November 22, 2019

"Tesla’s Electric ‘Cybertruck’ Is Unveiled. It’s Pointy."

Ha ha. Great NYT headline. The thing is pointy.

At the unveiling, Elon Musk said: "Trucks have been the same for a very long time. Like a hundred years, trucks have been basically the same. We want to try something different."

The designer, Franz von Holzhausen, banged it with a sledgehammer, and that demonstration of toughness worked. Then he threw a metal ball at the driver’s side window and the window cracked. He threw the metal ball at the back seat window and, again, the window cracked.

Musk said "Maybe that was a little too hard" and continued with the presentation with the truck with 2 cracked windows in the background.

If you want a good look at the pointy-ness, Motor Trend has 47 photos of the thing. After you've seen a few of them, please take my poll, and vote only based on how it looks (not on whether you like electric trucks or worry about crackable windows):

What do you think of the looks of Tesla's Cybertruck?
 
pollcode.com free polls

108 comments:

lgv said...

I get it, but I would expect some mods before going to market. I don't see guys trading in their F150s for it. The windows are for art, not cost or function.

Will it sell? Depends on:

1) Range
2) Payload
3) Hauling/towing capacity
4) Range while hauling
5) Can you charge it while towing
6) Torque

Some things EVs are really good at, e.g. torque, long-term reliability. Others, not so much.

Gojuplyr831@gmail.com said...

Reminds me of the futuristic looking concept cars automakers use to send to car shows. Designed more to get noticed and talked about than to actually be produced. The bed on this is going to be difficult to access at any position other than the rear of the bed.

It's designed looks similar to the C111 Mercedes with the Wankel engine.

Beasts of England said...

No self-respecting redneck would be caught dead in that thing. Every pickup needs a Lynyrd Skynyrd sticker or a gun rack, and that design is incompatible with those requirements.

alanc709 said...

Are there really that many woke hillbillies?

Shouting Thomas said...

I liked it. Very military, stealth tech look. Echoes of Humvees.

Would I pay $125,000 for it? No.

The roomy back seat would be attractive to those who must install kid car seats.

Chris said...

I'll leave you with this poem by Steve Martin (slightly modified).
"Oh pointy truck
Oh pointy pointy."

samanthasmom said...

It looks like a Lego truck. A combination of the rectangular blocks and the slanted blocks they throw into the sets that have buildings with roofs in them.

stlcdr said...

Would you pay about $50k for it? Simply, if that’s what it sells at, then it is cheaper than the vast majority of full size pickup trucks.

Can it haul 10k lbs? If so, then it’s more powerful/capable than the vast majority of pickup trucks.

0 to 60 in 6 to 7 seconds? Again...All this on batteries? With ‘bullet proof’ glass?

Electric motors are great to get a load moving, but hauling that load at 70mph for a couple of hundred miles or more? That would be quite a feat.

Why not take an F150 (Aluminum body) build a battery chassis, same motors, and see how that does? Honestly, I think that’s a better concept than the Tesla.

Sharc 65 said...

It's fine, but the cool bed/trunk combination is just a rip-off of the old Honda Ridgeline, which is otherwise much cheaper and superior.

Rusty said...

The engineers were told/" We don't have the money for body panel molds, so do what you can with off the shelf materials." And then they gave the project to the engineer who never worked in a shop.
As I have said before; Any electric truck has to be able to do what a basic F150 can do including range. And that range is with the AC or heater going and the radio and lights on.
That truck is far in the future.

alanc709 said...
Are there really that many woke hillbillies?
Only hillbillies drive pick ups? Got news for,sport. The Ford F-150 is the largest selling vehicle in the world.

stevew said...

A novelty. Angular rather than rounded. It's an aesthetic change. In trucks I think form follows function is still what drives appeal. Remember when Hummers were all the rage? Driven by small of stature women and insecure men - rarely by someone that needed the functionality of the thing.

Autos were more angular in the 70's, then evolved into the softer, jelly bean rounded edged shapes. This thing is going back to angular too quickly.

gilbar said...

Gojuplyr831@gmail.com said...
Reminds me of the futuristic looking concept cars automakers use to send to car shows. Designed more to get noticed and talked about than to actually be produced.


that was my thought Exactly!
it does NOT look like something to be actually produced. CERTAINLY not for $60,000

Serious Question:
has Elon Musk EVER come through on ANY of his Promises?
release dates?
costs?
ANYTHING?

rhhardin said...

