Just remember, when you buy a car from a dealership, you’re directly funding an organization that makes Musk look like AOC. And probably has more political power than either one.
Ok, but you said “who really need to tow stuff”, not to haul stuff.
And if a full 35% use it once a year or less for hauling, we can probably infer that at the 50% mark, we’re still probably only talking a handful of times a year at best. And those people are almost certainly better served by just renting a truck or paying Home Depot to deliver their crap.
As an alternative, I like the look of the Rivian much better.
https://www.edmunds.com/rivian/r1t/
Out of my price range and I understand replacement parts, should you get in a wreck, are almost as expensive as buying a new one. But I like 'em.
Saw my first one in the wild just a couple days ago. Very pretty!
Speaking of which, I saw a Rivian-manufactured Amazon delivery van the other day.
How many of those 65% are hauling stuff that wouldn’t fit in a regular car’s trunk (or, in a pinch, in the back seat)?
Mom: “We have CyberTruck at home!”
Agreed; this makes the figure even worse for trucks. Even when the bed is being used, it might be that another vehicle would still have been adequate. Perhaps with multiple trips. Anything bagged like concrete or topsoil doesn’t warrant a truck unless you’re doing it frequently.
These are fantastic. I get Amazon trucks driving through my complex a couple of times a day and about half of them are with the new Rivian EVs. I hugely appreciate the reduced noise and smell. Supposedly, they’re really nice for the drivers as well.
Having just travelled over 12k miles around the US, and being passed by many hundreds of these vehicles, the number which has something/anything loaded into the tray could likely have been counted on the fingers of one hand.
+1
I read this article with interest. NADA certainly seems like a bad organization full of bad people which constitutes a major drag on economic and technological innovation. However, I didn’t see anything in the article to suggest that NADA maintains a global communication platform increasingly dedicated to promoting antisemitic groups and thought from the top down, so using NADA as a baseline for drawing moral equivalence between Musk and AOC seems unsupportable and wildly overstated.
Only now? I’ve been seeing them for some time. They have a very distinctive headlight shape, which makes them stand out. And from the rear, there’s a big RIVIAN label on the tailgate. OTOH, I’ve only identified maybe two Ford F-150 Lightnings (the other EV pickup) in the wild. I’ve probably seen more, but they look too much like other trucks so I didn’t pay close enough attention to them to identify.
They’re a conservative organization that gets Republicans elected. They are especially powerful at the local levels. This isn’t some vague social media influence; they lobby with real money to get real laws passed and get real people elected. People that belong to a party that largely denies that climate change is real, along with a host of other nasty beliefs.
This is getting pretty far afield from the OP, but relevant here is that they’ve been stonewalling EV deployment for years. They know that EVs present a risk to their business, even outside of Tesla, Rivian, and other makes that don’t use dealers. EVs don’t require the same level of ongoing maintenance and so represent a threat. This isn’t just a “drag on innovation”. It’s trying to prevent an absolutely crucial transformation. Virtually all ground transport needs to be electric if we’re to prevent the worst-case climate change scenarios. Dealerships aren’t the only reason we’re not as far into the transition as we should be, but they’re a major one.
Back then, my gf’s long term plan was to eventually replace her current farm truck (a Silverado) with a Tesla Cybertruck. Now that Elon has made an ass out of himself, she doesn’t want any part in his schemes.
I think it’s ugly, and I can’t stand Elon Musk, but…
I still like it. It’s a head-turner, which is not easy these days. It’s exactly that distinction they made on Top Gear between ugly and cool; this is an ugly, cool truck.
And the arguments about not using the flat bed most of the time…I can’t remember the last time I used the rear seats in my car. Could I have saved money by getting a smaller car and calling a taxi any time I needed to give my than 1 person a ride? Well, no, since coupes are typically more expensive than my sedan, but even if I could, I would happily pay extra to simplify my life.
I wouldn’t consider “you may not use the flatbed in a given year” a strong argument against having one…only if it was directly the cause for poor mileage / higher cost etc would I explicitly not want to have it.
I’ve been driving Jeep Wranglers for a long time. The first thing I do when I get a new one is remove the back seat. That area is for the dogs. My front passenger seat is for our African Grey’s travel cage. That makes my Wrangler a one person vehicle.
I don’t get out much. At least, not in traffic. 
Agreed the headlight shape is very unique, and that’s what caused me to recognize it. I had only a glimpse, but it was enough.
I’ve never seen them and I drive every day in thick traffic. Then again, I never heard of them until this thread. I think I would have noticed it’s unique form, but it’s possible I’ve just ignored it.
It’s very hard to tell from a picture how it would look in person. I don’t despise it. But at some point the angular Pontiac Aztek and original sloppy Honda Ridgeline were also thought to be the business. No.
That’s true, it certainly does stand out in a crowd. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is of course, subjective.
I’ve argued in other threads that the majority of SUVs and pickups are used as showboats, as others have posted in this thread (even if they didn’t use the term “showboat,” but that’s what they are). An issue that’s only now beginning to gain traction (no pun intended) is the weight of vehicles on roads.
While those articles deal chiefly with semi trucks, the issue of large SUVs and pickups can’t be ignored. The new Hummer EV weighs 4 1/2 tons (source).
A Ford F-150 can weigh nearly 3 tons (source) while the car I drive, a 2017 Toyota Corolla, weighs less than 2 tons.
Sure, the Corolla can’t carry as much as an F-150, but since we’ve seen the majority of people don’t use SUVs or pickups for what they were intended anyway, and heavier vehicles cause more damage to roads, why buy them?
As for the Cybertruck, my guess is it’ll flop. I’ve tried to find weight estimates for it, but no one seems to really know yet. Here’s what I’ve found so far:
Steuben estimates that it will weigh at least 6,000 lbs (2,721 kg), but more like 6,800 lbs (3084 kg).
Tesla Cybertruck to weigh substantially less than the competition and have Tesla's usual safety record, according to electric vehicle teardown experts - NotebookCheck.net News
So 3-3 1/2 tons. I doubt it’ll do much road damage due to small sales numbers.
yep - that’s an environmental tragedy right there …
using 3 - 3,500kg of “machinery” to move 80kg of human around at an avg. speed of 32km/h in innercity trafic jam…
Y really made a conscious decision to purchase a vehicle that is 2 orders of magnitude lighter …
a 22kg e-scooter for my 70kg frame …