Tesla truck

californiamilleghia said:

Side mirrors  are old ideas ,  cameras and touch screens are the future......

will a 4x8 sheet a plywood  fit in the back ?

A 4x8 sheet of plywood won't fit flat in the bed of my truck either. It's just a little turbo diesel 2500 Ram. Nobody will ever buy one of those :)

I am not sure exactly who the market for this thing is. Tesla is not, despite people's impressions, Elon Musk's personal playground for crazy ideas. So some grownup had to look at it and say "yes, that's what we need for this market". Right?

Keith Tanner said:

 

I am not sure exactly who the market for this thing is. Tesla is not, despite people's impressions, Elon Musk's personal playground for crazy ideas. So some grownup had to look at it and say "yes, that's what we need for this market". Right?

"“It was unanimous among the executive staff that the complex door handle idea was crazy,” said a former executive. It required incredibly complicated engineering, and it solved a problem that no one else thought was actually a problem. But no matter how forcefully executives objected, Musk wouldn’t yield."

https://jalopnik.com/door-handles-blamed-for-drivers-death-in-tesla-model-s-1839300667

I'd say that a guy who sleeps on the factory floor to "push out more production" is invovled in every aspect of design.  It's his vision and his product.. 

Keith Tanner said:

californiamilleghia said:

Side mirrors  are old ideas ,  cameras and touch screens are the future......

will a 4x8 sheet a plywood  fit in the back ?

A 4x8 sheet of plywood won't fit flat in the bed of my truck either. It's just a little turbo diesel 2500 Ram. Nobody will ever buy one ;)

I've never really understood this as what makes it a real truck. Most pickups I see are crew cabs with 6.5 foot beds or shorter. And, I've never had to move a 4x8 sheet of plywood in my life. If I did, it would be a short trip and I'd use a trailer or put it on the roof rack on the minivan. My brother who works for a contractor does. He uses the full size van for this stuff. None of them even own a pickup - although one guy does have a Suburban. 

Just kinda confuses me as to why that is the metric we use for a pickup. 

Practicality and convenience perhaps?  Being able to fit a 4X8 sheet is a rather nice quality, even if I believe a majority of trucks simply have a 6.5 foot bed.  But I feel a work truck should have the 8 footer.  

I'm just hoping these trucks turn out to be excellent and then suffer the typical luxury car depreciation, so I can pick up a 5 year old one for cheap.

In reply to mtn :

The obvious answener is Travelall! I can fit a 4x8 sheet flat inside with the back gate closed :D

But agreed, it can simply hang over the tailgate at an anlge if a full sheet is needed.

I like it. I am too cheap to buy it of course but if I wasn't it is everything I could want in a truck. I don't need or want a big truck. I never tow cars or boats or horses and don't need to. I just want something that has low environmental impact (I do seriously worry about batteries and what happens to them) and is able to fit my mountain bikes, haul mulch, garden supplies and house supplies. 

The fact that this thing also is supercar fast and has the crazy looks is kind of just a bonus. I wonder how much it can be lowered...

I bet it will sell like hot cakes in certain areas.

In reply to java230 :

Leaning at a low angle doesn't work so well for drywall. 
 

mtn said:

Keith Tanner said:

californiamilleghia said:

Side mirrors  are old ideas ,  cameras and touch screens are the future......

will a 4x8 sheet a plywood  fit in the back ?

A 4x8 sheet of plywood won't fit flat in the bed of my truck either. It's just a little turbo diesel 2500 Ram. Nobody will ever buy one ;)

I've never really understood this as what makes it a real truck. Most pickups I see are crew cabs with 6.5 foot beds or shorter. And, I've never had to move a 4x8 sheet of plywood in my life. If I did, it would be a short trip and I'd use a trailer or put it on the roof rack on the minivan. My brother who works for a contractor does. He uses the full size van for this stuff. None of them even own a pickup - although one guy does have a Suburban. 

Just kinda confuses me as to why that is the metric we use for a pickup. 

It's not just a sheet of plywood. Sheet rock insulation foam boards, etc are all 4x8. As far as 6&1/2 foot beds once you drop the tailgate down they are all 8 foot beds.  
I hauled my house home in a 6&1/2 foot bed. 

STM317 said:

Ahhh, so maybe it's a work truck targeted at fleets? Fleets will want dealer support for reduced downtime. And they prefer established brands/models with reputations they're comfortable with. They can't afford to have a vehicle out of commission for any significant length of time. Bed size looks to be pretty small too? So the fleet angle seems more and more unlikely.

 

I am betting that some fleet buyers love the hell out of this thing. The Michael and Sons plumbing and heating place seems to have about 50 late model pickup trucks that drive around a 50 mile radius with minimal loads.

