Contractors & Surfers need an EV utility van. Mid sized for lumber & surfboards

[locoviento]

i owned Toyota Previa vans for years...need EV van just a little bigger to carry 4x 8' sheets of plywood and long surfboards.
an interior surfboard rack would allow board storage... AFFORDABLE price point is essential. i would buy one TODAY !

number of Teslas in Hawaii is increasing but mine is the only surf rack i have seen.
i had to buy the moon roof option to get the rack mounts; $ 2500 price tag needs to be reduced for that feature

i cannot open rear boot/trunk when boards are on the roof rack..i use forward boot for wet gear.
aloha brett

 

[ecarfan]

i owned Toyota Previa vans for years...need EV van just a little bigger to carry 4x 8' sheets of plywood and long surfboards. an interior surfboard rack would allow board storage... AFFORDABLE price point is essential. i would buy one TODAY !

You and a few million other people.

The list of various types of long distance EV vehicles that Tesla could make and sell millions and millions of is long. But Tesla is a young company and has limited resources and therefore has to choose very carefully what it offers.

 

[aesculus]

The people van is supposed to be in the works so it's not too much of a push to sell it sans seats. It's supposed to be built on the Model X skateboard.

Maybe that will be the 17th announcement.

 

[mkspeedr]

easy to say now but I bet a small transit connect body on a S chassis would have made more money and sales than a model X.

 

[S'toon]

Musk has said it's likely they'll build a cargo van built on Tesla pickup chassis.
Tesla Cargo Van

 

[YBT]

My ICE van will have to serve until there are long range EV options available: once one comes a flood will surely follow!

 

[1208]

A couple of these in my town..

KANGOO VAN Z.E. | Electric | Renault UK

Nissan e-NV200 - Electric Van | Nissan

 

[Evbwcaer]

Ford made the Transit Connect van as an EV. I've seen them for sale around $10k, 50-60 mile range.

 

[Peteybabes]

i would love a larger Tesla that can seat 8-9 adults comfortably. the first nice EV people-mover will win big. we have a GMC Savana LWD with the Explorer Vans Conversion and it seats 9. in the last 4 years we put on 150,000 miles or around $30K in fuel!!!

 

[OBX John]

I'm both a contractor and surfer, and I agree! I'm hoping the roof racks will suffice for now since I'm not hauling around material anymore, but I'd love a big stripped down shell over a large battery "skateboard". Maybe in 5 years when batteries get cheaper it'd make economic sense - seems like the power requirements of a larger vehicle don't favor the Tesla formula at the moment.

 

[Aieukl378]

Maybe a Tesla version of the Honda Element?

 

[Saghost]

SMP2 talks about Tesla's autonomous minibus. That's presumably more or less van sized, and I'd expect to see a cargo version offered at some point.

 

[anticitizen13.7]

Maybe a Tesla version of the Honda Element?

This was exactly my thought when I saw this thread title.

I'm a Honda guy, and I know that many of my fellow Honda fans were heartbroken when Honda discontinued the Element. Sure, the Element was an un-aerodynamic box, had terrible fuel economy, and attracted the ridicule of the automotive press due to its looks, but it did a lot of things very well. The square cargo area could accommodate a wide variety of items more easily than more conventional crossovers like the CR-V. The polymer floor could be mopped (Honda explicitly warned against using a hose because the floor appeared waterproof) and was easier to clean than a carpet floor. The Element was a true light crossover for work and outdoor activities. Unfortunately, Honda did not seem to want to continue the production of a specialized car like the Element, so it was replaced by the more generalist HR-V crossover. While the HR-V has Honda's famously flexible 2nd row "Magic Seats", it was never able to match the Element's cargo hold shape and interior ruggedness.

My guess is that when Tesla's factories reach "Alien Dreadnought level 2.0" and higher, that it will be possible for Tesla to offer a wide variety of cars customized to more specific use cases. With a high degree of automation, the cost to offer specialized cars falls.

 

[zag2me]

Would certainly be nice to have a Tesla Surf van...

In the mean time, someone in the UK has already converted a Vdub camper to electric

All Electric Camper Vans Yorkshire | All Electric Campervan Hire | eDub Trips

 

[NeverFollow]

Number of Teslas in Hawaii is increasing but mine is the only surf rack i have seen.
i had to buy the moon roof option to get the rack mounts; $ 2500 price tag needs to be reduced for that feature

i cannot open rear boot/trunk when boards are on the roof rack..i use forward boot for wet gear.
aloha brett

Your comment reminds me about this forum thread: Hauling surfboards

What about this VW Varock Pickup Concept:

You could ask Santa to design a custom Model S ...

... to build a Tesla S Pickup similar to this Citroen SM Maserati pickup designed by the coach builder Heuliez

 

[kort677]

i owned Toyota Previa vans for years...need EV van just a little bigger to carry 4x 8' sheets of plywood and long surfboards.
an interior surfboard rack would allow board storage... AFFORDABLE price point is essential. i would buy one TODAY !


aloha brett

some day a manufacturer will recognize the need for such a vehicle they will build one. The whole modern EV revolution is still in the infancy stage. the choices will remain limited until the technologies get more advanced, less costly and more accepted by the main stream consumer

 

[NeverFollow]

some day a manufacturer will recognize the need for such a vehicle they will build one.

The whole modern EV revolution is still in the infancy stage.

the choices will remain limited until the technologies get more advanced,

less costly and more accepted by the main stream consumer

The Nissan E-NV200 VAN is already available in England (From £22,316.67 ~ $27,500)

24 KW - 106 miles (NEDC) range - 80 kW AC Electric Motor