The Tesla Cybertruck
NotDracon
Member Posts: 66 ✭✭
So, the Cybertruck's been out for several months now and it looks like the "I told you so" crowd has already seen themselves vindicated, if the initial reports are anything to go by.
Biggest concern since its announcement was the solid "exoskeleton" exterior and bullet-resistant glass, which raised the question of what would happen to its occupants in the event of a crash or a need to extract them. Well, the first part's been answered: the Cybertruck seems to shrug off collisions while its passengers take the brunt of the crash. A few news stories have already reported on intact Cybertrucks breaking its driver's bones while the other car gets totally wrecked- the driver walking out relatively unscathed. Apparently several decades of research into crumple zones weren't enough to convince Elon of their need. As for the other half, there hasn't been an incident where a Cybertruck driver needs to be pried out of their tank by fire fighters but it's only a matter of time for it to happen.
Another aspect of the Cybertruck that's showing its faults has been the wiring system. Did you know the Cybertruck uses gigabit ethernet cabling with a 48v power + data CAN bus to every component, all on the SAME cable? This reduced total wiring by 77% and used 1/2 the copper it originally did! It uh… also means that if one component fails, multiple other components that were strung to it also fail. In a catastrophic case, the whole car could shut down if the "right" component burnt out. Think about old Christmas lights and how the string would turn off if a single bulb failed. There is ZERO redundancy in its wiring system, and there's at least one report out there of a crash that happened because the steering wheel and brakes failed to respond to controls.
I sincerely doubt we have any Elon fans here, but I haven't been lurking enough to know. That's just an assumption based on the general "vibe" I've been getting off these boards.
Comments
I am a big Elon fan. My brother bought a Tesla 3 years ago and it is a great car.* I installed his charging station in his garage, we used a 240 clothes dryer receptacle from Lowes, works great. We drove all around town yesterday in the Tesla.
*Great for short trips of under 140 miles. No good for long trips. Sorry I don't know anything about the truck.
One can be a fan of Elon and still not believe there is any value in EVs…
Oh I think there's quite a few Elon fans here, and I'm one. Go X, go SpaceX! As for electric automobiles, see Allen's post above.
What Ruger said. Musk is a brilliant man, but he has far too many irons in the fire. SpaceX and Starlink are huge successes, Tesla, his Boring company, Neuralink, and other enterprises not so much.
Tesla cars are very good in general, but people are simply not warming up to EVs. And that "pickup" is an unmitigated mistake.
What's an Elon?
Elon Musk is a visionary with a lot of innovative ideas, and he is willing to take risks. Unfortunately a lot of the ideas and visions for the future for electric vehicles is not obtainable right now.
There was a time when bridges, buildings and other structures seemed futuristic to people, but were limited in scale do to only being able to produce iron at the time. But after we learned how to produce forged steel the sky was the limit it seemed.
Some day maybe if I can go out get into a EV and drive 400 or 500 miles in cold weather with out any problem, I will look into a EV. Until then gasoline vehicles is the most dependable and economic form of transportation.
Good analogy. On our horizon are sodium and sulfur batteries that far exceed the current lithium ones. With virtually unlimited supplies of both elements, too. We'll see.
I've long said that replaceable batteries are the solution to the charge time issue. Drive in to a "filling" station, and a robot swaps your partially discharged battery for a full one in just a minute or two. And you drive off, after being charged for the difference in charge level, just like filling a gas tank.
Supplying the electricity needed is, however, not as simple.
Not real good at readin' the room…
…I'm a big fan of Elon…the guy is cutting edge & takes no BS, and he knows in life that there are far more important things than money…but I've gotta say, the Tesla truck is probably the ugliest truck I've ever seen…how dependable it is, only time will tell…
The trouble is that it seems to be something co-designed by Flash Gordon and Dick Tracy.
I kinda get the idea to make something really "different" but…
I stand by my previous statement.
It’s a pretty cool truck, if you don’t need a truck.
That's not a truck. This is a truck:
Agree.....…
It's been said.......and repeated many times by "someone"........one cannot violate The First Law of Thermodynamics......and get away with it. Never have.....NEVER will.
All the "green stuff" is just a diversion.........for MONEY!!😡
As always......my 2 cents.
How long before states, after losing all that tax revenue from 'gas taxes', start charging by the mile for your vehicle license.
No way! A REAL truck has a bed you can put a full sheet of plywood in! Or pull a 40' container!