That's going to blind others travelling in the sunlight. Flat surfaces flare.

rhhardin said...

It needs fins.

Ann Althouse said...

From the NYT article: "The most expensive truck tows 14,000 pounds and can go up to 500 miles on a single charge, Tesla said."

I assume when it's towing 14,000 pounds, it's far short of its potential "up to" number.

tim in vermont said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
John henry said...

My first thought was the Pontiac Axtek.

But uglier.

And not as practical.

John Henry

Rick.T. said...

It’s extremely difficult to get a truck owner to switch marques. Ask Nissan or Toyota. The different propulsion method is likely adding an insurmountable difficulty.

AllenS said...

It does not look like it will haul hay bales, lumber, and I seriously doubt it can pull much of anything. It does not look like a truck. Bad idea.

AllenS
Owner of trucks that work for a living

rehajm said...

It is kind of The Homer but it's like Elon said- not the pickup truck design we've had for 100 years is all that...

rehajm said...

Looks like placing things in the bed over the side rail is out. Will that bed carry a sheet a plywood? Probably just toys...

rehajm said...

There are some radically pointy bespoke trucks out and about. Many of them end up in places like Dubai, not so much at places like the job site...

whitney said...

Wow! My first reaction is that that's funny . The wheel well make it looks like it has cartoon Pentagon Wheels. I live near a very wealthy neighborhood and I feel sure I'm going to be seeing those very soon.

Fernandinande said...

It looks like a stealth fighter plane so it should get good gas mileage.

Ficta said...

Very "Logan's Run".

Anon said...

It makes me think of an El Camino

Michael K said...

I vote with the F 150 fans. I had one that I drove a lot. Gave it to my son but he slold it and bought a new one. It had 150,000 miles and was still going strong.

The EV problem is coming in a few years and is called "Old batteries." What do we do with them?

Another old lawyer said...

Finally, a truck meant to convey status within the right circles!

JML said...

Very plain Jane. It doesn't look very functional, which should be (I know, it isn't always) the most important factor when buying a truck. I'd go on, but Ann warned us about wise cracks on this particular thread.

Kevin said...

Triangles are pointy.

Triangles are strong.

This truck looks like a roll cage with side panels.

tim in vermont said...

Iowahawk not impressed:

Can you name the truck with four wheel drive
You'll smell like a steak when it burns you alive

Teslanero! Teslanero!

Well, it goes real slow when the battery's down
It's the electrified truck designed by a clown!

Teslanero! Hyah! Teslanerohhhh!

Lance said...

Designers have been defaulting to that angular style as “futuristic” for the last 70 years. There was a brief period in the 80s when it actually made it into a few production sports cars. Now it’s a recurring cliché, like bell bottoms or bob haircuts.

And a truck is a truck, no matter how you dress it up. There’s a motor, drivetrain, wheels and cargo bed. Fancy angles don’t change that, and probably detract.

Rick.T. said...

“Can you name the truck with four wheel drive
You'll smell like a steak when it burns you alive

Teslanero! Teslanero!

Well, it goes real slow when the battery's down
It's the electrified truck designed by a clown!

Teslanero! Hyah! Teslanerohhhh!”


Homeric...in both senses of the word!

Nichevo said...

Form follows function. The shape is not functional except perhaps as a marketing exercise. If the mechanicals are good they can reskin it. Notice that the SpaceX rockets, which do have to function based on their aerodynamics and cubic capacity, are not pointy.

Craig Howard said...

From Bauhaus to our truck.

Skeptical Voter said...

What can it haul except a box of king sized Hollywood egos? It's not a truck.

Curious George said...

"The most expensive truck tows 14,000 pounds and can go up to 500 miles on a single charge, Tesla said."

I assume when it's towing 14,000 pounds, it's far short of its potential "up to" number."

My thought too. Also didn't see payload capacity....you're not always towing. I'm sure many people would buy it, just not guys using it for work. Same as today's pick-up.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Will it sell? Depends on:

Those below were my thoughts and questions as well.

