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Tesla Model U Pickup Rendered by Truck Trend

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Hi Guys,

So I guess I should come clean. I'm actually a staff editor on Truck Trend magazine. I've been on the TMC forums for more than a year, and am a big Tesla fan. I pitched the idea of doing a story on a Tesla pickup concept to my boss, and he was receptive. What you see is the result of more than three months of artistic collaboration and creative imagination. I hope you like it, and obviously, feel free to share it with as many of your friends, virtual or real, as possible....

Model U - The Tesla Pickup Truck
 

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Mildly interesting rendering. I don't understand the crease below the front Tesla "T" because it makes the car look like it is frowning and I don't see what purpose that crease would serve: it might even increase drag. The low running lights on each side look like the front of the VW Golf EV.

I think the actual truck vehicle Tesla will make will be much more aerodynamic than that.

Tesla is years away from producing a pickup truck type vehicle, but feel free to speculate...
 
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Wow...Tough crowd. :) I totally understand your critiques. However, we intentionally made it a little more broad-shouldered and aggressive to appeal to potential truck buyers. I acknowledge it's not the first speculative render done of a Tesla truck, but in my humble opinion (okay, I'm slightly biased) it's one of the best-looking. I encourage you to read the article, in which we envision and conceptualize a lot of unique features. I would love to hear your feedback on the usefulness and feasibility of those features. Thanks.
 
As long-timers here know I've been hammering at a Tesla truck for years; I have not, however, been sharing my ideas in open forum.

So I'll restrict my comments to two points for you to consider (congrats on your hard work, though!):

1. Any 120V or 240V inversions are extremely problematic as long as Tesla keeps its Superchargers freely open - either it would enable someone to "siphon" electrons from an SpC to, for example, his home storage batteries, OR Tesla would have to emplace a fee structure...which itself opens a can of worms as in many jurisdictions that places Tesla as an electric provider, which.... :(

2. Even "for trickle charging applications", rooftop PV panels are a no-way-to-recoup-cost gimmick.
 
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As long-timers here know I've been hammering at a Tesla truck for years; I have not, however, been sharing my ideas in open forum.

So I'll restrict my comments to two points for you to consider (congrats on your hard work, though!):

1. Any 120V or 240V inversions are extremely problematic as long as Tesla keeps its Superchargers freely open - either it would enable someone to "siphon" electrons from an SpC to, for example, his home storage batteries, OR Tesla would have to emplace a fee structure...which itself opens a can of worms as in many jurisdictions that places Tesla as an electric provider, which.... :(

2. Even "for trickle charging applications", rooftop PV panels are a no-way-to-recoup-cost gimmick.

Thanks for the observations. Well, I'm not an engineer. We did take a certain amount of creative license with the features. We kind of put it out there as a "What if..." If nothing else, it was a very challenging and rewarding project to work on. Hope you at least enjoy the eye candy. :)
 
I could see them moving the cab back a little to create a larger frunk. The frunk on a truck would be a great selling feature with the ideas you listed.

The $35k base price would be very achievable. There are trucks and work trucks. I think it will be easy for Tesla with the use of options and upgrades to take that weekend warriors $35k truck and turn it into a jobsite monster costing $80k+.

I bought a new basic truck nine years ago and have 28,000 miles on it. In five to seven years it might be time for an upgrade.
 
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I could see them moving the cab back a little to create a larger frunk. The frunk on a truck would be a great selling feature with the ideas you listed.

The $35k base price would be very achievable. There are trucks and work trucks. I think it will be easy for Tesla with the use of options and upgrades to take that weekend warriors $35k truck and turn it into a jobsite monster costing $80k+.

I bought a new basic truck nine years ago and have 28,000 miles on it. In five to seven years it might be time for an upgrade.

$35k would be fantastic, but somehow I don't see it happening. Even midsizers like the Tacoma and Chevy Colorado are going for more than $40k, and they're technical neanderthals compared to what this would be. But hey, if anyone could do it, it'd be Elon.
 
I encourage you to read the article, in which we envision and conceptualize a lot of unique features.
No, I'm not going to click through to the completely speculative article, which of course is the entire reason you started this thread, to drive traffic to your website.
rooftop PV panels
If one of the "unique" features being promoted by the Truck Trend article is PV panels on the roof of the truck, as Audie rightly points out they are a gimmick that makes absolutely no sense from a pure physics perspective, which Elon and JB have already repeatedly publicly stated.
120V or 240V inversions are extremely problematic as long as Tesla keeps its Superchargers freely open...
I agree completely. Incorporating DC/AC output capability into an EV would make no sense for Tesla, as Audie again rightly points out.

You can label me as part of a "tough crowd", that's fine with me. Critical analysis grounded in basic physics can be tough to hear. As I said upthread, feel free to speculate, but your speculations will be more useful if they are grounded in reality...
 
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I'm insanely anxious for whenever I get my Model 3. The truck looks good, probably a little higher off of the ground (not crazy lifted or anything) so it does not look more like an El Camino, a car with a bed attached to it. There will be people who want to buy it for everyday use but if they want to really put a dent in the truck ICE business, they will need to have a big payload and towing capacity. I own a Checy Duramax Turbo Diesel (love it) and I actually did some light dump runs for the first time in 4 years as we are doing some home remodeling, otherwise it is basically only used to tow our 34' travel trailer. That brings up another issue, you need the payload and towing capacity, then you also need somewhere to pull up 57 total feet when attached to a trailer to charge the truck. Any thoughts from others on the ability for payload and towing capacity?
 
