the problem is not the approval process (chinese built cars are mainstream in many countries like australia and england (MG, Volvo, some Volkswagen, etc…)
the “problem” with the US is the 30% levy that donald put on chinese steel imports (and honestly, Biden seems in no hurry to get rid of it) … that for the time being, keeps those cars away from the US
Aside from the steel tariffs, I really doubt that the domestic auto industry would want the competition.
i doubt that question ranks high on any decision-path …
(Bumping old thread because it seems most relevant.)
More poking at the Cyber Truck by the media:
Then there’s this:
I saw this Cybertruck last week (this actual vehicle, per the window decal) and posted about it in the interesting cars thread.
I remember thinking it did not look remotely like a truck (rather, like something someone made out of Lego bricks).
It must have had the bed cover in place.
It has a pretty normal ~6x4-foot bed under the cover with tailgate. Seems to handle ~2 tons of cargo in the bed just fine. But most drive around with the cover down since it increases efficiency, unless they need to haul 8x4 sheets of plywood or whatever. Few trucks have 8-foot beds these days, anyway.
The sky blue wrap looks nice. It takes well to wraps overall. Nice to actually have some variety on the road, IMO. Cars are too same-looking these days.
I have. An ex-bf had an old early 80s manual transmission one that he’d very occasionally let me drive when were are camping trips. I found it suprisingly easy to drive. Shifting was quite smooth, and it wasn’t one of the newer behemoths.
I laughed way too hard at that. Critters know.
Can’t remember if it was this thread or the other Cybertruck one that discussed the Rivian, but I saw two on the way to the grocery store this morning. Thanks to the mention of the headlight shape I knew what they were immediately. Not bad looking at all.
Saw my 1st one IRL yesterday. Black - seemed almost matte - the impression the sides gave me were of poorly spray painted plywood. Uglier than I would have imagined from the photos.
Any Cybertruck color except plain stainless steel is an aftermarket plastic shrink wrap.
You can get cars/trucks shrink-wrapped that costs real money, are applied by experts in paint-booth clean conditions, and provide a great finish. You can get them done cheap by two guys working from a pickup truck on the wrong side of town that look like your neighbor did it under a tree that was shedding.
Good bet your black sighting was one of the latter.
I’m pretty sure you can buy the shrink-wrap material and do it yourself. It’s possible that with its flat surfaces, the Cybertruck would be easy to do.
… Would be easy to do badly.
Pros charge real money for a reason. If youre gonna wrap a $125K car, don’t make it look like the proverbial $29.95 paint job applied with a roller.
You can get a wrap that’s not-quite-aftermarket:
https://shop.tesla.com/product/cybertruck-color-paint-film
I expect it’s still basically done through a third party, just one that’s been vetted by Tesla. And it’s on the expensive side, though as you say you get what you pay for.
Had a friend who did a clear wrap, though admittedly on a Model 3 and not a flat Cybertruck. It looked awful, even in clear. Unless you are really, really careful and do it in a very clean environment, it’s almost impossible not to get bubbles and little bumps from dirt and so on. Done well they can look great. This wasn’t that.
I did not realize Tesla had an authorized aftermarket supplier for that, but it sure makes sense they would.
One of my long-standing sayings is:
You don’t always get what you pay for. But you almost never get what you don’t pay for.
IOW, expensive [whatever] might genuinely be good, or it might just be paying for pretension and the privilege of paying extra. But cheap [whatever] is always nothing but cheap. Bad product, bad labor, bad support. Economics pretty well guarantees the second half of that equation.
Six thousand bucks for the “official” wrap? I’ll bet you could get it done cheaper elsewhere. But the kind of people who spend $125,000 on this vehicle probably don’t blink at the cost.
Tell that to any self-respecting cat burglar!
This is funny. I wish I knew how to make it play in my post.
StG
Here you go …
And yes, it’s cute.
I liked it.
I think a lot of Cybertruck buyers have the “I’m a badass” mentality. Reminds me a lot of when Humvees were a thing.