1) Range
In the snow? Freezing weather with heater and defroster going full blast? Uphill on winding roads? With a payload? With ALL OF THOSE CONDITIONS AT ONCE?????

2)Payload
Yes. How much weight can it haul. The whole POINT of a "truck" is to carry things from one place to the other.

3) Hauling/towing capacity
The no wheel wells design is pretty trick. Making it easier and more efficient for various loads. Sheet rock in particular. However, how much weight/payload is problematic

4) Range while hauling
Seriously a concern for people who use their trucks to haul real things. Other than groceries from Whole Earth. Trucks that are hauling trailers, 5th wheels and other heavy loads need to not only be able to actually HAUL the stuff, but be able to get there before they run out of gas.....or electricity.

5) Can you charge it while towing
You'd better because once you get to your destination with your truck full of tools, parts, gear and the utility trailer behind it, you damned sure don't want to have to wait around for the truck to be charged. Especially if you are hauling commercially. WHERE are you going to have to go to get it charged??? TIME IS MONEY and we ain't got the time.

6) Torque
Torque is the foot pounds of pressure delivered to the drive train. NOT horsepower. IF you don't have enough torque you can't haul shit no matter what HP you have.

Style wise, the windows are crazy dangerous and stupid looking. How can you see? Where are you going to attach your "hauling mirrors". Depending on electronics is foolish, since they are usually the first thing to go out in these new vehicles.

As my husband The Dumbplumber says: When they invent an electric vehicle that can haul my dump trailer loaded with 3 to 4 thousand pounds of rock/sand/gravel, or with my backhoe in it, up a 6% grade and get me back home on the same charge...I might (might) consider it.

This is just a vanity vehicle for people with too much money and who don't really need a real truck.

john said...

Figures

13 All white guys. Insufficient numbers of black t shirts and skinny black jeans to meet Ted Talk threshold.

14 Why is the creepy guy from the Sprint commercial in here?

5 Too many sharp edges to be approved kid toy. Plastic wheels, wont last 5 minutes.

25 David Hasselhoff is really too old to drive this thing, either on the beach or for a reboot of Nightrider.

36 No wicker picnic basket and wine cooler?

mockturtle said...

DBQ nails it. This thing is useless as a truck. Says a lot about Musk's increasing insanity.

Curious George said...

"This is just a vanity vehicle for people with too much money and who don't really need a real truck."

No, it's more than that. A whole lotta trucks today are owned by people that use them as daily drivers but occasionally need to use them as trucks to tow a boat, or haul stuff. There's a reason that every creature comfort, like leather seats, are available. And "crewcabins."

Anonymous said...

Its too ugly for mass market. I bet they are hinging their sales goals on fleets that have limited range from base and are taken back to the home office every night where they will be charged up. And you know maybe there are enought municipal fleets where that will work just fine.

If they can get it to win the Baja 500 I will seriously consider buying one.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Another problem with these new fiberglass styled cars where the body is in all one piece, or several large pieces......is that if you get a ding or crack in one area, it will often require you to replace huge and expensive chunks of the vehicle.

Get a crack in the front bumper? Replace the whole nose of the car. Ding in the back. Road chips in the front and hood? Same thing.

This is why you see many new and late model cars with cracks, fiberglass chips running around. It costs too much to fix.

A "real" truck is going to get dinged, scratched, and otherwise beat up if you actually use it. AND....where are you going to attach the "roo guard" to keep the damage from hitting a deer to a minimum :-). OH. Yeah. Those trucks are never going to see dirt or rural roads. How plebeian!!

john evans said...

If they film another Death Race movie, it would work there. Otherwise, meh...

john evans said...

If they film another Death Race movie, it would work there. Otherwise, meh...

rcocean said...

Never underestimate the number of suburban/urban types that want to drive around in a Truck. I'm constantly seeing monster trucks being driven by 5 ft. 4 inch women. Their parking skills aren't the best, but they are persistent.

Wince said...

Tesla’s Electric ‘Cybertruck’ Is Unveiled. It’s Pointy.


Charlie: Do you like her, Ray? Do you think she's pretty?

Ray: Yeah. She's very sparkly. - Definitely very sparkly.

robother said...

Ann's last option brought back memories of the pure pleasure I used to derive from drawing Captain Nemo's submarine.

rcocean said...

