# Tesla Cybertruck **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 23, 2019, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866 "2019-11-23T10:32:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/21 "2019-11-23T18:53:42Z")
I think it’s pretty ugly, but I also know that styles change. I remember the first time I saw the new BMW 300 series sports cars in 2000 or so - I laughed out loud! It looked like someone had kicked it in the ass. But, that style soon became “normal,” and it didn’t look ridiculous anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/22 "2019-11-23T19:42:17Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > It’s the new Pontiac Aztek! I don’t really get this comparison. Sure, the Aztek was ugly, too. But it was ugly in a generic, mundane, way–like if you took a normal car and gave it weird proportions, three different styling themes, and slapped a bunch of plastic on it. It’s just ugly-ugly. The Cybertruck is more like [Brutalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_City_Hall#/media/File:Boston_City_Hall_-_Boston,_MA_-_DSC04704_(cropped).JPG). Probably most will still say it’s ugly. But you can’t accuse it of having no underlying design theme. Tesla decided on bare stainless and flat polygons, and we definitely got that, not something designed by committee. It also shares the “be true to your materials” theme with Brutalism. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/23 "2019-11-23T19:52:48Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > i’m curious what leads you to that conclusion. The outer body panels being flat isn’t evidence of that claim. what does the underlying structure look like? be kind of hard to build effective crumple zones with just flat pieces of metal. Fair enough. Let’s just say that they should be able to reduce the load on their stamping presses. There must be some mild steel internals for the crumple zones, though maybe they can oragami up a few of the less complicated ones. Mass-wise–let’s say it’s roughly an ellipsoid, which has an area about half of the enclosing box. The truck is 5.9x1.9x2 m, or a 53.6 m^2 box, or a 26.8 m^2 ellipsoid. 3 mm steel makes 0.08 m^3 of stainless. 8000 kg/m^3 for stainless makes 640 kg for the body. Well, that’s not so bad, and wouldn’t make it 10 tons by itself, even if the approximation is wrong by 2x. In principle, the monocoque construction should reduce the internal components needed by a lot. The bigass battery is going to dominate here. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/24 "2019-11-23T20:07:46Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Body on frame allows for the endless commercial/industrial modifications of the ass end of the truck to something more utilitarian. Right, but that’s an advantage to the manufacturer and to fleet customers–not so much typical end users. I think it’s very clear that Tesla isn’t going after the center of the F-150 market. They may have decided that Ford is almost certainly going to do that on their own, and that even with a time advantage they wouldn’t have much hope of catching up. But a relatively simple truck that targets a few niche areas? Maybe they can succeed there. The market is big. > [@Gorsnak](#): > > A more usable truck design might have made inroads into that vast fleet vehicle market, but this contraption is going to be pretty much restricted to people who use a pickup as a passenger vehicle, and those people as a rule are not likely to be Tesla fans. It’s not like there’s zero overlap, though. There are definitely people that need a truck for practical needs but would also like an EV. A friend of mine would be getting one if he was in the market. He drives a pickup for exactly one reason: hauling dirt bikes around. Side access is irrelevant, but the adjustable air bags and tailgate ramp would be handy. And he likes EVs in general, but there’s nothing that would handle his application. As far as commercial use goes, the 240v plugs in the bed are going to come in handy for a number of applications. Anyone currently hauling around a generator to power a worksite could use one of these. They haven’t specced it out yet, but I’d bet that it supports 240v @ 50A. It could power a beefy welder all day with the big battery. So who knows. I’d be shocked if they sold as many as 100k in a year. I think 25k is more likely. But that’s probably enough if they kept development costs down (likely, since many of the components are reused from other vehicles). ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/25 "2019-11-23T21:37:30Z")
I’d buy one precisely because of its looks. Now, my wife currently says that’s a hell no. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/26 "2019-11-23T22:14:31Z")
I absolutely _love_ the way it looks. But the cool looking sloped bed negates any 5th wheel towing (I think). I like the concept of EVs and really want one, but the range (and tow capacity) is still not there for me. I realize I’m not the market for this particular one, but I still think it’s a fantastic idea. The apparently large number of deposits doesn’t surprise me in the least. Does anyone know if he classifies this as a half-ton? three-quarter? Didn’t see that in the specs. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/27 "2019-11-23T22:33:44Z")
That depends on the GVWR, and until they say what it is who knows. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/28 "2019-11-23T23:06:47Z")
So much for letting Homer Musk design it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/29 "2019-11-23T23:36:14Z")
Ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. Doesn’t even look like a pickup, and I hate pickups, so if it looked like one, I might hate it even more. I trust that makes my opinion clear! 😃 P.S.- I always thought the Model S was quite elegant, but it’s starting to get a little long in the tooth. Probably it or its successor needs a revamp. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/30 "2019-11-23T23:52:43Z")
For people in Dr. and I’s age range: [https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/e0i83w/cmon\_elon/](https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/e0i83w/cmon_elon/) I haven’t been able to find good pictures that show what the bed is like, especially in terms of how the design affects anything practically. Isn’t a shape like that bad for aerodynamism? Is it well-suited ergonomically? Is it Musk mainly proving that he can do something out-of-the-ordinary-to-the-point-of-being-weird and have it be successful anyway? I can see how that would appeal to him. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/31 "2019-11-23T23:54:55Z")
