Tesla Cyberpuke

[_andy]

It looks like it should at least have a pretty low radar cross section.

[Mr Pish]

I also still think the 6 tonne tow rating is bullshit, I've never seen a unibody vehicle that can pull that sort of weight before. Although I guess the impact resistance and towing strength are probably related.

surprisingly they actually have a standardised test to calculate tow rating for trucks (odd as US trucks are exempt from most vehicle regs), for some reason i watched this recently

[ZedLeg]

I know how tow ratings work, trucks that can pull 6 tonnes still have a separate chassis which means they can attach the tow bar/fifth wheel whatever to the chassis and keep the body made of lighter material.

To tow that weight with a unibody vehicle the structure would have to be very strong which would add weight all through the body.

It seems a weird way to do it if they wanted to compete with big trucks. They could've made a strong skateboard with the drivetrain in it which you could then put whatever body you wanted on.

Looks like Elon wanted to make this thing and has made it fit into what they're actually supposed to be making

[RobYob]

But a Tesla isn't a standard unibody though. It has that dirty great armoured battery in the floor* which is a lot stronger than a "normal" floor. That could easily be the substitute for the frame but of a body on frame truck.

*Edit rereading your post implies it doesn't, I didn't check the spec careful tbh.

[ZedLeg]

You could be right, I'm not 100% up on how Teslas are made. I made an assumption based on what I took unibody to mean.

[Mito Man]

Yep I reckon it’s built like all the other Teslas underneath, skateboard design with the unibody on top. The skateboard is what the tow bar will attach to as the unibody doesn’t extend far down enough


Bodywork repair must be a headache as the whole truck looks like it’s made from 3 massive panels. Will be even more of a headache if the final product is in raw stainless steel.

[simon_g]

I’ll go against the grain and say that I don’t think it’s that impractical.
The bed is longer than a F150 unless you spec a short cab to get a longer bed. One criticism of pickups is that it’s very hard to make the beds secure against theft, the built in cover could address that and doesn’t eat into the bed space. The sloping bed is also interesting as you can fit substantially larger items towards the back of the bed and still keep the cover on. But the best thing about the bed by far is that fact that the wheel arches don’t protrude into it - so much more real world capacity if you’re transporting square items.

Dent proof steel panels are good, we had a storm a few months ago, my dad left a Halfords folding camping chair outside you know the ones which weigh like nothing with a folding aluminium frame; and the wind blew it into the f150, golf ball sized dent in the door
If it’s as bulletproof as they state it’ll do very well in shithole markets like Russia and SA.

Yep, the market they're going for are the people who drive their massive expensive truck around with an empty bed 90+% of the time (hence a cover massively reduces drag) but stick their dirt bike or some DIY stuff in the back or tow a boat on the odd weekend.

The design is hilarious but I guess it'll be softened for production anyway and a more ordinary looking one will follow later. This way gets far more attention than if they showed a generic F150/Silverado clone. Price is going to cause a lot of furrowed brows, plenty of people in the US spend over $50k on their trucks as it is, and I think the legacy manufacturers were hoping to do electric versions at a decent premium (that Rivian $70k+ bracket).

[Ascender]

It almost reminds me of the Pontiac Aztec which Walter White drove in Breaking Bad. I don't think that's a good thing.

I do think it looks pretty cool from this angle though.



But utterly preposterous from almost every other one.

[McSwede]

If it’s as bulletproof as they state it’ll do very well in shithole markets like Russia and USA.

Fixed that for you

[Mito Man]

I’m still undecided on this. As a piece of engineering/architecture it’s amazing and reminds me of some of the modern buildings in London, but then I’m conditioned to thinking that a vehicle should look a certain way and this doesn’t fit that. I like that it doesn’t conform to their design language which makes it exciting in a way that no other mainstream brand is, this also makes it less offensive than a Mach E for example or any of the electric cars which have a bloody faux grill slapped on them. It’s Mclaren Senna-esqe in a way.

[Barry]

Looks ridiculous. I'll have a Rivian thingy instead please.

[NotoriousREV]

The Venn diagram for people who buy pickup trucks, people who buy electric vehicles, and people who would buy a vehicle that looks like this is probably just 3 separate circles.

[nuttinnew]

[Swervin_Mervin]

I’m still undecided on this. As a piece of engineering/architecture it’s amazing and reminds me of some of the modern buildings in London, but then I’m conditioned to thinking that a vehicle should look a certain way and this doesn’t fit that. I like that it doesn’t conform to their design language which makes it exciting in a way that no other mainstream brand is, this also makes it less offensive than a Mach E for example or any of the electric cars which have a bloody faux grill slapped on them. It’s Mclaren Senna-esqe in a way.

It has to be their natural progression. They significantly advanced the acceptance of EVs, and in large part that wasn't just down to their tech, but packaging it in a fairly bland but not unattractive package. Easy to swallow.

Now that the other manufacturers are catching up, and the likes of Rivian are starting to emerge, they can afford to push the designs out there. Cars don't have to be the traditional shape anymore, so now people are catching on to EVs, and many keen to see edgier design, the likes of Tesla with their loyal fanbase and brand appeal can start to push the boundaries in a way that the traditional OEMs maybe can't.

[Simon]

As Sniff commented on Twatter, it can't be made like this (at least for EU markets) because the indicators need to be seen from the side.

[GG.]

The Venn diagram for people who buy pickup trucks, people who buy electric vehicles, and people who would buy a vehicle that looks like this is probably just 3 separate circles.

I'm sure the last two have some overlap. Totally agree on the pick up truck demographic though

[GG.]

As Sniff commented on Twatter, it can't be made like this (at least for EU markets) because the indicators need to be seen from the side.

To be fair that's probably a secondary issue compared to scything pedestrians in half...

[integrale_evo]

They'd just convert the us side marker lights to be indicators,or add some led strips at each end.

Probably the least of their worries trying to get that through most countries type approvals though..

[Simon]

Look at the end of Marques' video where it's in a tug of war with a some American pickup. Their pickups are already huge and this is bigger still. Sorry, not fit for UK roads at all.

[mik]

Sorry, not fit for UK roads at all.

Yeah - it is very much sized for the US / middle-east markets.