Dust Bunny is discussing people who want a Truck to DO THINGS. Lots of suburban types just want to show off.

Seeing Red said...

Is that a truck or an off-road vehicle?

There’s no cargo space. Does Musk even use a truck for what it’s designed for?

rehajm said...

...is that if you get a ding or crack in one area, it will often require you to replace huge and expensive chunks of the vehicle...

In that theme: with most of these electric vehicles the battery pack is now integrated into what used to be the frame to which an upper unibody is attached. If you get a minor dent in the rocker panels there's a good chance you crack open the battery pack. Your insurance company doesn't like the idea of a compromised battery pack, so instead of authorizing repair they'll total your car.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Curious George: A whole lotta trucks today are owned by people that use them as daily drivers but occasionally need to use them as trucks to tow a boat, or haul stuff. There's a reason that every creature comfort, like leather seats, are available. And "crewcabins."

True. We have one that we use not for work....a 1969 GMC 3500 with a custome aluminum flat bed (restored and really tricked out. Custom side rails. It turns heads at car shows) However, you can get all those luxury items, including a crew cab, in a truck WITHOUT the problems of an electric vehicle and battery problems. Unless you live in a rather urban area or a suburb of one, I dare you to easily find a public charging station for your electric vehicle.

The world is not really ready for this.

Even if it were. That vehicle is just butt ugly!!

rehajm said...

Does Musk even use a truck for what it’s designed for?

I get the feeling most of Tesla's designs are straight from the Silicon Valley weenies, for SV weenies. I heard one 'famous' Tesla fanboy blogger talking about the new Rivian R1T, completely oblivious as to why the designers would add a built in air compressor as standard equipment.

Known Unknown said...

How many toxic mines are needed for this gem?

How many African men get to risk their lives for a vanity truck?

traditionalguy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
traditionalguy said...

Seeing it as a pick up truck is like seeing a civilian HumVee as a military off road attack vehicle. Both require a child like imagination. So it will sell like hotcakes.

stonethrower said...

Designed by an origami aficionado.

WhoKnew said...

I voted for "what a kid would draw to make it look futuristic" because I thought that was just another way to say "ludicrous, awful, ugly"

Ficta said...

DBQ: I agree with all your points except I'm a bit confused about your response to number 6. Torque.

Torque is one thing (maybe the only thing) EVs have enormous amounts of. My wife's little Chevy Spark motor put out 400 foot-pounds, that's Porsche and Ferrari territory, and higher than a lot of F150s. Diesel trains use electric motors.

This makes EVs enormous fun to drive.

mockturtle said...

Frankly, all the 'futuristic' cars which may have looked exciting when we were children look pretty ugly today. I'm not really a car person anyway but I love my one-ton Silverado.

reader said...

Squished it like a bug.

Bob Boyd said...

You could put a gas-powered generator in the back, plug the thing in and charge it while you're going down the road. You can't do that with any other Tesla model.

Charlie Currie said...

It will sell well in Beverly Hills and the like. Where people who need a truck hire someone with a truck to do the job that needs doing.

It will sell well in the land of Teslas where the power is always on and freezing temperatures that kill batteries never appear.

Bob Boyd said...

My first thought when I saw the picture was of Woody Allen in Sleeper.

John Ray said...

I have my new bright red F-150. 10 ply tires (lots of rubber between the road and the rim, for driving in places a truck must go with a load in bed and sometimes another being towed, you know, where there ain't no roads. Her predecessor was a well beaten '94 F-150, with all body parts altered by wear and tear as a "life of a truck" which was given to grandson (he is happier than a pig in mud). This "Musk Machine" won't cut it. Dust Bunny nailed it.

GingerBeer said...

I'm pretty sure I had this as a "Hot Wheels" when I was a kid. But it was in metallic lime green.

robother said...

Although, if I were a kid drawing this thing, I totally would've put in a Gatling gun, you know, to clear traffic jams.

Howard said...

I think it looks pretty cool.I think it's pretty obvious that this truck is not going to take over a significant market share away from Ford GM Toyota Nissan. But I think it's cool cold rolled steel Joanne interior decent load space for a crew cab. It's easy to criticize what other people make and maybe he will fall flat on his face with this I don't know I hope he succeeds but when I get a kick out of his how you people hope he will fail. It just reinforces your zero-sum game idiot mentality

Bob Boyd said...