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I'm insanely anxious for whenever I get my Model 3. The truck looks good, probably a little higher off of the ground (not crazy lifted or anything) so it does not look more like an El Camino, a car with a bed attached to it. There will be people who want to buy it for everyday use but if they want to really put a dent in the truck ICE business, they will need to have a big payload and towing capacity. I own a Checy Duramax Turbo Diesel (love it) and I actually did some light dump runs for the first time in 4 years as we are doing some home remodeling, otherwise it is basically only used to tow our 34' travel trailer. That brings up another issue, you need the payload and towing capacity, then you also need somewhere to pull up 57 total feet when attached to a trailer to charge the truck. Any thoughts from others on the ability for payload and towing capacity?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Red Sage
I'm insanely anxious for whenever I get my Model 3. The truck looks good, probably a little higher off of the ground (not crazy lifted or anything) so it does not look more like an El Camino, a car with a bed attached to it. There will be people who want to buy it for everyday use but if they want to really put a dent in the truck ICE business, they will need to have a big payload and towing capacity. I own a Checy Duramax Turbo Diesel (love it) and I actually did some light dump runs for the first time in 4 years as we are doing some home remodeling, otherwise it is basically only used to tow our 34' travel trailer. That brings up another issue, you need the payload and towing capacity, then you also need somewhere to pull up 57 total feet when attached to a trailer to charge the truck. Any thoughts from others on the ability for payload and towing capacity?

We considered going the HD route with the concept, but decided the heart of the pickup market, at least sales-wise, was half-tons. So this is more along the lines of a Silverado 1500 or F-150. It's kind of hard to judge the scale. A lot of people that have looked at the renderings say they think it's a midsize. I too have a Model 3 on order. In fact, just got my "thank you" card from Elon in the mail. :) Anyone else gotten theirs?
 
We considered going the HD route with the concept, but decided the heart of the pickup market, at least sales-wise, was half-tons. So this is more along the lines of a Silverado 1500 or F-150. It's kind of hard to judge the scale. A lot of people that have looked at the renderings say they think it's a midsize. I too have a Model 3 on order. In fact, just got my "thank you" card from Elon in the mail. :) Anyone else gotten theirs?
I got mine a little over a week ago. Co worker told me she got hers like 3 weeks after she ordered. I think she ordered before the actual unveil and was in line. I however, had never heard of the Model 3 before its unveiling, sadly or I would have been in line as well. The truck when looking at the picture, actually looks more like a Ford Ranger or Chevy S10, the smaller versions of trucks.
 
I got mine a little over a week ago. Co worker told me she got hers like 3 weeks after she ordered. I think she ordered before the actual unveil and was in line. I however, had never heard of the Model 3 before its unveiling, sadly or I would have been in line as well. The truck when looking at the picture, actually looks more like a Ford Ranger or Chevy S10, the smaller versions of trucks.

Yeah, it's kind of hard to convey scale conceptually when there's not a point of reference. I think the fact that it's rounder and more sculpted than most trucks makes it seem smaller. I actually waited until the video unveil to put my deposit down, so I'll be a little further down the line than the "true believers" but that's OK. I can wait. :)
 
Great work, I like the renderings and the brainstorming. I think your general ideas about the truck serving as a generator/powersource are something Tesla should really pursue that would set them apart.

It should have full dif lock, simulated, as you alluded to.

The solar is not BS, despite what people like to say here, I'm glad you included it.

A DC out would be nice, for portable charging of dead EVs....people run out of gas somehow. This is a feature that fleets may like also and could be a way make use of off peak, or surplus power.

Maybe someday there will be a crashed one of these on Craigslist and it will just be sold as a "generator."
 
A lot of interesting random ideas. As you said, a lot of "what if" - there isn't enough of a guiding theme to the idea collection to feel like Tesla engineering. I really doubt you'll see wheel motors - the unsprung weight penalty is almost never worth the tradeoff.

Having said that, the options to make the Frunk more flexible sounded like great ideas, and I like the idea of the "halo" 360 degree lighting system for job sites or off road situations.
 
By far the best set of renders for this concept yet - very nice work!

Tesla would be wise to not 'miss the point' on ute/truck design - yes, aero is vital and fleets will buy regardless, but the soft lines and smooth design language of the S & X need to be drastically reshaped into something burlier yet still with a family resemblance to hit notes with the private buyer.

I must say I'm a little worried about this being spun off the X platform. From a personal perspective I would never take my shiny 100K+ luxury utility barge onto a construction site - those places can be like Mordor and shiny objects should be kept at arms length until the job is done.

Personally I would like a single cab ladder chassis that looks like it goes to sleep every night dreaming of the beating it will receive tomorrow rather than a unibody that looks great but has swatches of dent-able, expensive aluminium.

iu


This type of configuration is popular here in Australia and is the type of vehicle that gets a nod of stern and begrudging approval from its owner every time someone accidentally scrapes it with a wheelbarrow covered in crusted cement or Davo gets too drunk before lunch and walks across it in his steel caps ;)

Sometimes you need a hard vehicle for a hard crowd.
 
Great work, I like the renderings and the brainstorming. I think your general ideas about the truck serving as a generator/powersource are something Tesla should really pursue that would set them apart.

It should have full dif lock, simulated, as you alluded to.

The solar is not BS, despite what people like to say here, I'm glad you included it.

A DC out would be nice, for portable charging of dead EVs....people run out of gas somehow. This is a feature that fleets may like also and could be a way make use of off peak, or surplus power.

Maybe someday there will be a crashed one of these on Craigslist and it will just be sold as a "generator."

I'm sorry, but solar is total BS on any realistic car. The math never adds up.

Anyway, I like the looks of your concept, however I do think you went a little T happy there on the back. I suspect Tesla will be even more conservative with an eventual design.