Tesla Cybrtrk

[JRP3]

This Cybertruck is an affront to good design.

In your limited, subjective opinion. It is not a fact, no matter how you try and frame it as such. Objectively it's an excellent design to simplify production, reduce costs, while providing a durable vehicle with likely superior efficiency to other similarly sized vehicles. That is good design on a quantifiable level.

 

[JRP3]

At 1030 the 21st my/our world took a backseat to life itself ~ sadly no humor here.

Can someone/would someone kindly attach a link of the CyberTruck reveal so I can get back up to speed on what it is that I am missing.

Thanks,
Bruce

There are many to choose from. This one starts with the truck on stage:

This is the full event, including the extended countdown, actual event starts around 15 minutes in:

 

[cartwright]

I haven't read every thread, but I am assuming they are going to try to pull off using video feeds to replace the side mirrors. But I have towed long trailers before and without those super wide extending mirrors it is really hard to see anything. I wonder what sort of solution they will have for that...

 

[jerjozwik]

I haven't read every thread, but I am assuming they are going to try to pull off using video feeds to replace the side mirrors. But I have towed long trailers before and without those super wide extending mirrors it is really hard to see anything. I wonder what sort of solution they will have for that...

camera lenses come in multiple shapes and are pretty easy to come by.

 

[Olds442]

i guess i appreciate the engineering and form following function aspect that's lost on a lot of folks in this thread. bottom line, this is the best bang for the buck so far, if everyone calls mine ugly, i'll name it "duck".

thank goodness we don't all like the same things.

 

[DragonWatch]

There are many to choose from. This one starts with the truck on stage:

This is the full event, including the extended countdown, actual event starts around 15 minutes in:

Thank you JRP3.

Now, hummm, where to begin? For those of us in the beer garden, there are lots of us that stick our foot in our mouths. My CyberTruck will cost at least $70K

Probably 50% of the pickups today, never get utilized as a pickup.

The CyberTruck will get my wife and I out of our driveway in the snow. There are roughly nine lots between our home and the main road around the lake. The funniest thing happened to my wife and I last December, we had a deep snow fall and our X raised to full height, made it safely past seven lots. Trust me when I say, there is nothing funnier that two 69 year olds shoveling snow through two lots with a shop dustpan and a flat shovel. To top it off, a younger woman comes out and complains that we need to work faster because she needs to go to work.

Our Tesla CyberTruck will haul bricks, fence posts, drywall, trees, furniture, forty bags of concrete, and the list goes on past those nine lots.

My GrandPups (real grandkids) will continue to be the talk of the school. Not sure who the best grandparent will be ~ the cool grandmother in her falcon wing Model X or her “honey do” Tesla CyberTruck driver. Grandma wins almost every time

Now, the sides of that truck may convince my son-in-law he needs the truck. A couple of years back he apparently pi$$ed off one of the local deer. The deer ram’d his truck:-( Please do not laugh at him, he is much taller than you, or me.

He manages his and others properties. So, between dump runs and all the stuff I haul; he hauls more.

I am old, old as dirt. I cannot wait to trade in my current pickup for a Tesla CyberTruck. I told you, “I was born outside the box, and told to stay the hell out.” I just hope my wife will allow me to drive it

 

[mongo]

I haven't read every thread, but I am assuming they are going to try to pull off using video feeds to replace the side mirrors. But I have towed long trailers before and without those super wide extending mirrors it is really hard to see anything. I wonder what sort of solution they will have for that...

It was a demo build. No mirrors no wipers no cameras no ultrasonics (unless those were in bumper skirting)
US still requires physical mirrors, for now.

 

[JRP3]

I wonder what sort of solution they will have for that...

Telescoping camera arms maybe? I hope in a year or so before the truck is released that legislation catches up with the 21st century and realizes that cameras work just fine and can be better than mirrors.

 

[J X 3]

Lots of people here today have said they don't like the design, but put down money for one anyway. It's truly baffling. Like ordering food you know makes you sick.

When it comes time to finalize the purchase, and we see what it really looks like in order to meet regulations (mirrors, real headlights, wipers, actual bumpers, a real airbag-equipped steering wheel, pedestrian impact concerns) and what it truly sells for, we'll see what happens.

