I have a feeling that is a direct response to the Ford/Rivian partnership that will see a fully electric F150 soon. I'm surprised he didn't reference the Rivian truck that is already available for pre-order, but perhaps they don't want to draw attention to the competitor?
Elon has famously said don't show me the powerpoint, show me the samples. He never pays attention to those things that are only on paper. Ford's investment in Rivian is a pretty desperate move because top executives need to show something to the board for the EV and tech mandate. In reality Ford does not need any know how to build trucks. It already is the world's most prominent truck builder. It's only interested in EV technology for which Rivian has none, other than those on powerpoints.
Musk on Tesla Pickup: ‘Coolest Car I’ve Ever Seen’ I think by using the term CAR pretty much settles what we will see. Honda Ridgeline type pickup tucks is what I suspect will be shipped which I feel isn't really a Truck. I'm curious what the suspension will end up being, and if there will be a frame or unibody construction.
Yeah, Elon is the master of hype. But I do hope for a 200kWh pack and a 240/30A plug in the back. Would be a huge help when charging my Alta - save me from dragging a generator to a race. From a towing standpoint, F150 will be fine for me. 6x10 motorcycle trailer and 24' jet boat are all I need to tow. Heck, there are plenty of people around here with Raptors that have never even seen a gravel road.
Lugging heavy things around is going to consume a huge amount of power. I wonder how many batteries this truck has.
A lot of people do drive a pickup as a daily driver, even though they don't carry anything in it. Maybe it's okay to not have too much battery.
What do you think of hub motors for the rear wheels? This way you get a bed that can lower to the ground for easy loading because no drive unit under it. Ground clearance to bed height ratio for off road stability gets better too. argument against hub motors is unsprung weight. Unless you have several wheels on each side each with it’s own smaller hub motor! Then you get low unsprung weigh for all situations except long high speed bumps where several wheels spring simultaneously. So what do you say about a multi wheel hub motor pickup?
Remember that Elon is from South Africa and cab forward designs are common....especially when there is no need to house a ICE...
Tesla is pretty proud of their crash test ratings. Can they do much of a crumple zone with no front to the vehicle? Pure speculation, but I would imagine that South Africa's safety standards are different.
The Tesla pick up truck will be a game changer. Ford, GM and RAM all rely on pickups for the majority of their profits. Every pickup Tesla sells will take market share from one of them. Game over. They should be worried. Very worried.