Al Sherman
It's about THIS car.
That would do it for me, but for the diehard truck people it would have to be more imo.
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Tesla Pickup Truck
- Thread starter AnOutsider
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That would do it for me, but for the diehard truck people it would have to be more imo.
WhiteKnight
_____ P85 #549 _____ Sig Red / Sig White
"I have this idea for a really advanced electric truck that has the performance of a sports car but actually more towing power and more carrying capacity than a gasoline or diesel truck of comparable size," Musk said. "That could be really cool, and I think that would probably make sense to do that at a new plant."
Musk said he has a design in mind for the truck, but it probably wouldn't come to market for another four or five years.
Front Page -- Automotive News
http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/e...tesla-truck-plan-and-a-factory-to-produce-it/
Musk said he has a design in mind for the truck, but it probably wouldn't come to market for another four or five years.
Front Page -- Automotive News
http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/e...tesla-truck-plan-and-a-factory-to-produce-it/
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K5ING
MegaMiler
I think Elon has already stated that no Tesla car (or truck?) would ever be powered by a gas engine.
The more i think about it, the more a gen set makes sense in a pickup. The biggest problem with pickups is they would require very large packs to have any sort of usable range, and even more so when under towing load. To compensate you need either more batteries or super high power charging stations all over which costs a lot of money.
I think having say a 60kwh pack with a 2.5 L diesel gen set that charges somewhere around 40 kw would be sufficient without costing an arm and a leg. 60kwh should be able to get you 120 miles of range empty (f150 size pickup), and while draining the pack you can use that time with the genset to maintain the charge (if you think you need it). If you fall behind on your charge, pull over take a bathroom break and let the genny catch up a bit as by the time its even an issue you have traveled at least 300 miles empty (200 miles with a large load).
Will this be a great cross country rig? No, but should be able to do regional jobs without too much fuss, save money on gas, make most of your driving emissions free and not cost a 2nd child.
I think having say a 60kwh pack with a 2.5 L diesel gen set that charges somewhere around 40 kw would be sufficient without costing an arm and a leg. 60kwh should be able to get you 120 miles of range empty (f150 size pickup), and while draining the pack you can use that time with the genset to maintain the charge (if you think you need it). If you fall behind on your charge, pull over take a bathroom break and let the genny catch up a bit as by the time its even an issue you have traveled at least 300 miles empty (200 miles with a large load).
Will this be a great cross country rig? No, but should be able to do regional jobs without too much fuss, save money on gas, make most of your driving emissions free and not cost a 2nd child.
I would love to buy a pickup for my business but we travel too far pulling a load for it to be feasible without something onboard to charge the battery. If they did that they could capture a huge percentage of one of the most profitable segments there is. And a Texas factory would be a great idea! No one has mentioned the cheap labor you get here! Cost of living is much lower than Freemont plant.
edit: That being said ... battery tech may be at a place where I wont need a generator in the truck. I would love to have a all electric truck with a 600 mile range
edit: That being said ... battery tech may be at a place where I wont need a generator in the truck. I would love to have a all electric truck with a 600 mile range
40kW is not a human portable gen set. Here is a picture of a 50kVA Diesel gen set to give you an idea.
-- no that's not a Roadster on the truck, but... :tongue: --
But 40kW might be over sized. The BMW i3 Rex is based on a compact 2cyl motor cycle engine with 25kW
Check here BMW i - Page 24
-- no that's not a Roadster on the truck, but... :tongue: --
But 40kW might be over sized. The BMW i3 Rex is based on a compact 2cyl motor cycle engine with 25kW
Check here BMW i - Page 24
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Pretty sure an automotive grade genset could be shrunk significantly. Take via motors for instance, they are using a 3.6l?? v6 as a series hybrid. Essentially what I am envisioning is something like that with a bigger battery and smaller genset (also not a fan that the rig is 80k or that it is made from a company that could go under the second Chevy decides to go in the market). The only real concern i have is heating when stopped. 40kw genset pulled off at a truck stop to catch up on charge wouldn't have enough air going through an automotive radiator to dissipate that much heat.
The reason for the 40KW size is I am envisioning energy for towing (and pickups are bricks flying through the air at 75mph in MN towing 9000 lbs campers). The I3 doesnt have that requirement and only has to worry about hauling itself and a few passengers. 40KW is not enough to sustain for larger loads at freeway speeds but should do the job with only minimal issues if you are traveling longer distances. If your empty or towing a 2,000 lbs utility/boat trailer you will probably maintain at that level.
The reason for the 40KW size is I am envisioning energy for towing (and pickups are bricks flying through the air at 75mph in MN towing 9000 lbs campers). The I3 doesnt have that requirement and only has to worry about hauling itself and a few passengers. 40KW is not enough to sustain for larger loads at freeway speeds but should do the job with only minimal issues if you are traveling longer distances. If your empty or towing a 2,000 lbs utility/boat trailer you will probably maintain at that level.