Brett_Murphy said:

STM317 said:

Ahhh, so maybe it's a work truck targeted at fleets? Fleets will want dealer support for reduced downtime. And they prefer established brands/models with reputations they're comfortable with. They can't afford to have a vehicle out of commission for any significant length of time. Bed size looks to be pretty small too? So the fleet angle seems more and more unlikely.

 

I am betting that some fleet buyers love the hell out of this thing. The Michael and Sons plumbing and heating place seems to have about 50 late model pickup trucks that drive around a 50 mile radius with minimal loads.

not for 40k base price. 

In reply to Duke :

But we were talking plywood!! 

This video and song goes well with this vehicle I think

Brett_Murphy said:

STM317 said:

Ahhh, so maybe it's a work truck targeted at fleets? Fleets will want dealer support for reduced downtime. And they prefer established brands/models with reputations they're comfortable with. They can't afford to have a vehicle out of commission for any significant length of time. Bed size looks to be pretty small too? So the fleet angle seems more and more unlikely.

 

I am betting that some fleet buyers love the hell out of this thing. The Michael and Sons plumbing and heating place seems to have about 50 late model pickup trucks that drive around a 50 mile radius with minimal loads.

There's little doubt in my mind that Fleet buyers will eventually love the hell out of electric trucks. The problem for Tesla, is that Ford and GM (and to an extent Rivian) are going to have EV trucks on the market by the time Tesla's truck is ready. No fleet manager in their right mind is going to test out a brand new vehicle from a manufacturer with extremely limited support when there are other, well supported options available from people that have been building fleet vehicles for 100 years.

the 4x8 plywood , gate up or down  is a working truck idea  , 

Will a Tesla truck ever be considered a working truck ?

Can someone add a  shell on the back to give it the SUV look :)

It will sell ,  just  like the cars....  and I hope it does well

It looks like it was designed by the same folks that invented the paper airplane. 

Fueled by Caffeine said:

Keith Tanner said:

 

I am not sure exactly who the market for this thing is. Tesla is not, despite people's impressions, Elon Musk's personal playground for crazy ideas. So some grownup had to look at it and say "yes, that's what we need for this market". Right?

"“It was unanimous among the executive staff that the complex door handle idea was crazy,” said a former executive. It required incredibly complicated engineering, and it solved a problem that no one else thought was actually a problem. But no matter how forcefully executives objected, Musk wouldn’t yield."

https://jalopnik.com/door-handles-blamed-for-drivers-death-in-tesla-model-s-1839300667

I'd say that a guy who sleeps on the factory floor to "push out more production" is invovled in every aspect of design.  It's his vision and his product.. 

This frightens me as well. 

Out of curiosity, lets pretend this man was in a normal vehicle and was knocked unconcious. What would have happened then?

californiamilleghia said:

Can someone add a  shell on the back to give it the SUV look :)

Tesla's already released pictures of one with a camper shell.

FYI, the Model 3 (ie, the newest design) has mechanical door handles on all four exterior doors and the two front interior doors. It's possible that the decision process is different now than it was before Tesla became a real automaker - the Model S design choices took place at a very different company. And even if you think Musk still has enough push to make an over-complex door handle mandatory, I'm not sure he would have enough to make something like the Cybertruck happen. That's several orders of magnitude crazier.

So there are multiple highly placed people who think this truck is a good plan. I'd love to sit down with one of them and talk about it, because I'm not seeing it myself.

You do have to give them credit for fully committing to the angular look. There is no compromise there. No apologetically rounded wheel wells. Even the wheels are styled to make the tires look blocky.

STM317 said:

Brett_Murphy said:

STM317 said:

Ahhh, so maybe it's a work truck targeted at fleets? Fleets will want dealer support for reduced downtime. And they prefer established brands/models with reputations they're comfortable with. They can't afford to have a vehicle out of commission for any significant length of time. Bed size looks to be pretty small too? So the fleet angle seems more and more unlikely.

 

I am betting that some fleet buyers love the hell out of this thing. The Michael and Sons plumbing and heating place seems to have about 50 late model pickup trucks that drive around a 50 mile radius with minimal loads.

There's little doubt in my mind that Fleet buyers will eventually love the hell out of electric trucks. The problem for Tesla, is that Ford and GM (and to an extent Rivian) are going to have EV trucks on the market by the time Tesla's truck is ready. No fleet manager in their right mind is going to test out a brand new vehicle from a manufacturer with extremely limited support when there are other, well supported options available from people that have been building fleet vehicles for 100 years.

