Walk me through the design decision for the cybertruck

[johnnyS]

I am glad it is not just a model S or a model 3 blown up to truck size with a truck bed. If I had this tank looking truck, I would have a lot less worry about where I park.

 

[jboy210]

I am glad it is not just a model S or a model 3 blown up to truck size with a truck bed. If I had this tank looking truck, I would have a lot less worry about where I park.

And stainless steel means anyone that opens their door into you will damage their door before to do anything to your vehicle. I wonder what those hammer blows would do to a F-150's Aluminum door.

 

[AltLogic]

Design team ideas:

Q: How do we get people to stop complaining about fit and finish?
A: Flat stainless steel. No more complaints about paint. No bends in the metal so easy to fit.

Q: How do we make it inexpensive?
A:Flat glass is much less expensive than curved glass. The less you bend metal the lower the cost to manufacture.

Q: How do we make it more efficient than an Audi e-torn?
A: Make it somewhat aerodynamic in spite of the flat shapes. Yes the sides of the bed will make it difficult to access the bed from the side, but it will be much more efficient than a regular truck style.

Elon: I love it!

Random intern that no longer interns for Tesla: Why is it so ugly?

 

[pugtech]

Fascinating.
Not for the first time I am wondering if this is just sheer brilliance and Elon looking waay past most peoples horizons, or is it a misstep.
Whatever Tesla's ability to capture headlines is undiminished and that is a massive achievenment in its own right.

Initially the detractors and competition will just laugh, but the savvy will take this design direction very seriously indeed and we might just have witnessed the start of a whole new era of automotive style. I guess the design has to evolve a lot though to get through safety regulations.

Bit surprised it won't take 8x4 foot sheet, but easy enough to stretch it to a bigger bed variant if there is demand.

I don't mind leaving the gate down when hauling plywood. I just hope the bed's at least 48in wide.

 

[jboy210]

I don't mind leaving the gate down when hauling plywood. I just hope the bed's at least 48in wide.

Watching the youtube videos of the test rides it looked wide and flat.

 

[garrett5688]

I don't mind leaving the gate down when hauling plywood. I just hope the bed's at least 48in wide.

surely it is wider than 48in, that would be one narrow bed/truck. Teslas are notorious for being obnoxiously wide.

plus no wheel wells in the bed, completely flat

 

[Barklikeadog]

Random fired intern: Our research says that truck owners like to choose between 5.5, 6.5 or an 8 foot bed.

surely it is wider than 48in, that would be one narrow bed/truck. Teslas are notorious for being obnoxiously wide.

plus no wheel wells in the bed, completely flat

You can get a rambox like that

 

[SSedan]

I have a rusty old Sierra for hauling jobs that are too big or dirty for the S, so I am a current owner of a modern crewcab truck and Tesla car. Really don't see me getting rid of either for that thing.
I will agree with those saying bed length is not a big deal, I believe most half ton crewcab trucks are even under 6.5ft, mine is 5'8". Not being able to reach over the side of the bed SUCKS on many newer trucks. My 05 Sierra is OK but just for an average height guy, I think most trucks are too tall these days. My Dad's 08 F150 is way too tall.

I didn't look today but goofy as this thing looks I am guessing stock price went down today.

 

[electracity]

Compare it with any other Tesla, it's better value by a lot.

which means it wont be in production for years

 

[mspohr]

Fascinating.
Not for the first time I am wondering if this is just sheer brilliance and Elon looking waay past most peoples horizons, or is it a misstep.
Whatever Tesla's ability to capture headlines is undiminished and that is a massive achievenment in its own right.

Initially the detractors and competition will just laugh, but the savvy will take this design direction very seriously indeed and we might just have witnessed the start of a whole new era of automotive style. I guess the design has to evolve a lot though to get through safety regulations.

Bit surprised it won't take 8x4 foot sheet, but easy enough to stretch it to a bigger bed variant if there is demand.

Very few pickups take a 4x8 sheet with the liftgate up. However, you can lower the liftgate.

 

[Altes]

During design brainstorming he only gave them plywood for construction

 

[mspohr]

During design brainstorming he only gave them plywood for construction

More likely it was an origami class.
(BTW, when are we going to have some brilliant person put together an origami model of this truck?)

 

[Dan203]

Maybe there are people who end up buying it just because it looks weird and will make them unique on the road. The fact that it's so cheap helps too. Looks aside the prices are basically inline with the Model 3 for a much bigger car. That could be important to some people. Personally I think it looks like sh*t and would never spend money on it, but to each their own.