Definitely not a work truck. May appeal to the kind of folks who bought Hummers, but now want to project a more enviro-conscious image.

JEP said...

WTF? No views of the 4WD console? No place to hang the gun rack? No opportunities for a lightbar, no place for a winch, no customization possibilities at all? Not a truck for any known values of "truck."

Bob Boyd said...

One of the poll options should be, "It's uglier than a steakhouse baby."

Dust Bunny Queen said...

DBQ: I agree with all your points except I'm a bit confused about your response to number 6. Torque.

Well, not being an engineer, I may be confused about the difference or relationship. But to me..... HP means how fast you can go, or how quickly the engine will respond to do the work.. Torque is how much energy in terms of HP to rpm of the moving parts you can get. The torque is like leverage. The more torque you have the more leverage or towing power you have.

You can have a 600hp race car that can go very fast, but with little torque. Don't try to pull a horse trailer with a race car :-) A lower hp vehicle with lower hp but a lower gear ratio will have better torque for pulling power. We just lowered the gear ratio in our GMC 3500 in order to be better able to tow our vintage trailer and our dump trailer. Also to be able to drive on the freeway with lower rpm at the required speed to not get run over by semi trucks :-D

You need both HP and a proper torque/gear ratio for the use that you want out of your vehicle.. I don't know much about how electric cars generate torque mechanically. /shrug.

And..... I may be totally wrong on my knowledge of how this all works. I'm willing to learn :-)

jpg said...

An ugly motor vehicle. Like most modern design, whether architecture or otherwise, creativity is marked by ugliness. This thing fits right in to that ethos. JPG

Howard said...

Hummers were marketed to limp dick Republican Flatlanders. This will appeal to the hipsters who go in for beard grooming kits, work boots and skinny jeans.

Howard said...

It looks like a crystal, so maybe it has healing properties

Bruce Hayden said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dust Bunny Queen said...

Added: we adjusted the differential to reduce RPM at higher speeds because the engine has a lot of HP (or so says our mechanic who recommended this). There was much discussion about the Detroit Locker that the truck has. Evidently pretty nice for towing and keeping both wheels engaged.

/woosh ...mostly over my head.

rehajm said...

This will appeal to the hipsters who go in for beard grooming kits, work boots and skinny jeans.

I agree with Howard! At least the second half of this. (Hummers were marketed to urban chiquitas, too)

Full disclosure- While I don't fit the above profiles I'm going for the Rivian if it gets built. It would fit my needs- over 90% of my driving is within range of the plug in my garage and when I do some distance driving I'm not a diaper sporting Cannonball runner. I can stop and have something to eat for half an hour and charge the thing. Plus acceleration as fast as stink...

Yancey Ward said...

It reminds me of the DeLorean.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Plus acceleration as fast as stink...

LOL. The show Lie to Me...had a guy who drove a Prius. "Deceptively Fast" was what he said and what we say when one zips past us on the freeway. They are pretty zippy!

Howard is confused. No one wants Tesla to fail. We are just pointing out that the applications and target market for electric vehicles, particularly trucks, is limited by the needs and geography of the users. Electric vehicles in many parts of the US are just a guaranteed no-seller and a failure for all the reasons that I illustrated. Urban markets fine. Nebraska....not so much.

We just returned from the Monterey area of Calif and saw many many Teslas. They are quite attractive cars and are suited to that area. Good on them.

The Tesla that we are discussing is not attractive. Butt Ugly is the term.

PM said...

My personal options to DBQs' xlnt list:
7. Until electric charging stations are as numerous as gas stations, electric cars/trucks are a no-go nationally.
8. Until the average battery-charging time can rival gas fill-up times, same conlusion as above.

lgv said...

Good comments Dust Bunny and Curious George.

No one who needs the 250/2500 or 350/3500 type truck will buy one. Only people like me and only if all those issues are properly addressed. You can't charge your vehicle at a Tesla station if you are towing something. You have to drop the trailer then charge. Deal breaker.

There is a reason that you don't see commercial electric vehicles. The most recent trade show demonstrated green vehicles, they were hydrogen:

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a29615668/hyundai-hydrogen-commercial-semi-trucks/

The shortcomings of electric cannot be overcome for commercial hauling and this trickles down to pickups. We may see improvements over time, which would be great, because if you drive a truck 350,000 miles or more, electric is cheaper in the long run.

