That’s still a far smaller machine than a stamping press. Even for mild steel, stamping presses are the size of a small building. Folding stainless, especially with milled notches at the seam, is nothing in comparison.
The way I see it, it’s not marginal cost so much as capital cost. Tesla has one factory at the moment doing bodies. Another, in China, is about to come online, but it’s already going to be saturated with Model 3 and Model Y production.
If you’re GM or Toyota or whoever and already own dozens of factories, it’s no problem to repurpose one for a new model. Tesla doesn’t have that luxury. Building out a new factory just for a truck would be a huge step change, and one they likely can’t afford with their expected growth in other areas.
The batteries are different. The Cybertruck needs a shitload of them, but Tesla already has a battery factory with plenty of room for incremental growth. That can just scale up with their other production, including industrial energy storage. And the more cells/packs they produce, the cheaper they get.
I told a friend about the Cybertruck that it looks the way today’s normal cars look as compared with ones from the 60s, with their overabundance of unnecessary trim, curves, fins, chrome bling etc etc.
The minimalist design is a decade or two ahead the current curve of traditional car manufacturers, which may or may not spur them to go in that direction faster.
Even though it is a horribly ugly machine, I do agree with Tesla fans that it is priced very well. Ford’s electric F-150 should be available in roughly the same timeframe as Cybertrkkk, so I guess the gauntlet has been thrown to make Ford price its offering competitively.
I just wish Tesla fans would quit talking about all of the “specs” of this thing as if they actually know what they are (e.g. how much it weighs, how much it’ll cost to build, etc.) The comment threads on Ars Technica about this thing are unbelievable. Especially the “I don’t really need a truck but I put a deposit on one” people.
If it had the exact same specs but had a gas engine those same people would be rolling their eyes at this thing the same way people rolled their eyes at the Hummer H2. It’s a big impractical vehicle that wastes energy, is by no means good for the environment, and isn’t particularly useful, but because this one is electric it somehow is exempt from the ridicule that a bulletproof natural gas guzzler SHOULD get.
By all accounts it’s the size of an F-250, it’s huge. I wonder how many of these “non-truck” people understand what it’s like to actually drive around in an F-250.
I thought the same thing about those king cab trucks with almost no bed. They’re very popular for towing boats and such. Instead of getting 15-20 mpg they would be getting the equivalent of maybe 70 mpg. An economy car that can haul 6 and tow a boat has a market. Slap some wild paint job on it and it’s Ed Begley Junior’s personal urban assault vehicle.
Now put on one of those advertising wraps and the electricity is paid for.
Honestly I think it’s beyond ugly but I think it will sell. It comes down to whether a short-bed market wants something this… unique. It certainly brings a lot of utility value.
I’m not seeing the contradiction. The difference is literally in the mocking name: gas guzzlers burn precious fossil fuels and emit nasty pollution, harming both people and the climate. Take that away and there’s nothing legitimate to complain about.
When I see some idiot in a lifted F-150 commuting to his tech job, I don’t actually care about the totally unused bed or the terrible aerodynamics. I care that he’s amplified his role in climate change by like 3x in exchange for essentially nothing. If the monster truck is instead powered largely by low- or no- carbon energy sources? Maybe the truck is still a little ridiculous but no more so than any other hobby I don’t care about.
In California, the Cybertruck should emit less carbon per mile than pretty much any conventional gas car, even tiny commuter cars. Some parts of the country are not quite as good but if a conventional truck owners switches, it’s still a net win for the climate.
Aside from minor things like side-view mirrors (which is more a regulatory thing at this point), Teslas look like their concept versions. The Model X has its Falcon Wing doors, and the Model 3 shipped with the zero-grille nose and the minimalist interior.
I’m sure ther’ll be a few minor tweaks here and there (the Model X lost the nosecone between concept and shipping), but we’re definitely getting a super-angular stainless steel Cybertruck.