Interesting to see Elon's recent tweet.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/331796308631367681
"Tesla priority is electrification of cars, so priority is Model S, Model X, then mass market third gen vehicle & truck"
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/331796308631367681
"Tesla priority is electrification of cars, so priority is Model S, Model X, then mass market third gen vehicle & truck"
I would think Tesla would continue to leverage the S skateboard for a truck (~2-3 years after Model X), before moving to version updates on a 1-2 year basis cycling through 3 different vehicles on the same platform, that would just be in sync with a new Gen III platform vehicle. I really like compact pickups, but I think the full size jobs are the thing that everyone wants.
The flatbed is the perfect place to hide the battery pack too. A 250+ mile pickup truck with massive amounts of torque would be a compelling product. A lot of people just use a pick up truck to drive to work and back anyway so would fit that need and the occasional run to Home Depot.
Putting the entire weight of the pack under the truck bed is just asking for severe under steer issues and would be nice if the pack was further up front (60 40 ration) to allow for better payload in the rear bed area. But ultimately the market in the USA for a small/midsize pickup is not that great as shown when GM, Ford AND Dodge got rid of their midsize pickups (which i think was a mistake and their own doing for not refreshing the ranger for 15 years).
I would assume that if Telsa wants to sell more then 30-50k pickups a year they need to size themselves competitively with the 150/1500 half ton class. Half of these 150's on the road are 40k luxury trucks where people tow their crappy 1,000 lbs trailer (with a 10k tow rating) 5 miles down the road to the yard waste site so their beds dont get dirty. Telsa needs to target these vehicles as the battery needs to be greater then 100-150 kwh's to come up with tow-able range that the general market will accept. The cost differential to do this with the ranger/colorado class midsize trucks will be too great to be accepted by the general public (who wants to spend more money for less capabilities?).
My only worry with using the Model S skateboard is the fact the entire chassis is aluminium and not designed for the requirements of a pickup. Much larger payloads and towing capacity puts a lot of strain on the chassis that i believe was never intentioned for the S platform. Maybe this can be reinforced in a few places but ultimately will probably need its own skateboard to get to an F150 level of truck.
I would assume that if Telsa wants to sell more then 30-50k pickups a year they need to size themselves competitively with the 150/1500 half ton class. Half of these 150's on the road are 40k luxury trucks where people tow their crappy 1,000 lbs trailer (with a 10k tow rating) 5 miles down the road to the yard waste site so their beds dont get dirty. Telsa needs to target these vehicles as the battery needs to be greater then 100-150 kwh's to come up with tow-able range that the general market will accept. The cost differential to do this with the ranger/colorado class midsize trucks will be too great to be accepted by the general public (who wants to spend more money for less capabilities?).
My only worry with using the Model S skateboard is the fact the entire chassis is aluminium and not designed for the requirements of a pickup. Much larger payloads and towing capacity puts a lot of strain on the chassis that i believe was never intentioned for the S platform. Maybe this can be reinforced in a few places but ultimately will probably need its own skateboard to get to an F150 level of truck.
Yeah I was thinking Honda Ridgeline but without the funky styling, not full blown pickup. Like you said half the F150s are luxo-trucks that only tow a small trailer to the dump, or the boat to the lake 15 miles away. A unibody, even an aluminum one, could handle that duty easily. Make it look like a real truck and you might have yourself a winner.
Would agree with that statement as long as you keep the illusion of capability (I.E. high torque, higher payload to offset lower towing rating). Pickup buyers make their decisions on either worst case scenario or what they think might be their needs in the future. Why else would F150's be rated for over 12k lbs towing when almost everyone that buy's these luxo trucks will never ever tow over 4k. A lot of the buying public will not even consider a unibody pickup because they are considered less capable. To change that behavior you have to find a way to counter the billion + a year marketing that the big 3 have been sending to customers for so long.
My Model S is, I admit, a "fun" vehicle here in MiddleOfNowhere, Alaska. That's all it is meant to be - albeit an awfully fun way to get to town, if I can get it charged somewhere between here and there (200 miles to Fairbanks; 300 miles to Anchorage).
BUT - a real pickup that is EV? That would make life here truly sweet. For the past two decades, my primary wheels have been either 1-ton or 3/4-ton trucks: F-250s and F-350s. It's not about hauling the garbage bags to the recycle center. It's about bringing across the Alaska Range 8,000 lbs of supplies for the next three months, or taking the 14,000-lb skidsteer to Fairbanks for an undercarriage replacement....
So....need a beta-tester, Mr. Musk?
BUT - a real pickup that is EV? That would make life here truly sweet. For the past two decades, my primary wheels have been either 1-ton or 3/4-ton trucks: F-250s and F-350s. It's not about hauling the garbage bags to the recycle center. It's about bringing across the Alaska Range 8,000 lbs of supplies for the next three months, or taking the 14,000-lb skidsteer to Fairbanks for an undercarriage replacement....
So....need a beta-tester, Mr. Musk?
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