Tesla Q1 2023 Earnings Report; Cybertruck Status Maintains "Tooling" Status, Pilot Production Line Photos Shown! 📸

[Ogre]

If you zoom in on the rear casting on the PDF it is flat out sexy. Maybe one of the sexiest things you will ever see on a car frame.

Lots of sexy parts on this truck. The passenger cage looks pretty stout and sharp as well. Likewise the front casting.

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[Cyberman]

Wow, look at all those painted interior ferrous steel body parts. I guess I was right 2 years ago.

NOT a fan of that.

 

[flowerlandfilms]

Me, scrolling through this thread at my second job, trying desperately to earn enough before the truck arrives...

 

[ED_SFO]

I think a little Easter egg on what Elon said during the call...he is calling all current CT that's roaming around are Alphas, built on pilot line at Fremont...meaning true Betas must be on Austin's production lines...so in theory the true CT had yet to be seen.

In theory with the wavy quarter panels...why do the 3mm SS all around on an alpha build? Lots to unpack over the next few months..

Pics of the front castings from the slides are not a single piece from the giga press but prob multiple castings joined together. Seems Alphas are actually testing parts from their suppliers in order to make sure those parts meet Tesla requirements. Next few months are outsourced parts evaluation.

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

I’m not saying the deployable ramp is causing these geometric frost/moisture artifacts on the tailgate….

But I’m not not saying it either…

Interesting observation.

 

[HaulingAss]

It appears that there are attachment points for the SS exterior panels on the subframe and bosses on the casting to mount SS panels. The exterior SS panels will be too structurally insignificant to declare this as an exoskeleton as most of the loads will be handled by the castings, structural battery pack and subframe.
However, this is great news for repairs to the exterior panels as they could be replaced easily for minor accidents.

Declaring that the Cybertruck does not have, an exoskeleton, is essentially arguing engineering terminology with one of the worlds most accomplished engineers and also demonstrates a misunderstanding of the very meaning of the word.

The term "exoskeleton" was first coined by biologists to describe the skeletal structure of animals like insects and crustaceans which do not have central skeletons. It would not be a stretch to call a VW beetle an exoskeleton (or any other unibody vehicle). The differece between previous unibody vehicles and Cybertruck is that the thin stamped body panels of all production predecessors don't take a significant part of the load, they are too flimsy. Most of the load is taken by the stamped and welded members the skin bolts to. Nevertheless, they (all unibody vehicles) can be loosely considered exoskeletons because the structure is anterior.

Insects have shells made up of multiple layers of structural materials, each with their own properties and composition, and crabs have "bulkheads" within the exterior shell to add rigidity. They are still exoskeletons.

The exoskeleton of the cybertruck is formed from multiple assemblies sandwiched together to create a rigid outer structure. This includes the two under-castings, the upper rear castings in the "wings" of the bed, the structural battery pack, the stamped and welded structure enclosing the cabin, and the thick, structural skin.

Because the 3mm thick flat stainless panels are designed specifically to carry a significant portion of the load by making the unibody more rigid, as evidenced by the number and thickness of the attachment points, they form a necessary part of the structure and this is what makes it more of an exoskeleton than even a vehicle like the classic VW Beetle that also used the skin, although to a lesser degree, as part of the structure.

This image shows the composite nature of the structure of an insect's exoskeleton and they way it is layered to create more rigidity:

This image can help visualize the essential differences between an endoskeleton and exoskeleton. The endoskeleton has a soft, fleshy exterior with the primary bony structure in the interior of the organism while the exoskeleton has the load bearing portions on the anterior of the organism, like the Cybertruck.

The Starship, developed by Musk and SpaceX, is also an exoskeleton, as all rockets are. The fact that it has a frame composed of a double wall of stainless steel does not detract from this characterization as you can see in the composite structure of an insects outer shell in the first image.

Arguing semantics with an engineer as accomplished as Elon Musk is not very productive. It's the movers and shakers of the world who mold and shape our language, not unknown and un-celebrated people throwing peanut shells from the peanut gallery. Even without Elon having declared the Cybertruck an exoskeleton, it can be clearly seen that the term applies, and it applies to the Cybertruck to an even higher degree than it applies to more traditional unibody vehicles.

Arguing engineering semantics with the man who builds orbital rockets that land themselves is probably not the most productive path to take.

 

[Kahpernicus]

At least we have established one thing: that you do not believe what Elon Musk says. I guess there is no point in our communicating further since I do believe him.

