Trading my Taco for a Cybertruck

Not true. Stainless can be shaped. The Delorean has a great shape to it. Look at the complex design of its fenders. It is just tougher to shape stainless. Clearly Tesla hasn't figured it out yet. So they just threw flat panels on a model S and called it a day.

 

Did you read how thick the stainless was? And how they even bent that crease they had to back it the living shit out of it? You ever work/weld with stainless? It ain't fun and it burns easy.

 

Tesla trying to pass the Cybertruck's shape off on manufacturing difficulty is just marketing strategy, and IMO, not the real reason for the truck's design. Yes, there is some truth to the manufacturing difficulty of 30x cold rolled SS, but that's not the *primary* reason the truck is styled the way it is.

The real reason is that Elon craves attention, and also understands that getting attention is good for sales and profit. A perfect example of this is the "Boring Flamethrower". Completely off the wall product and totally irrelevant, but Elon loves attention, and this is definitely an attention-grabbing toy that gets people talking. It also indirectly focuses consumer attention on Tesla and SpaceX as it's all tied together by Elon.

So bottom line, Cybertruck's design is purposefully goofy and outlandish because bold designs are exciting and get people talking. Notice how much media attention is focused on Tesla right now? The cybertruck has completely dwarfed Ford's recent unveiling of the Mustang Mach-E...

 

What surprised me is that in a time that aerodynamics and efficiency is all important, Tesla decides to go this route and then goes out of their way to explain (or defend) that this is an aerodynamic efficient design. If that was the case, a lot more vehicle would look like bricks and doorstops.
Tesla markets itself as an environmentally sane choice and then shames people that choose conventional fuelled vehicles as being 'eco destroyers'.
It looks to me that Tesla is nothing more than a gimmicky life style choice and the Cybertruck design only emphasizes this impression. It is not like EV's don't use energy and the production of materials like stainless steel, (useless) bullet proof glass and Lithium Ion is 'clean'.
If anything, a heavy stainless steel truck with a huge battery and limited usage is not an environmentally smart choice. It is better to buy a vehicle that us well built and lasts long. The longer it lasts, the smaller the 'carbon footprint', whatever that means. The impact from cradle to grave is important, not the actual fuel that is being used.

 

Delorean seemed to be able to do it. Maybe he was from the future.

My kitchen sink is also surprisingly curvy.

Anyways.......we have a new category now. I call it “Musksplaining”: Those that justify everything this dweeb does as genius, when most of it is pretty normal.

 

SpaceX is normal? Tesla is normal? Boring Company is normal? Neuralink is normal?

What have you done?

It is insane how many people call Elon a total moron when he runs some of the most influential companies in the world. Unless you've personally done something better in your life that surpasses anything he has done, maybe you could have a point.

 

Musksplaining 101.

 

I placed an order, it's a cheap ticket in line. My wife's Model 3 is a great car and having driven a P100D the performance is mind blowing. Hopefully they tweak the design over the next couple of years leading up to production, but if they don't I can always get my money back and buy a Rivian.

 

I did as well. I have no doubt that the polarizing design will be toned down a bit over the next 2 years.

The concept was missing a lot of production items like windshield wipers, mirrors, real headlights and tail lights, production bumpers, etc.

I predict the truck will actually be attractive by the time it goes into production in 2-3 years.

 

I'm not a fan of either of these, but this article sure makes me believe this more hype than reality....

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/new...150-proves-nothing/ar-BBXnkEZ?ocid=spartandhp

 

I wouldn't buy it on looks alone. This thing is beyond hideous. And I actually like the look of Tesla's other products. All they had to do was follow the same formula but give it slightly more boxy/truckish lines but Elon and his team had to go overboard.

I also don't know how I feel about an all-electric truck. Looks like Ford and a couple of other manufacturers are also jumping on this. I'd prefer a plug in hybrid which I don't think is even currently offered on the market. Give me a Tundra/F150/Ram with a Gas/electric powertrain and a decent all-electric range for running errands around town with a gas engine for extended trips.

 

I have nothing against Tesla (or Elon Musk for that matter). Tesla's hyping culture and the sheepish followers annoy me.
I am a long time (+25y) Apple product user, but I have the same issue with Apple fans.

I will wait for a practical 'truck' truck with solid state batteries before considering an EV.

Only a solid state is (John B.) Goodenough for me

 

Agree. I'd like to see battery lifespans of 15 years or 300k miles (at the minimum) with minimal degradation in range. It needs to be comparable to ICE vehicles in that regard.

 

True “Solid state” batteries of any size may be decades away. Your decision will be made for you when the gas stations start closing. Just saying........hanging your hat on an unproven technology has limitations.

Imagine being a forklift operator who’s not driving a forklift until it has a solid state battery.............well, you see my point.

 

Which is why we shouldn't be closing those gas stations until the technology is matured and comparable to OR BETTER than ICE engines.

 

Elon the man is nothing special, he’s no hero, a man or woman holding 2-3 jobs to put food on the table for a family of six is special, and real hero. Elon puts on his pants one leg at a time, no different than me, so there’s that.

That said, he is revolutionizing the entire auto industry and that has some very powerful and some not so powerful people very scared. And he is doing it from the moment you buy it, to how you service and maintain it.

But he may lack the supply line, the know how or expertise or as some would say 'expense' on how to make it rust proof and give it great looking long lasting paint job which we seem to love so much, and quite frankly that could be because we just don’t know any better or are so used to it.

The latter might explain his choice of material and styling I suppose to some extent. It’s almost a sure bet that any material that is apt for automotive use for his production and manufacturing is going to be made hard to get by the competition.

Moreover, if they make it hard for him as they have, he may have to break them starting by eliminating the stealerships and their outrageous maintenance charges and special oils they make us use.

And I think I like the way things are headed, strap on your seat-belts folks, this may just be getting started

 

The free-market will close the gas stations. It wont be your personal choice, or that of the government. The switch to EV is happening through consumer demand. Gas will become more expensive to distribute and refine as EV cuts more and more into the market, further challenging anyones loyalty to what is an outdated idea in the ICE. Your choice to drive an EV will be out of lack of other reasonable options, not choice.

 

I think we both agree that yes, at the end of the day, average group-think Joe Bob on the street follows whatever the market is doing, and he will buy whatever is available to him.

That being said, I think battery tech will likely improve to the point where mainstream buyers are satisfied with performance/longevity by the time gas stations start closing en masse.

 

For sure. If you had asked me last year, I would have said the change was still a couple decades away. Now I’m not so sure.

I think the change is coming in faster, and is driven by people wanting EVs for features and performance, not because they are ‘earth-friendly’ people. EVs simply are becoming higher-spec vehicles, and that’s bringing in the hype and buyers, which will drive down cost, and speed up innovation.

The people who bought a 3G Tacoma to last them 20 years may start having trouble fuelling it, conveniently and cheaply, in half that time.

 

I know this is true but