Report Says Tesla Pickup is More Talked About Than Ford’s F-150

Elon Musk has been doing plenty to hype a Tesla pickup, even calling it the “coolest car he’s ever seen.” A new study shows suggests Musk has successfully built intrigue even if he hasn’t built the truck yet.

Car news site AutoWise analyzed geotagged Twitter data for more than 100,000 tweets and found that the Tesla Pickup is currently more talked about than the bestselling Ford F-150.

According to Autowise: “The Ford F-150 is currently the most popular truck in every state, but when put up against the upcoming Tesla pickup truck… it is defeated at a count of 26 states to 24. With most of the Tesla support coming from the West Coast and Upper East coast. The south holds all the support for the Ford F-150.”

So far, consumers have only seen a vague renderings and really have no clue what Musk’s “cyberpunk” truck will look like. The pickup is expected to be debuted sometime this year.

“This is something that if you’re driving down the road it looks like it came out of a sci-fi movie,” Musk said at Tesla’s 2019 shareholders meeting.

He said the company aims to build “something more functional than a [Ford] F-150, but a better sports car than a basic [Porsche] 911.”

Musk said the Tesla Pickup truck will cost less than $50,000.

 

[Jeff Hudson]

“This is something that if you’re driving down the road it looks like it came out of a sci-fi movie,” oooh, I like sci-fi.

 

[Meco]

less than $50k? so with all options, we're probably looking at $70k? Dam, that's within spitting distance.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

less than $50k*? so with all options, we're probably looking at $70k? Dam, that's within spitting distance.

* After cost savings

FTFY

 

[Magellan55]

I wonder where the Rivian falls on this scale - it's due out before Tesla's truck and has photos and I think made the rounds at some auto shows already, though it starts around $70K.

 

[snort]

Please Elon and Franz, make it a truck, not an SUV with a miniature box and no good way to carry lumber or attach a contractor rack.

The F150 is popular because it's a real truck, usable by people who actually do things. Yes, lots of F150s are bought by people who want to be mistaken for someone who does things, but there still are lots who still do, despite the outsourcing of most of that part of the US economy.

My ideal truck would have a full size box that can carry 4x8 plywood in the bed with the gate closed. It would have a towing capacity of at least 7000 lbs. It should be as short and narrow as possible to fit in a cramped jobsite. It should have high clearance, at least as an option, for rough jobsites. This is also helpful for offroad. There should be nothing peculiar over the top, such as falcon doors, which would prevent a contractor rack from being installed. A frunk is ok, but a bigger space, such as behind the seat of 1.5 row trucks, would be better for securely stowing tools.

-Snortybartfast

 

[smithrukami]

I wonder where the Rivian falls on this scale - it's due out before Tesla's truck and has photos and I think made the rounds at some auto shows already, though it starts around $70K.

Waiting at a shopping mall for a chargepoint charger in my Rivian is a buzz kill. Rivian will learn the hard way.

 

[SOULPEDL]

Please Elon and Franz, make it a truck, not an SUV with a miniature box and no good way to carry lumber or attach a contractor rack.

The F150 is popular because it's a real truck, usable by people who actually do things. Yes, lots of F150s are bought by people who want to be mistaken for someone who does things, but there still are lots who still do, despite the outsourcing of most of that part of the US economy.

My ideal truck would have a full size box that can carry 4x8 plywood in the bed with the gate closed. It would have a towing capacity of at least 7000 lbs. It should be as short and narrow as possible to fit in a cramped jobsite. It should have high clearance, at least as an option, for rough jobsites. This is also helpful for offroad. There should be nothing peculiar over the top, such as falcon doors, which would prevent a contractor rack from being installed. A frunk is ok, but a bigger space, such as behind the seat of 1.5 row trucks, would be better for securely stowing tools.

-Snortybartfast

Your "ideal truck" bed length is not the most popular of the F-150s. From what I hear, a 6.5' bed is the favorite.

Elon needs to target what's popular; it's a battle and he has one shot. Others can make several versions, not Tesla (yet).

Maybe there's a way to extend the rear gate/mini gate, that captures that 4x8 sheet of plywood. Build that into the truck and it's a winner! Rivian I think is planning for storage of 12 ft lumber through the center. The rules for electric design changes many things. What if your 4x8 sheet fit under the battery and the truck lifted even higher? WOW, a wooden skid plate too. "The Drop Rack"

 

[SOULPEDL]

Your "ideal truck" bed length is not the most popular of the F-150s. From what I hear, a 6.5' bed is the favorite.

Elon needs to target what's popular; it's a battle and he has one shot. Others can make several versions, not Tesla (yet).

Maybe there's a way to extend the rear gate/mini gate, that captures that 4x8 sheet of plywood. Build that into the truck and it's a winner! Rivian I think is planning for storage of 12 ft lumber through the center. The rules for electric design changes many things. What if your 4x8 sheet fit under the battery and the truck lifted even higher? WOW, a wooden skid plate too. "The Drop Rack"

In addition to storage, get the insulation kit (fits in the Drop Rack) to keep the battery warm when you travel in cold climates. Or try the Armorack for those who want ultimate battery and road protection.