Rational human beings do not buy cars on looks. Looks might be one of the many variables to consider but only that. Buying on looks is like starving to death because you only eat candy. You are acting like a spoiled child, grow up.
The Cybertruck is the best value Tesla by far, it's unreasonable not to consider it for as an option.

 

[mattjs33]

Affront to traditional design you mean.

I’m sure if you showed off a B2 Bomber to a B52 Bomber crew in the 50’s they would have no idea what they were looking at.

The most advanced naval vessel also looks “different”.

View attachment 480283

Both of those vehicles look the way they do because the shape performs an actual function. Tell me exactly what the function is of a pyramid shape on an automobile. There isn't one, because automobile styling is exactly that, just style.

Why would a car designer style something that deliberately is not pleasing the eye?

In your limited, subjective opinion. It is not a fact, no matter how you try and frame it as such. Objectively it's an excellent design to simplify production, reduce costs, while providing a durable vehicle with likely superior efficiency to other similarly sized vehicles. That is good design on a quantifiable level.

If it's such a superior design, then tell me why I am not seeing the roads around my town filled with similarly shaped vehicles? Are Tesla engineers the only automobile engineers on earth who have discovered the advantages it offers?

Why don't the other vehicles in Tesla's lineup look this way?

It may not even be all that cheap to manufacture. I don't think stainless steel is easier to work with than regular stamped steel, nor cheaper. But let's suppose it is - are we to the point where Tesla is in such dire straits that they need to simplify the design of their truck to the point it looks like a Junkyard Wars reject, in order to save costs?

I read somewhere long ago that good styling doesn't really cost any more than bad, so it's a mystery why there should be unattractive cars out there.

I think the S and the 3 are sharp, modern looking cars. A truck designed in the same vein could sell a couple hundred thousand a year without breaking a sweat. I know you're a big Tesla fan. It's okay to admit this Cybertruck looks terrible. Stop making excuses for it.

 

[mattjs33]

Rational human beings do not buy cars on looks. Looks might be one of the many variables to consider but only that. Buying on looks is like starving to death because you only eat candy. You are acting like a spoiled child, grow up.
The Cybertruck is the best value Tesla by far, it's unreasonable not to consider it for as an option.

I never said it wasn't a good value. I said it looks awful.

For the record, the vast majority of people buy cars based on other factors than the spec sheet. Otherwise no one would ever buy a Jeep Wrangler except hardcore off-roaders. Emotions fuel overwhelming majority of car purchase decisions.

Designing a truck that looks like this cuts the potential market by 75%, if not more. They missed a fantastic opportunity, in order to satisfy Elon's whims. This is Falcon Wing Doors x 10.

 

[rcdjbp]

No, its not just you. That thing is ugly.
Yet, in ~3 years when it becomes available here, I will buy the dual motor version and trade-in my beautiful Model S for it.
Why ?
Because it has far better utility, far more functional as a vehicle:
- has a longer range (300 miles vs ~230 that my 2014 Model S85 will retain by that time)
- has AWD vs my RWD, which matters in the winter here in Ontario
- has better acceleration (4.5s instead of 5.5s for my old S)
- has Autopilot (my old S is pre-AP)
- has more ground clearance
- seats more (6 versus 5 in my S)
- has much more cargo capacity
- it has a tough practically indestructible surface, so I do not have to worry about scratches, door dings etc.
- easier to get in and out (I am getting old)

Now, you may ask why don't I buy a new Model X or Y, that would also provide most of those benefits (except the tough surface). Well, because it is cheaper! The dual motor cyber truck is $50K with Autopilot, the Model Y AWD is ~$52K, Model X is much more. Plus, as a bonus the truck has a cargo vault that can carry a lot more and may double duty as a camper.

When I sit inside, I will not see how ugly it is.
If I want to see a nicer car in my garage, I will look at my Model 3

 

[MP3Mike]

It was a demo build. No mirrors no wipers no cameras no ultrasonics (unless those were in bumper skirting)
US still requires physical mirrors, for now.