Musk has a tendency to say wishful things.

 

[HaulingAss]

Looks like significant Frunk space will be lost to these absolute chonkers!

I can't wait to hear another Munroe breakdown on this new suspension shot.

That is the most massive strut I have ever seen on any production light truck and exemplifies what I love about Tesla, how seriously they take the engineering of the most fundamental parts of a vehicle. Unlike legacy auto, they don't under-engineer the most important components and then cover them up and call it good!

 

[ranjames]

The 1st, 3rd and 4th photo are the pilot line (California) and the 2nd photo was Texas. The accumulator (air tank) appears to be aluminum and hopefully mounted in a way where water can be drained often.

Interesting, you bring us some interesting thoughts on this... With the air tank - I wonder how many Owners will be faithful in their daily shut downs and draining of liquid within the tanks. I go back (30 years ago) driving CDL type trucks and had to drain the airbrakes at end of day to drop the liquid buildup and I was always amazed at how much liquid buildup could occur that would of course damage systems if water was left in the system. Owners better get smarter and disciplined on this...

 

[AlDente]

Been there. Great place to caribou hunt. In fact, my profile photo was taken not too far away.

Glad we finally have some confirmation of testing in Alaska. Why did it take so long to release this photo? Seems like this happened years ago. Although I notice no door handles in the pictured CT. Hmmm.

Just returned from a trip to Anchorage/Seward (we prefer low tourist season). Only 1 Supercharger in AK at this point and it's a long way from you. How are you gonna manage that?

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

Musk has a tendency to say wishful things.

I do not see much of anything Elon says as wishful, except maybe that he wants to see our species survive ourselves. That is certainly wishful thinking. When it comes to building things like vehicles, he has an overwhelming tendency to produce what he says he will produce, though often not 'when' he says. He provides the vision, the passion, and the backing, and his team provides the results. He knows that something can be built before he speaks but he doesn't know when it can be built at the speed and pricepoint required. Your view is simply negative and doesn't follow Elon's demonstrated history at producing vehicles.

 

[HaulingAss]

I don't believe many of the SS skin panels will be structural. When Elon uses the term "exoskeleton," I believe he simply means tough/durable. It's sort of like his use of the term "autopilot," which really means driving assistant.

No, the term "Autopilot" on a Tesla means an "autopilot". If you have ever piloted a boat with one or more autopilots, you know what the term means. In fact, Tesla's autopilot does much more than a standard marine or aviation autopilot. The functionality is so much more advanced it's not even funny. You appear to be saying that since it is not capable of full autonomy, it shouldn't be called an autopilot.

I've used 10 or 15 autopilots on commercial boats, and 5 or 10 on pleasure boats, and not one of them was fully autonomous. In other words, an autopilot is an assistant, not a full replacement for a human pilot.

I think you've been listening too much to the people who try to tear Elon Musk down to someone of their level.

 

[cvalue13]

That is the most massive strut I have ever seen on any production light truck and exemplifies what I love about Tesla, how seriously they take the engineering of the most fundamental parts of a vehicle. Unlike legacy auto, they don't under-engineer the most important components and then cover them up and call it good!

 

[cvalue13]

Your view is simply negative and doesn't follow Elon's demonstrated history at producing vehicles.

You're view and comments here are also a bit dogmatic and overly wrought.

It shouldn't be a remotely controversial thing to point out that Musk's comments about the CT should be taken with some reasonable flexibility. He's stated, then re-stated, and waffled on any number of things - none of which is an indictment of him or his intelligence, as he's evolving his thinking to match evolving facts, as any intelligent person should.

To take someone here who is merely noting that fact, and dress them down with your kool-aid of "Elon's word is immutable because he's smarter than everyone here" is both unnecessary, and dislodged from the reality of what makes Elon smart - agility in thinking.

 

[Kahpernicus]

I do not see much of anything Elon says as wishful, except maybe that he wants to see our species survive ourselves. That is certainly wishful thinking. When it comes to building things like vehicles, he has an overwhelming tendency to produce what he says he will produce, though often not 'when' he says. He provides the vision, the passion, and the backing, and his team provides the results. He knows that something can be built before he speaks but he doesn't know when it can be built at the speed and pricepoint required. Your view is simply negative and doesn't follow Elon's demonstrated history at producing vehicles.

I'm talking about the wishful delivery dates for products on announcement dates see: semi.

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