Of course, Ford and GM will have electric versions of their trucks shortly.

Rosalyn C. said...

I also agree with those who view this as an urban car, mostly aimed at LA types who want to make an impression. It's different. It's new, it's expensive. I have one, you don't. That's the whole point.

JAORE said...

"Trucks have been the same for a very long time. Like a hundred years, trucks have been basically the same. We want to try something different."

Maybe, just maybe there is a valid reason that trucks have been the same. Like FUNCTION.

Other than virtue signalling I see no real merit in this thing. There have been several car based trucks tried out in the US. Success has been VERY limited. This thing builds on all the negatives of those and tosses out the few positives.

Full disclosure, I'm a (pickup) truck guy.

Arashi said...

And just remember, every Tesla has batteries that are an environmental disaster because of the litium in them, not to mention that the cobalt needed to make them comes largely from the Congo where it is mined by children without any saftey concerns or protection at all (the cobalt mining is not something you want to do by hand, but that is how it is done and children are used because they have small hands and it is a thrid world country after all, so just bad luck if they don't lieve very long).

But hey, I am sure a lot of Microsoft people will buy them - they buy a lot of Teslas as is - as the Cyber Truck will be the new hotness for all of the manager types.

Kirk Parker said...

I vacillated for a while between #3 and #5.

Also, I see no mention of this thing being self-driving, so what in the world is 'cyber' about it?

Arashi said...

It is connected to the internet 24/7 and spies on you and your family/neighbors 24/7, but does it stealthily.

Gabriel said...

@DBQ:Torque is how much energy in terms of HP to rpm of the moving parts you can get. The torque is like leverage. The more torque you have the more leverage or towing power you have.

Torque has to do with force, pushing or pulling. That's why you associate it with towing.

A wheel is a kind of lever. The engine twists the axle, that's torque. The wheel rotates, and at the surface of the road applies a force. The force times the radius of the wheel is the torque that the engine is capable of applying.

When you try to pull something, the amount of force your wheels can apply to the road determines how much you can tow. If the friction force of what you are trying to tow exceeds what your wheels can apply to the road, you won't go anywhere.

Horsepower is about rate of energy transfer. For the same torque, higher horsepower would let you go faster with it, but higher horsepower does not necessarily mean more torque. Energy and force are not the same kind of thing.

Skippy Tisdale said...

How is that a truck?

Danno said...

Michael K said..."The EV problem is coming in a few years and is called "Old batteries." What do we do with them?"...

The enviro freaks chant their green earth mantra without looking at the issues and unintended consequences of their desires. Where are all of the solar panels (which last 15-20 yrs) going to be sent? They are not recyclable. How about wind turbine blades? These are already starting to fail and I have read articles about the space they take up.

Skippy Tisdale said...

"F150 can do including range."

my 25-year-old F150 4x4 (69,000 miles) has two tanks, so even though it only gets 15 mpg on the highway, it has a range of over 500 miles. It can go from Minneapolis to New Orleans, stopping only twice en route to fill the tanks. Wouldn't take $125K for it. No sir.

Yancey Ward said...

It is funny about the Hummers and Howard's beliefs about them. The only ones I have ever seen are on city streets or on the interstates around the cities. I can't remember ever seeing one on a rural highway anywhere.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Holy crap, this could be the ugliest car since the Pontiac Aztek.

Perhaps it is intended as a visual warning signal, like those of brightly colored snakes and insects.

mockturtle said...

Well, I guess real trucks are associated with deplorables so the truly woke might prefer this monstrosity.

Darrell said...

Stainless steel? Titanium? Great.
Maybe George Soros can't make this the official Humvee of Antifa with the purchase of 10,000.

Jim at said...

Yeah. I think I'll keep my F-150, thank you very much.

Joe said...

I think it's fraud. Tesla announced a truck and had to show something.

Ficta said...