 

[MXWing]

Tesla has stated that it's goal is to mainstream EVs. They could have simply dropped their revolutionary drivetrain and software into a conventional truck form and sold them by the (sorry for the pun) truckload. Instead they've designed a niche vehicle with a very limited appeal that will capture very little of the enormous mainstream truck market.

Isn't the goal here to replace current ICE sales with EV sales? The M3 has done a great job of taking sales from ICE vehicles like the prius, accord, camry, 3 series BMW. etc. What sales is the cybertruck going to steal? Very little I suspect. It's going to create a novelty niche segment for people who apparently want a bulletproof sport truck that can outperform a 911 but unfortunately you can't even access the bed from the side or tow a 5th wheel, two core missions of a truck. (seriously can someone explain to me what a 16,000 lb tow rating is worth when you can't use a bed hitch? They expect to tow that weight from a bumper hitch??)

Just looking to wrap my head around the design decisions here.

It would be myopic to judge a book entirely by its cover.

Everyone would laugh harder if the car was all show and no go.

It has barbaric, raw, brutal performance specifications that no other truck can match.

That’s pretty much what this Cybertruck is.

I’ll shut up if the Rivian can pull off 500 miles range for 70K.

 

[axhoaxho]

Make no mistake, what we are looking at is a Mars Rover.

It just happens that Musk lets us Earthlings to try it out on the planet Earth, and fund it.

 

[mspohr]

Make no mistake, what we are looking at is a Mars Rover.

It just happens that Musk lets us Earthlings to try it out on the planet Earth, and fund it.

I ordered one so I can test drive it before I take it to Mars.

 

[Dan203]

It would be myopic to judge a book entirely by its cover.

Everyone would laugh harder if the car was all show and no go.

It has barbaric, raw, brutal performance specifications that no other truck can match.

That’s pretty much what this Cybertruck is.

I’ll shut up if the Rivian can pull off 500 miles range for 70K.

Since the Model S the whole purpose of Tesla was to make EVs mainstream. They did that by making them look like nice, normal, cars that people would actually want to own and by exploiting the EV drive train for insane performance that added icing on the cake. The Model X followed suit, with the exception of the falcon wing doors, and then the Model 3 brought it home with a normal looking sedan that can beat sports cars costing 3-5x as much off the line. The Y looks to be on track to do the same for the crossover market.

And then comes this monstrosity. This is like someone at Tesla is trying to make their 1989 fantasy of what cars would look like in the future a reality. This is going to be a highly niche product. There will be some fanbois that will buy one just because it's a Tesla, and some that buy it because it looks weird and will draw attention, and maybe a few that realize the utility and buy one for that. But if their goal was to unseat the F150 as the #1 selling truck in the world they've failed miserably. Most "truck guys" are going to look at this thing and laugh.

 

[Saghost]

Make no mistake, what we are looking at is a Mars Rover.

It just happens that Musk lets us Earthlings to try it out on the planet Earth, and fund it.

You may have a point. Wasn't there a tweet floating around about how they could pressurize the Cybertruck?

 

[J X 3]

I don't mind leaving the gate down when hauling plywood. I just hope the bed's at least 48in wide.

Motortrend mentions 57 inch wide, no idea how accurate that is.

Anyway, not sure why everybody cares so much about truck buyers. It's a car, if enough car buyers decide to purchase it, Tesla has done a good job. The different types of truck buyers will make their own decisions. Also remains to be seen how it does in international markets where traditional trucks are not popular at all.
Better value than any other Tesla enabled by the weird design, the load bearing "panels" - not really panels, it's the frame. They might get 3 EPA miles per kWh with this design and they offer a lot of functionality, perf, comfort, safety for the price.
It's weird with that pointy roof but with people next to it you get to better understand its dimensions, it becomes kinda cool and maybe even elegant. Will sell well in Egypt at least LOL.
Can't wait to see all the crazy vinyl wraps folks will try or maybe even laser engraving. Should be easy to DIY wrap with all the flat surfaces.

 

[omarsultan]

Q: How do we get people to stop complaining about fit and finish?
A: Flat stainless steel. No more complaints about paint. No bends in the metal so easy to fit.

I don't this this is the case--all the bends and curves on the S, X, and 3 hide a lot of imperfections--flat panels and sharp creases don't leave a lot of wiggle room.