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Tesla Will Have to Wow Truck Buyers to Woo Them

Discussion in 'Cybertruck' started by Patrick0101, Oct 30, 2017.

  1. Patrick0101

    Patrick0101 Member

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    Tesla has changed the game in the luxury car market. Audi, BMW, & Mercedes are losing market-share to Tesla. With more than 400,000 people reserving a Model 3, Tesla hopes to do the same to Toyota, Nissan, Ford, and others in the mid-sized sedan market. With large screens, over-the-air updates, self-driving, and other features, Tesla...
    READ FULL ARTICLE
     
  2. Barklikeadog

    Barklikeadog Active Member

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    "The easiest way to allay these concerns is to show a vehicle that is awesome and defies all these concerns. "

    No... the easiest way to win over buyers is to PROVIDE vehicles, not just show them. It doesn't matter how impressive a truck
    is if you're not going to get one for 5 years. By the way, truck drivers wouldn't buy what I see in the photo. A small fancy plastic front
    bumper? No way. No bumper on back... tiny mirrors, I'm going to assume there are retractable running boards...

    If you want to sell trucks, listen to truck buyers. You can't just force it and assume they will come along like your other vehicles.
     
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  3. electracity

    electracity Active Member

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    The semi will not influence pickup buyers. A desirable Tesla pickup will influence pickup buyers.

    It doesn't look to me like Tesla will have the capacity to build a pickup for a long time.
     
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  4. Patrick0101

    Patrick0101 Member

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    Certainly they cannot have great sales if they are not providing (manufacturing & shipping) vehicles.

    The photos in the article are not from Tesla. They are not official. The real/final truck will likely look nothing like those. I would not base any opinion of Tesla's pickup on these arts' renditions.

    Absolutely. It has to be a truck that truck-people will want. That goes for styling, power, range, features... That was the point I was trying to make in the article.
     
  5. Patrick0101

    Patrick0101 Member

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    I respectfully disagree. Truck drivers are the ones most likely to know and care about the semi-trucks specs. I guess we'll see when they come out.

    I agree that these are multiple years out, but Tesla is always full of surprises.
     
  6. Sasmania

    Sasmania Member

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    First of all, the truck needs to look like a truck... Not a Model S with a bed. Does an F150 look like a Ford Focus?

    I'm sure Tesla gets this and will come up with a rugged, aggressive design that looks unique, and not at all like it's other cars.
     
  7. McRat

    McRat Well-Known Member

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    Honda made that mistake. Their Gen1 Ridgeline used a unibody with SUV styling cues. It pretty much flopped. Best US year sold 50,000, worst <10,000. Toyota's Tundra was 79,000 their WORST year. Nissan's Titan sold 87,000 the same year Honda sold 50,000. Massive fail against Japanese full sized trucks. But that was nothing:

    Ford sold 901,000 F-150's alone (light full sized) the same year Honda sold 50,000. Owww....

    Now the Ridgeline is a more conventional design with a separate bed and that seems to have helped. But the damage might be permanent.

    Tesla needs to made an Urban Cowboy pickup, not a Flower Child Edition. It doesn't have to compete with the big dogs, but if it looks like it's "100% Testosterone Free! Made with Free Range Tailgates!" it's probably not going to sell well other than to cannibalize other Tesla sales.
     
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  8. Carbot

    Carbot Member

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    My fear is that Tesla will have to resort to advertising to reach the hardcore pickup truck buyer. I have been following Tesla for years and finally bought a Model X. People are still asking me who makes it and do you need gas? The Tesla name is not as mainstream as we who follow it seem to think.
     
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  9. Carbot

    Carbot Member

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  10. pdq

    pdq Member

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    Whoever wrote that report is either on drugs, or doesn't listen to Teslas' quarterly analyst calls. Hype is one thing, delivering is another, which is why the stock is now down $65. Teslas market share is miniscule compared to that of Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

    My local MB dealership delivered more new cars to clients last month than Tesla delivered Model 3's nationwide last quarter. Take off the rose colored glasses and leave them off until they have 10,000 Model3s being delivered to customers a month.
     
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  11. Joshuak172

    Joshuak172 Member

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    This would be awesome. Where can I put down a deposit???
     
