We have a MBTA commuter rail line that runs near our house, and next to our house is a dirt lot with a fence and gate separating that lot from the rails. The MBTA owns that lot but rarely uses it for anything other than going through that gate and accessing the tracks.
For decades we and our neighbors have used that as overflow parking for whatever reason…parties, other visitors, or like now when our driveway is being repaved. But one thing we don’t do is block access to the gate/tracks, because if for some reason the MBTA crew needs to access the tracks there, we’re going to get ticketed or towed, and then the MBTA might start noticing how often people use it & post a sign.
Why am I telling you this? Because I just came home, and our neighbor has parked his Cybertruck on a big asshole diagonal in the middle of the dirt lot, far up enough that it blocks access for any larger vehicles. He parked on that big diagonal next to the cars that are parked straight in.
It’s like your typical asshole truck owner, but magnified a little more.
Trapped water isn’t going to do anything. Probably galvanic corrosion. Two dissimilar metals touching will generally corrode. Use plastic coated magnets, a vinyl wrap, etc. to keep them apart.
Tell him that if he really must be an asshole, to go to the nearest gas station and see how many pumps he can block at once. Revenge for all the ICE truck owners that did the same at Superchargers.
Yesterday, workers at Tesla’s Austin factory, which assembles the Cybertruck, were told to stay home for the next three days, according to a memo seen by Business Insider. “On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week (Dec. 3-5), you do not need to report to work,” the memo said.
factory workers on the Cybertruck line have occasionally been given other duties instead of building trucks since late October, according to Business Insider. Four workers said they had inconsistent schedules in the past month, either because they were sent home or given additional training exercises or cleaning duties instead of regular duties.
“When I started at Tesla you could expect to get overtime pay, now I feel lucky to get 40 hours,” one worker on the Cybertruck line said.
Tesla employs a heat pump on the Cybertruck to increase the heating and cooling efficiency. This is good for preserving battery power and range, but there are questions about how effective this system is in harsh environments.
I have been advised by my home heating guy that a heat pump is not an option for my house, because they just don’t work well in our winters. Dunno how that translates to a heat pump in a vehicle.
@Spoons , has it been particularly cold in southern Alberta the past little while?
How do you know that this is the reason? There’s speculation that they are just doing some re-tooling since orders seem to still be strong. Workers are still being paid and will be back at work on Friday. As a career manufacturing engineer, a short three day break seems much more like a re-tool than a lack or orders. What evidence draws you to your conclusion?
“When I started at Tesla you could expect to get overtime pay, now I feel lucky to get 40 hours,” one worker on the Cybertruck line said.
We know how long the reservation queue is and we know how many cybertrucks have been produced and we know that the reservation queue has been fully exhausted just recently so we can do some inference on just what % of the queue ended up accepting delivery (less than 3%). The ramp up was planned with a far higher uptake from the reservation queue, in line with previous Tesla models so it’s not a surprise that they need to drastically scale down production in light of how disappointing demand has been.
Yes. Starting on about November 20, and continuing through until about yesterday, it’s been -15C (5F) or colder every day. Lots of snow too, about a foot of it in total. We’re getting a bit of a break from the cold today, and the outlook for the coming week is looking good—on the plus side of zero anyway—but it’s only the start of winter, and we will likely have many more days of -15C or colder weather before April.
Just hoping we don’t have a repeat of last year, when it was about -40 (C or F, it’s the same in both) for a week or so. My car wouldn’t start, despite the block heater; and my furnace conked out and had to be replaced. Given those harsh conditions, which are entirely possible over the next four months, or even the relatively milder temps (let’s face it, -15C is milder than -40C) we’ve recently suffered, which are more likely, I’m not surprised if electric vehicles won’t move at all.
I had a Buick that did this, too. (Not my car, but it shows the ledge.) Even with hot halogen headlights the snow would still build up in front of them. I imagine all of the European cars from the 70s that had US required bench seats for bumpers also had the same problem. Definitely bafflingly stupid, but in no way unique to the Cybertruck.
Not unique to the Cybertruck, but when a vehicle is marketed as the ultimate vehicle for conquering the apocalypse it’s definitely fair to ding it for stuff like this.
I’d say that you’re correct@echoreply - it’s not an unknown problem. The part that get’s people’s goats is that unlike a 4 door sedan, the Cybertruck is SOLD (in part) on the basis of it’s rugged dependability and ability to handle any terrain with easy, explicitly including cold and snowy weather.
What amuse/worries me is that for @Northern_Piper’s article, is that we’re spoiled for choice about WHY the problem came to be. Is it the heat pump? Is it any of the dozens of other reported electrical problems (quality control or otherwise) reported in what is a (IMHO) flawed first iteration of a vehicle? Is it something newly discovered that is going to be an issue for many more drivers as the CT gets more “real life” cold weather exposure? And is Tesla going to own up to it or say “tough titties”?
Spoiled for choice.
ETA - simulpost with @Johnny_Bravo who was much more concise as usual.
My temps in winter usually have some days dipping below -30 C (-22 F), and we can expect some days with -40 C / F (not every year, but have to plan for it). My heating guy also mentioned heavy condensation around the heat pump outdoors, so ice build-up.
Probably better in a new thread, but there are ways to deal with frost and extreme cold.
That said, it would take some data analysis to see if a heat pump made sense.