Fleet buyers and most working stiffs will quickly choose a proven Ford over a experimental Tesla.  
To my deep regret. I like the idea of an electric truck and  the same big 3 that went from dominating world automotive production to  giving away their industry to Japan and then Korea, really don't deserve to be leading anything.  
 

After WW2 when a tiny handful of GI's came home with a funny old fashioned British car ( The MG)  it was OK.  Quirky, fun and a bit fragile it was never going to take away America's domination of world production.  British attempts ( yes my beloved Jaguar) could appeal to a small segment of buyers. But Germany's little VW did offer something Detroit forgot about, cheap affordable reliable transportation. 
Detriot focused on longer, lower, wider to the point of rediculasness and opened the door.  

Tesla taking away Detroit's last cash cow would be a fitting end to the Hubris Detriot displayed.  

wvumtnbkr said:

STM317 said:

I'm trying to figure out who the target customer is. This is going to involve some generalizations, so stop reading now if you're easily offended by such things.

Based on responses here, the design seems to be most popular with men between 35-50 because it reminds them of their childhood. That's a good market demographic for truck buyers. 

But TRUCK GUYS seem to be pretty loyal to their brand, and they really don't seem interested in Tesla's or EVs in general. Combine those facts with the polarizing design and unibody construction, and I'm not sure they're going to get many REAL TRUCK MEN to convert.

So perhaps they're shooting for non- truck people? But then why give it so much capability and a body that's so tough? Non-truck people  don't need to tow 14k, and are fine with a regular body construction. If that's your target customer, then why spend the money on those attributes instead of something like more range, or a more luxurious interior?

Ahhh, so maybe it's a work truck targeted at fleets? Fleets will want dealer support for reduced downtime. And they prefer established brands/models with reputations they're comfortable with. They can't afford to have a vehicle out of commission for any significant length of time. Bed size looks to be pretty small too? So the fleet angle seems more and more unlikely.

 

So who is this thing for? With competitors coming to market around the same time from Ford, Rivian, and GM what makes this thing more appealing to a cross shopper than a more traditional truck?

I want one.  I drive a 2015 Silverado everyday.

 

I only.tow my 2400# rx7 on an open trailer about 3 or 4 times a year.

 

This thing would be perfect.

 

Step 1, change those hideous wheels to something with some color.  

 

Step 2, embarrass every car I see on the road from stoplight to stoplight.

 

 

Sure, there are no absolutes. I was speaking in general terms, and I'd be pretty surprised if a significant portion of typical truck buyers feel the same way you do. Look at how Toyota, Nissan and Honda have struggled to gain any significant sales in that market.

Do you want one simply because it's an EV truck, or is there something specifically about this truck that would make you buy it vs an electric F150, Silverado, or Rivian which should all be available around the some time?

FYI, if you want an electric truck but your dad has a Chevy tattoo, you're in luck! GM says they're totally going to have an electric pickup in 2021. No details, but they're on record as saying that they want in on this party. Somehow.

mtn said:

Fueled by Caffeine said:

Keith Tanner said:

 

I am not sure exactly who the market for this thing is. Tesla is not, despite people's impressions, Elon Musk's personal playground for crazy ideas. So some grownup had to look at it and say "yes, that's what we need for this market". Right?

"“It was unanimous among the executive staff that the complex door handle idea was crazy,” said a former executive. It required incredibly complicated engineering, and it solved a problem that no one else thought was actually a problem. But no matter how forcefully executives objected, Musk wouldn’t yield."

https://jalopnik.com/door-handles-blamed-for-drivers-death-in-tesla-model-s-1839300667

I'd say that a guy who sleeps on the factory floor to "push out more production" is invovled in every aspect of design.  It's his vision and his product.. 

This frightens me as well. 

 

Out of curiosity, lets pretend this man was in a normal vehicle and was knocked unconcious. What would have happened then?

The door handles in my Fusion lock when the car is traveling above 5 or 10 miles per hour, and stay locked until the interior handle is pulled. My wife's Hyundai locks the doors anytime the vehicle is in "drive". I don't believe in either case, that a first responder would be able to open the doors from the outside in a serious accident where the person inside was unconscious or incapacitated.

I'm no Tesla fanboy, but I think that suit is junk. It's standard protocol to break the windows in these pretty common cases where an exterior door handle might not let somebody open the door. 

I thought this summed it all fairly nicely.

Most cars - including the Teslas - unlock the doors when the airbags fire. The problem with the S is that if there's no power, the exterior handles don't extend and you can't get the doors open from outside. That's not good. It's not really a smart design choice.

The 3 has door handles that are flush but don't require extension to make them accessible. They're actually very similar to the handles on the original GT40, which I find amusing.