I think there might be a market for these trucks, or something like them, in the near-ish term because an electric motor is ideal for towing very heavy things with a lot of control (which was what I was trying to convey with my torque comments, but I was obviously not explaining it very well :-) ). So if a person, or more likely, a business, has a use pattern for a truck where they need to haul things or tow things, possibly very heavy things, a few times a day over relatively short distances, an electric truck might be ideal. The design of this particular truck doesn't really seem to be chasing that market, however.

BUMBLE BEE said...

High school friend of mine, 55+ years in 4WD calls BullShit... No place for the winch.

Clyde said...

And suddenly the Electric Mustang SUV didn't seem quite as much of an abomination...

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The problem with current electric vehicles isn't in the vehicles themselves.....but in the attitude of those who are promoting that we get RID of the combustion engine and who want to shove these things down our throats. I'm not opposed in theory to E vehicles. Just to how they are trying to IMPOSE them upon us.

As I have stated, there are niches and limited markets where they make sense. LIMITED. However, there is a bigger area where they do not. Geography, steep grades, winding roads, cold weather, extreme heat and mostly long distance driving needs of those who are not in urban areas, as well as a lack of charging stations available severely limit the USABILITY and desirability of electric trucks and electric cars.

The technology and more importantly the infrastructure to support electric vehicles as a sole means or even majority means of transportation just does NOT exist at this time. Cart before the horse!

Nevermind the problems and lack of feasability ....the Green New Deal types want to destroy our current system and ram these things onto the public. No matter what destruction this would cause.

Then there is the issue of the TOXIC disposal of old batteries and the TOXIC production entailed in the manufacture of the E-vehicles.

If they were able to restrain themselves and let the process of change happen gradually and naturally, there wouldn't be such resistance.

ccscientist said...

It looks like a low-res video game car from 1990. Where is the truck part? It is a car. If you call a tail a leg, how many legs does a dog have? 4 because calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg (Mark Twain). It is like that--just calling it a truck doesn't make it a truck.

Can go 500 miles on a charge? Total BS. No electric vehicle can do that even if it is small and light.

Jeff said...

The in-bed trunk looks like a dirt magnet to me.

Gahrie said...

Can go 500 miles on a charge? Total BS. No electric vehicle can do that even if it is small and light.

Perhaps not.

A man named Goodenough just won a Noble prize for helping create the lithium ion battery used in every phone and computer out there. Before that he helped create RAM memory. His team has written a paper claiming to have created a functional solid state battery. This would make batteries cheaper, lighter, and longer lasting. It would also eliminate the need to cool the battery packs, saving money and weight.

There is speculation, backed by circumstantial evidence, that Goodenough is teaming up with Tesla to produce these new batteries. Recent takeovers by Tesla suggest they plan to begin making their own batteries soon, instead of buying them from Panasonic.

Low end projections are that solid state batteries would at least double the range, at less weight and less cost than current Tesla batteries, already the best in the industry by far.

Gahrie said...

The EV problem is coming in a few years and is called "Old batteries." What do we do with them?"...

Tesla recycles them.

Gahrie said...

has Elon Musk EVER come through on ANY of his Promises?

While he is frequently over optimistic on his time predictions, what has he promised and failed to produce? He just landed a rocket for the fourth time, and is getting it ready to fly a fifth time right now. Next month he will launch SpaceX's 19th supply mission to the ISS. The capsule and booster will probably have flown before. SpaceX's Dragon capsule is currently the only craft that can return sizeable loads to Earth. (The other cargo ships burn up on re-entry and the Russians' have little cargo capacity)

Tesla batteries are currently a major part of Australia's national energy grid, they just bought a shitload more to increase their current installation, and there are plans to build several more. His Nevada gigafactory produces half the world's yearly lithium ion battery capacity.

Tesla solar roofs are finally coming to production.

They literally can't build enough Tesla cars to satisfy demand. (Largely due to a shortage of batteries) They just opened their third factory complex (in China) and announced that the fourth would be built near Berlin.

His Boring Company started construction of an underground people mover for the Las Vegas convention center this week.

Paypal is still a major player in online banking.

Gahrie said...

And just remember, every Tesla has batteries that are an environmental disaster because of the litium in them

Unlike every cellphone and computer battery out there (which also use lithium) Tesla batteries are recycled.

loudogblog said...

It just hit me that it looks like a larger version of a DeLorean. I wonder... If Tesla can get it to generate 1.21 gigawatts at 88 miles per hour.......