck.

Edited November 22, 2019 by Overland

[SeaDawg]

For those of you who might like to see a short version of the launch, the Verge did a five minute supercut version of the truck debut. It includes the sledge hammer to the body, the window glass fail, and Elon's "one more thing," the electric atv. Shows off the stowed integral ramp for those of us who sometimes haul an atv or a bike.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/21/20975927/tesla-cybertruck-announcement-watch-live-stream-elon-musk-online-how-to-date-time

Sherry

Edited November 22, 2019 by SeaDawg

[BackofBeyond]

It is just ugly. Seems like the concept, with a little styling, would be very interesting. Enough room in the bed to carry a charging inverter/generator. Ha. 

[Mike and Carol]

I’m glad folks are thinking and innovating. The appearance doesn’t do much for me.  The window fail makes me wonder about other design features.  Impressive towing if that was a real contest with the Ford.  Not very practical for what I need from a truck towing a trailer around the country.  It is encouraging, though, to see someone pushing the envelope.

[Landrover]

The glass wasn’t a total failure. The size of the steel ball broke the glass but it didn’t penetrate it. You couldn’t get those results with car or truck glass . Sounds impressive we shall see.

[Overland]

True - if anyone has a truck with glass that won’t break with a 4” steel ball thrown at it, I want to know. The glass looked to be laminated, so worst case it would be a much better deterrent against theft. 
 

I saw that they’re going to offer a solar package for the truck. Also the ATV will be an option. 
 

To answer my own question about length, I suspect the reason is battery capacity. Since the batteries are in the floor, then the longer the truck, the more they can fit. 

Edited November 23, 2019 by Overland

[ScubaRx]

That thing looks just like what I always envisioned a tough truck should look like.  I even have a picture I drew that looks almost exactly like it.  I was six at the time.

[JWalmsley]

[Overland]

I'm going to amend my statement above.  I've been looking at the Tesla supercharger map, and I've about convinced myself that if I could get the same range out of this truck as I can in my Raptor, then I could go pretty much anywhere I wanted.  That's around 350 miles, which seems like a reasonable towing estimate for the 500 mile version.  

The way that we travel, I'd have to assume two stops a day when heading out west - one of which would be a lunch stop, so that just leaves one extra hour to plan into our long travel days.  No big deal.  For other days, I think I could assume a charging detour every three days or so, even when we're out in nowhere.  And everywhere we've been so far, or have planned to go, there seems to be a supercharger within an hour's drive of anywhere we'll be.  An Alaska trip wouldn't be possible, but in the continental US, the only place that looks like it might be a problem would be North Dakota, but there are superchargers on the books for I-94.  Southeastern New Mexico - Carlsbad/Guadelupe/Cloudcroft - might be difficult.  At a few parks like Glacier and Big Bend, I think you'd want to reserve at least a night at a campground with hookups.  Some places, like Capitol Reef, you wouldn't want to do a lot of driving around or make many detours.  And then there are a few places that you'd likely take a longer route to get to, so that you could top up at a supercharger beforehand.  So, from a boondocker perspective, I'd say that while charging looks to be an inconvenience, it's not going to be a dealbreaker for everyone.  And if you're not a boondocker, then I don't see any reason you couldn't tow with one of these today.  

Point being, I don't think that it will be five or six years like I said before we see someone towing an Ollie with one of these.  I think two at the most.  I'd even say that we might see someone within a few months post that they've ordered one.  It looks like Tesla has almost 200,000 orders on the books already.

Edited November 25, 2019 by Overland

[John E Davies]

I don't want to be an early adopter - the number of stations is way WAY too low. All those huge blanks areas? They are where I like to go and spend days exploring. I can top up my gas truck at any dinky little town pump. 

As the number of electric vehicles outpaces the availability of an OPEN spot at a station, you will read many more horror stories about wait times and rationed power (you can't get a full charge).

"I actually found the supercharging infrastructure to be seriously lacking, even in southern California (top Tesla market along with bay area). The entire San Diego urban area rely on a single supercharger station inside a parking garage that charge you crazy parking fee and not to mention it is in a very crappy area with nothing else to do. The other supercharger 25 mins north of San Diego was already packed to full years ago.

As in LA metro area, all the areas from Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, LA downtown still relies on a SINGLE supercharger at Culver City with 16 stalls that were completely overwhelmed. The coverage is unchanged from more than 4 years ago in these areas. I think it is completely crazy that Tesla have ignored these areas for so damn long. What the heck is the supercharger team doing? All these happens right in their front yard where Tesla design studio are close by.

Also, what's up with supercharger coverage inside and around all the famous national parks. Forget about going to Grand Canyon with your Tesla unless you rely on destination charger somehow to charge overnight. The closest supercharger is at Flagstaff which is too far for you to go inside the park and back. Yosemite national park is slightly better, but still far from enough. Yellowstone has just one supercharger at one of the park entrances, and that's it, no other supercharger close by.