  12. LCR1

    LCR1 Active Member

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    This whole article is laughable, from someone who has been in the logistics field for a decade and ran fleets of pick ups and commercial vehicles, really it's laughable. I'm on truck forums and no one on there would ever, ever look at an el dorado style vehicle and take it seriously as a truck.

    The majority of people who by a truck are not the majority of people who take styling cues from Tesla.
     
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  13. Chopr147

    Chopr147 Active Member

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    Tesla of course needs to worry about weight due to the batteries but.............................I really,really hope the bumpers are not plastic. If it's a pick up it will be used for rough rid'in :) I would be interested. I have a 1995 Chevy S10 that I beat the crap out of but just can't imagine buying a $80k Tesla pick up and worrying about every scratch. Of course many people have a pick up and have NEVER used the bed.
     
  14. LCR1

    LCR1 Active Member

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    Only thing I use my bed for is the Aux tank and 5er/GN


    Tesla won't be able to compete in most, if any truck categories. The engine/trans weighs ~675lbs in a gasser vs 1800# in a Tesla. Most trucks in the 1/4-3/4ton area only have 1500# payloads as is, add in another 1,000lbs for the battery/motor and you have 0 payload after putting passengers in there.

    I'm really curious where people think Tesla is going to compete and how they're going to sell a truck with no payload capacity.
     
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  15. McRat

    McRat Well-Known Member

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    The pickup truck market is perhaps the most highly contested market segment in the US.
    Some folk think of pickups as low tech and similar to what was available in 1999, and they are very wrong making that assumption.
    The tech is spent on power, capacity, economy, and amenities. Top rung pickups are approaching $100,000 and they are selling them at that price.
    The newer GM diesel crew cab HD 4x4 pickups run as quick as [email protected] mph in the 1/4 mile with low 6 second 0-60mph times while offering 19 mpg (C&D actual testing) and can tow up to 23,300 lb. Not too long ago, this would be considered good numbers for a midsized sedan.
     
  16. pdq

    pdq Member

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    Don't be so sure that they get it. Teslas are designed by 20 somethings in SoCal, who despite years of complaints from customers refuse to put coat hooks into a 4 door luxury sedan. Kias have coat hooks, Tesla no. Rediculous. Out of touch with buyers.
     
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  17. Chopr147

    Chopr147 Active Member

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    Coat-hooks, door pockets etc.......... If Tesla makes a pick-up they better hire someone from Chevy or a company with experience. I can just see those Silicon Valley 20 somethings thinking they know what Mid-Western farmers,contractors, haulers etc....really want in a truck :) :) :)
     
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  18. Patrick0101

    Patrick0101 Member

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    Model 3 will do a lot to change that. A lot of people will get to drive and ride in them.
     
  19. AustinPowers

    AustinPowers Total Smeghead

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    #19 AustinPowers, Nov 15, 2017
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2017
    Can't read that article. As soon as I try to scroll down on that page it immediately reloads / pushes me back to the top. No way to scroll down the tiniest bit. As a matter of fact that happens to me with all the blog articles here. Strange phenomenon, have never experienced such a behaviour on any other website.

    I honestly think the words "Tesla" and "pick-up truck" are almost contradictions in terms.

    A Tesla is a high-tech, expensive and finnicky gadget for the eco-minded, forward-thinking hipster crowd, who fret over every nick and scratch, and over whether Opticoat, a full wrap or whatever is best to protect their baby against the elements.

    A pick-up is a relatively low tech, value-for-money workhorse for rugged rough-duty workmen and their needs, who don't mind dings, bangs and scratches, driving in rough terrain, and throwing loads of dirty stuff in the bed.

    I can't think of many things that are more extremely different.
    Returning to Elon's comment about the Semi truck, as soon as Tesla offers a real pick-up truck, my mind will be "totally blown away and into a different dimension" ;)
     
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  20. Model 3

    Model 3 Active Member

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    Click the "stop loading" icon on/near the address line in the browser. And yes, this happened to me too, so I had to make it stop loading to read it.

    But it does not happens to me *every* time, but sometimes at some of the blog articles.
     

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