Motor Trend said it had a camera in the front fascia to help with visibility, (finally a 360 view?) and it had what looked like cameras in the front fender flares... So I think they were all there, just well hidden.

 

[rcdjbp]

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder...

 

[icefree]

are we to the point where Tesla is in such dire straits that they need to simplify the design of their truck to the point it looks like a Junkyard Wars reject, in order to save costs?

I think you have this backwards...Tesla is to the point where it is so far ahead in technology that it can afford to make something that is a more daring, challenging the norms of today. When I look at all the trucks on the road now, they all seem so cluttered, busy, and out dated.

Additionally, it's like the same leap the Navy took with the USS Zumwalt. Compare that ship to all the previous destroyers. Form follows function.

edit: punctuation

 

[VT_EE]

Please, please, PLEASE let it have a mechanical wiper speed control. That's all I ask. Oh, wait... deep wipe NN is coming!

Deep Wipe. Wrong in so many levels

 

[seattlite2004]

Both of those vehicles look the way they do because the shape performs an actual function. Tell me exactly what the function is of a pyramid shape on an automobile. There isn't one, because automobile styling is exactly that, just style.

Why would a car designer style something that deliberately is not pleasing the eye?



If it's such a superior design, then tell me why I am not seeing the roads around my town filled with similarly shaped vehicles? Are Tesla engineers the only automobile engineers on earth who have discovered the advantages it offers?

Why don't the other vehicles in Tesla's lineup look this way?

It may not even be all that cheap to manufacture. I don't think stainless steel is easier to work with than regular stamped steel, nor cheaper. But let's suppose it is - are we to the point where Tesla is in such dire straits that they need to simplify the design of their truck to the point it looks like a Junkyard Wars reject, in order to save costs?

I read somewhere long ago that good styling doesn't really cost any more than bad, so it's a mystery why there should be unattractive cars out there.

I think the S and the 3 are sharp, modern looking cars. A truck designed in the same vein could sell a couple hundred thousand a year without breaking a sweat. I know you're a big Tesla fan. It's okay to admit this Cybertruck looks terrible. Stop making excuses for it.

Why the Tesla Cybertruck Looks So Weird

“It literally breaks every rule we tell to our students,” Zammit says. “It’s what we tell them not to do.” No, this is not a truck built for truck designers.​

For example: See the top of the vehicle up there, and how thin it is? See the truck’s fine, narrow D-pillar, the slanted back stand that supports the roof? Based on all the triangles involved, there’s no reason to believe that the top of the truck is weak. But the thinness makes it appear to be. Zammit says he and other automotive designers teach students to add a little extra something to make the vehicle look stable, to look strong—even if it doesn’t add much to the engineering.​

 

[VT_EE]

No other car company would be so stupid.

And that line of thought is why the same boring, compromised, 100 year-old design is still used by everyone else. I give it a high probability this crazy design will grow on a lot of people as it becomes more mainstream, especially when the specs are far superior to anything else on the market. I like it when companies take a risk. Something that legacy automakers are hopeless at.

 

[TheTonester]

I really wonder if Elon did this more to f**k Rivian than anything else. Release a vehicle with better specs and a lower price to kill the competition before they even get off the ground. If so, kinda dirty but I guess that's business. Because you know the Cybertruck won't be ready "on time", so figure 2022? And also likely they won't meet the price points they've announced. Remember the $30,000 Model 3?

And the more I think about it, making it so jarring visually may have been a smart move. It's generated a lot of buzz, even though a good bit of it is negative. But people like attention and excitement and to be "different", and because of that it seems a lot of people are plunking down the $100. The interesting thing will be to see what percentage of those people actually follow through. I'd bet far less than half. Even with that, sales will probably be pretty good.

 

[VT_EE]

Elon Musk could design a car that looks like a flaccid penis and 100,000 people would give him money for the promise of one in two or three years. That's cult of personality at work for you.

For a while last night I thought maybe this was an exercise to see just what he could get away with.

Or perhaps many people are so tired of the flaccid penis design of every other truck that they are willing to drive something so extreme.