Like this one:
:)
Merc
jimdeere that looks like a truckload of ash firewood. I'm burning some ash right now, very good firewood.
Yes tire wear is increased because of the extra weight of the electric vehicle. Now since this post has gone off the rails……….THIS is a truck……..
It is true that the Tesla is hard on tires. I'll have to ask my brother how many miles he is getting.
Big fan of Elon Musk's but we have no need for a EV let alone a EV "truck"
"Independence Now, Independence Forever."
John Adams
MUSK may be a 'visionary' but he went temporarily blind on this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nothing Musk attempts is "within bounds". The idea of reusable rockets was treated with howls of ridicule by the engineers who designed the Apollo project. Global internet access was a ludicrous idea until Starlink.
Modern electric vehicles are in their infancy now.There will probably come a time in the future that they are the standard ,everyday vehicle.There are rumors that Toyota has a EV with 750 mile range and 45 minute recharge time.There may come a time when people that know vehicles say"Look, an old gas burner.That guy must be rich to pay 25 bucks a gallon for gas when you can find it.
^^Not in my lifetime(I hope). I'd rather ride a horse than drive an EV.
Can't do it to save my life, it looks like. Lot more Musk fans than anticipated on this board, honestly a kind of culture shock for me. I do not like the man but to save everyone's breath I won't indulge as to the why nor challenge those that do like him.
At least we can agree on disliking the Cybertruck.
If it's so great send 20-30 to the Middle East and see how long they last. I hear the towel heads are still blowing stuff up over there.
I'm also a Musk fan - smart guy that does what he wants to and makes $ at it. The left hates him so much so that Tesla was excluded for Federal Contracts for EV cars.
I would rather have a Hybrid or plug in Hybrid Pickup than a full EV.
I like the concept the of the plug in hybrid Jeep Wrangler 4xe. With that you can choose your drive mode. You can choose to go full battery only mode. You can't do that with a Toyota Prius.
I finally saw a Tesla Truck on the road - it is ugly!
I would guess they have designed a special compound tire for EV's. Heavier vehicles require heavier brakes.
While EV's incorporate dynamic braking, it doesn't work if a panic stop is needed. Maybe they've engineered a reverse current feature for braking.
Reversing current will definitely bring you to a stop. I experienced a couple of times when engine light, or we just had a few cars behind us on the railroad where we through the reverser lever in revers. Definitely hard on the traction motors. But it will get you stopped in emergency. Lol.
I checked with my brother. He only gets 30,00 miles on a set of tires.
The Tesla is no good for long trips, and is rough on tires. Other than that is is a great car, smooth and quiet. Unbelievable acceleration and handling. Fun to drive. I built brother's charging station in his garage, we bought the wire, and breaker, and a 240 clothes dryer receptacle at Lowes, cost him about $200. Takes about 10 hours to get a full charge at home.
No oil changes, no spark plugs to change, no air filter. Cost per mile to drive, about half that of a gasoline vehicle.
I hear they work well on flooded roads too. No air intake to suck in water.
Yes, with that huge battery taking up the entire floor of the car, and setting six
inches above the ground, if you drove your Tesla into a flood, it would be, as James Bond said, "Shocking."
Speaking of changing spark plugs on an internal combustion car in the 21st century.
At 125,000 miles on my KIA, it just may be time. Still running great, so maybe not yet!
I love Elon but the cybertruck is stupid.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
you have to change out the $15,000 battery pack before you would have to change the spark plugs in a modern car.
I see a future where 2-car families will have an electric car for local driving and a gas rig or plug in hybrid if they have to go anywhere.
we are 50+ years from an all electric highway, and thankfully I will be long gone.
Brad Steele
Just to be clear, Don, I gave you a like for your whole comment except for the part about you being gone! We rather enjoy your company!
Here are the long range capabilities of the Tesla. We drove down to Atlanta for the family Christmas party. 207 miles. To me, as I am used to driving 675 miles a day in the Big Rig, a 414 mile round trip is not a long drive. But it is a long drive for the Tesla. Heat and headlights eat up that electricity. Running heat and headlights on a rainy 48 degree day, you only can get 150 miles.
On the way down, we had to stop in Gainesville for a recharge. 40 minutes.
On the way back, stopped in Gainesville again, another 40 minutes on the refill. Total of 8 hours of driving, and an hour and 20 minutes at the electricity pumps.