Earlier today, I read somewhere there were 200,000-300,000 reservations. This was based on the reservation numbers given out. Someone apparently figured out what part of it was the sequence number. My take: First reaction, like most everyone, I thought it ugly. Second reaction, I looked at the specs and some of the videos of people taking a ride and other things. Hey, if I were in the market for a new vehicle, it’d go on my list. Probably wouldn’t be my final selection, but not rejected outright. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/32 "2019-11-24T00:08:27Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Earlier today, I read somewhere there were 200,000-300,000 reservations. This was based on the reservation numbers given out. Someone apparently figured out what part of it was the sequence number. > > My take: First reaction, like most everyone, I thought it ugly. Second reaction, I looked at the specs and some of the videos of people taking a ride and other things. Hey, if I were in the market for a new vehicle, it’d go on my list. Probably wouldn’t be my final selection, but not rejected outright. Reservations on this are $100. That’s so low risk as to be trivial. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/33 "2019-11-24T01:11:07Z")
I kind of suspect that Tesla likes Ford, and did this merely to take away the bad press that the Mustang name for the Mustang Mach-E is getting. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/34 "2019-11-24T01:13:40Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > I haven’t been able to find good pictures that show what the bed is like, especially in terms of how the design affects anything practically. The main negative appears to be the high sides. But that’s kinda crucial to get any kind of aerodynamics out of it. Trucks are not great in this regard. Aside from that, it appears to be reasonable. It has a 6.5’ bed, which is pretty average these days with crew cabs. The air suspension allows the tail to squat, for ease in loading a dirt bike or ATV. It also has a built in ramp. It has a [roll-down cover](https://www.motor1.com/news/383871/tesla-cybertruck-videos/). There are no [wheelwell cutouts](https://ksassets.timeincuk.net/wp/uploads/sites/54/2019/11/cybertruck-bed-768x512.jpg). So, applications involving loading stuff from the sides looks to be out, but aside from that it looks pretty typical. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/35 "2019-11-24T01:20:15Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > As far as consumer vehicles go, Pick up trucks are, on average, more likely to be owned by rural people who find environmentalism ‘faggy’ vs other vehicles… I think “rugged,” “reliable,” and “usable” outweigh “faggy”. There’s a reason Subaru Outbacks infest the mountains, plains, and deserts I’ve traversed. I’ll know EVs are mainstream when eOutbacks arrive. The Cybertruck will show acceptance when it grows campershells. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/36 "2019-11-24T01:59:31Z")
…When an F-117 and a pickup truck love each other _very much_…. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/37 "2019-11-24T02:08:54Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > …When an F-117 and a pickup truck love each other _very much_…. 😉 Looks more like it was a hate-fuck. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/38 "2019-11-24T02:52:57Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I don’t really get this comparison. Sure, the Aztek was ugly, too. Both are two of the ugliest vehicles ever made, & just like the Aztek lovers club, I’m sure I’m sure there will be a small subset of the population that loves it. There’s also there’s some similarity between their profile in side view. Sure, the [Aztek](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/amv-prod-cad-assets/images/17q4/692999/pontiac-aztek-the-story-of-a-vehicle-best-forgotten-feature-car-and-driver-photo-697606-s-original.jpg) was flatter on top but it had a slope up in the front & slope down in the back. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/39 "2019-11-24T03:12:15Z")
After watching the intro, I have the following observations… Tesla fans seem more cult-like (especially in the beginning) than even the most rabid Apple fanatic (I’m a mac TECHNICIAN, I fix the things, but i’m not a cultist) does it seem like the guy doing the sledgehammer demo was kinda’ pulling his hits on the CT?, it also seemed like he really didn’t get a good first couple hits on the F-150 door (also, was that the door from an aluminum F-150, or is it just the truck bed that’s aluminum on those) Speaking of Aluminum… the “transparent metal” glass, ?Transparent Aluminum perhaps? is it possible Elon has a time machine and he was able to employ Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott? The ball drop test was inconclusive, a sheet of Lexan/Polycarbonate would react the same way the “glass” did in the demo, how do we know they were truly using “Transparent Aluminum” and not a sheet of polycarb/Lexan? The “Ball Test” on the CT was _hilarious_, I was fully expecting it to do exactly what it did, I was also wondering why they would want to risk the ball ricocheting off the glass and potentially into the audience, all the energy in the throw would have to be redirected somewhere if it was truly impact resistant, I loved how that little mess up kinda’ took the wind out of the sails there… I was pretty 'Meh about the whole truck thing, yes it’s cool and impressive, but it’s also seriously overhyped right now I loved the “one last thing” reference, seems that Tesla fans and Apple fans have a lot of commonalities… 😉 I was actually _MORE_ interested in the Tesla Quad than the truck, Elon, forget the ugly truck, go after the ATV market! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866/40 "2019-11-24T03:19:30Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > Speaking of Aluminum… the “transparent metal” glass, ?Transparent Aluminum perhaps? is it possible Elon has a time machine and he was able to employ Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott? Sorta [transparent aluminum.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_oxynitride) > [@](#): > > Aluminium oxynitride or ALON is a ceramic composed of aluminium, oxygen and nitrogen. It is marketed under the name ALON by Surmet Corporation.[3] ALON is optically transparent (≥80%) in the near-ultraviolet, visible and midwave-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tesla-cybertruck/843866.md?page=3)