I am a EV supporter, and despite all the talks and hype about EV taking over the world. The reality is that much faster charging speed, much better supercharger coverage, and longer real world driving range are all needed to improve big time, especially for long distance driving. All these infrastructure and range improvement will probably take another 10 years or longer to be fully competitive and be truly accepted by most car buyer."

... https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/supercharging-nightmare-begins.137244/

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited November 25, 2019 by John E Davies

[Mike and Carol]

I’m waiting for the front winch and running boards.

[Overland]

2 hours ago, John E Davies said:

I don't want to be an early adopter

Man, we all expected you to be first in line.

[Landrover]

It would be my luck to get one, then Oliver comes out with the 28ft Ollie. Which would be over the weight limit. Bummer.🤯

[Ken_Judy]

We had a campground neighbor pulling an Airstream 22 Sport with a Tesla model x.  She said her range was cut in half when towing. Also, many campgrounds would not let her charge her Tesla off the 50amp campsite circuit.  They said it would damage the electrical infrastructure.  Since the Tesla was only one year old, she had just agreed to trade it in on a GMC 2500 Duramax and it was just about an even trade.  She was very happy.  

[SeaDawg]

Well,  I  think your camping neighbor should not have been surprised, honestly.  There were many publicized tests of the x, towing, from early on . Unless, of course, your neighbors were very, very early adopters.

The x is an suv, but also kind of a crossover,  imo. It's cool,  love the falcon wing doors and interior space. Like many suv/ crossover  vehicles, it can tow, but at a premium. 

With a tow capacity of just under 5k, with 20 inch wheels,  the x would be close to maxxed out by a 22 ft airstream, loaded for camping. I  would have expected somewhere around the range they reported, with an airstream.  Guess your neighbors didn't. That's unfortunate. 

With the extended range of the Tesla pickup truck, i think most folks (maybe or maybe not big time boondocking folks) could easily manage charger to charger. Unless they're in the Dakotas.  Even the Electrify America  VW dieselgate network seems to be ignoring the plains, sadly. Too bad, because it's beautiful country.

Franky,  I  like a lot about the Tesla pickup.

My Silverado rarely leaves the county. It's 15 years old soon, and, even though it runs great, and looks great, it's rear wheel drive, unlike the Tesla. And old school safety features on my Silverado.  

I think the Tesla would give us another tv, and a solar powered around town/ county vehicle , since I can charge at home for free on solar. I  actually went through the link at launch to sign up, but it was crashed. Now, I won't be first, or probably 250,000th in line, but I  can live with that . I  can wait. 

Btw, Teslas can charge on their proprietary network,  or any other network,  with the appropriate adapters, even home outlets. 

EV  chargers are everywhere,  if you look for them. Try the plugshare app, and look around .

Sherry 

 

 

 

 

 

[SeaDawg]

Yup. I'm in. Sometime in 2022, I'll let you know how it works. 

[Overland]

Cool. Should I go ahead and start a signup sheet for test drives at the 2022 rally?

[SeaDawg]

Since I'm so far down the list, and Tesla release dates are usually late, I'd say 2023 rally would be a better bet. 🙃

[Overland]

Well maybe by then we will have joined you. My wife was signed up for a Model 3 but got cold feet when they were having production issues.  Then after we got the truck she decided that she wanted a Raptor of her own, lol. So maybe we’ll combine the two and get her a Cybertruck. 
 

I’m sure that we’ll hear more about towing range over the next year or so. I’ve always assumed that the hit that the model X and 3 take when towing is largely due to the motors being right at their capacity when towing. So I’m assuming that the 3 motor Cybertruck won’t see as much of a hit percentage wise. Perhaps that’s optimistic but we’ll see. But even if the range is halved, 250 miles should be enough for many. Not everyone of course, but many.

I think that more importantly, they’ll need to make sure that the truck will give you an accurate estimate of range, whatever it is, since these vehicles do require a bit more trip planning. 

But as I’ve said before, I think that the eventual answer will be trailers that are either self powered or at least carry extra battery capacity that can be transferred to the truck.  A trailer that can not only push its own weight but also connect to the trucks traction control system to improve stability would be my dream.  So there’s your challenge, Oliver. 😛

Edited November 28, 2019 by Overland

[Overland]

Another idea would be for Tesla to make a sort of power wall unit that could go into the bed of the truck for extra range. 

Together with a small crane to get it in and out. 😂

Edited November 28, 2019 by Overland

[Overland]

Oooo, here’s the idea - sorry, too much coffee this morning - make a wheeled battery pack that you can drive with a remote in and out of the truck. And then give it a tow ball so that you can use it to move your trailer around. 
 

Edited November 28, 2019 by Overland

[John E Davies]

2 hours ago, Overland said:

A trailer that can not only push its own weight but also connect to the trucks traction control system to improve stability would be my dream.  So there’s your challenge, Oliver. 😛

Bwahaha, we can't even get a proper gravel road suspension..... 

John Davies

Spokane WA