Who knows right? Wish I was a part of the project.

 

[Magellan55]

wonder how Franz is dealing with aero in the pickup design. A normal pickup bed with closed gate is like dragging a parachute behind you. Maybe a built-in tonneau cover? Otherwise the range will absolutely suck for a given battery.

 

[vtreglia86]

I wonder where the Rivian falls on this scale - it's due out before Tesla's truck and has photos and I think made the rounds at some auto shows already, though it starts around $70K.

I went to the NY Auto Show this year and saw the Rivian. It's nice, but needs a ton of work and improvements still. The hardest part of viewing the Rivian was the fact that it was just there to be viewed and touched but ended up being simply "displayed". It was roped off, I was able to lean in and hit a couple switches in the bed, which promptly got me a slap on the wrist for touching by the Rivian representative. After apologizing, the 20 minute conversation I had with the rep was about how the truck had issues which is why it was roped off, and those issues ultimately had no fix at the time and needed better programmers/engineers. The rep said most of the car's electronics kept shorting out; including simple things - electronic bed cover kept getting stuck while opening and closing, lift gate release switches were not working, the actual windows did not function, and the main cabin functions were glitching.

 

[Rockster]

Please Elon and Franz, make it a truck, not an SUV with a miniature box and no good way to carry lumber or attach a contractor rack.

The F150 is popular because it's a real truck, usable by people who actually do things. Yes, lots of F150s are bought by people who want to be mistaken for someone who does things, but there still are lots who still do, despite the outsourcing of most of that part of the US economy.

My ideal truck would have a full size box that can carry 4x8 plywood in the bed with the gate closed. It would have a towing capacity of at least 7000 lbs. It should be as short and narrow as possible to fit in a cramped jobsite. It should have high clearance, at least as an option, for rough jobsites. This is also helpful for offroad. There should be nothing peculiar over the top, such as falcon doors, which would prevent a contractor rack from being installed. A frunk is ok, but a bigger space, such as behind the seat of 1.5 row trucks, would be better for securely stowing tools.

-Snortybartfast

This. In my world, a pickup truck isn't a real pickup truck unless its bed can accommodate a 4x8 sheet of plywood.

 

[snort]

wonder how Franz is dealing with aero in the pickup design. A normal pickup bed with closed gate is like dragging a parachute behind you. Maybe a built-in tonneau cover? Otherwise the range will absolutely suck for a given battery.

Once upon a time I think this was true, but it hasn't been for at least 20 years. The majors have wind-tunnels and computational fluid dynamics, and they've managed to extend the area of stalled air behind the cab so that the tailgate is part of it and helps keep it stable, so it contributes a negligible amount of drag regardless of whether it's open or closed. (the trick is in the shape of the cab roof. look up the Kutta Condition if you want to see how it works)

That said, for a contractor, mileage is less serious an issue than functionality, as long as it's sufficient. My buddy has a max daily range of around 100 miles. He carries all sorts of stuff--lumber, drywall, refrigerator, cabinets, a trailer for the really big stuff. If he has a 200 mile truck and loses 33% to aero, he'd be fine.

A 6.5' bed can accommodate 8 foot plywood with the gate open. It has to be tied down, but it's supported its whole length, the last little bit by the gate. a 4 foot bed like the rivian cannot. 4 foot beds are for people who carry small wet or stinky things now and then--potted plants, dogs, dirty hiking gear. think about an 8 foot piece of drywall sticking 30 inches past the end of the gate. It'll break. (Although most contractors carry this stuff on a contractor rack, and they'll use 12 foot pieces of drywall if they can get them to the site.) I'd like an 8 foot bed, and they used to be available on mid-sized trucks, but no more.

-Snortybartfast

 

[dubzz24]

The problem with an 8 foot bed is that it makes the truck extremely long in a crew or even extended cab configuration. In 4 years with a Ram 1500 crew cab 5'7" bed, I hauled many sheets of drywall, plywood, dimensional lumber etc. and while I wish it could have hauled more for the occasions that I did haul large items, the convenience of having a smaller length and better turning radius outweighed that. I now have an extended cab GMC 3500HD with an 8' bed and it is an absolute pain to drive to the city and park anywhere.

People will use them predominantly as daily drivers, just like they do with current half-ton trucks, and 5.5 - 6.5' beds are better suited and offer a better mix of utility and usability. Will some people buy 8' beds? I'm sure they will, but no where near as many.

 

[Brando]

Buy work trucks.
Daily drivers - buy cars - rent trucks when you need them. Man, that was hard to figure out.

 

[doghousePVD]

Tesla will have an advantage, with a really short, steep hood, so the bed can be longer on the same wheelbase. I think the 8 foot bed will be easy.

Musk wants to reinvent the pickup, not copy Ford.