Solar cover?

[SanDiego2006]

I would call it more than "barely mentioned." Elon said there "Will be an option to add solar power that generates 15 miles per day."

He also said there would be a 500 mile range option. I'd like to see a solar tonneau cover combined with a bifacial (translucent) panel replacing the glass roof. You should be able to get close to 1250w with that.

Sponsored

 

[Mini2nut]

A solar cover would be popular if reasonably priced.

Once the configuration e-mails start going out Tesla will get a feel for what trim will be the most popular.

I personally think the strong demand for the $61k RWD version will surprise Tesla. Too many reservation holders were priced out of the AWD and CyberBeast.

 

[firsttruck]

A solar cover would be popular if reasonably priced.

Once the configuration e-mails start going out Tesla will get a feel for what trim will be the most popular.

I personally think the strong demand for the $61k RWD version will surprise Tesla. Too many reservation holders were priced out of the AWD and CyberBeast.

The original reservation backlog from 2019 unveil always was skewed low for single motor RWD. Early adopters care about sports car performance more that regular truck users and, fleet buyers, and people who thought Tesla would never succeed.

I don't want to pay even $100 more for super acceleration.
I only care about enough acceleration to get safely into traffic.
I expect insurance companies will charge higher rates to insure models with excess acceleration capabilities.

A few forward looking fleet buyers might have reserved 1-2 Cybertrucks but most were never going to reserve 100s or 1,000s trucks in 2019, 2020 or 2022. Most fleets buyers will final order for their fleets after 1-6 months of them putting their first trucks through their own tests.

 

[Mimi]

Agree bkervaski.20196. I don’t remember a solar cover ever being promised by Tesla. In fact I remember Elon saying adding solar panels was impractical and not enough surface area to produce enough energy to be worth doing. Why would they bother with manufacturing something that 99% of people would never need or buy? Most charge at home or superchargers on the road. That’s why the range extender is genius. They apease the people who do or “think” they need more range. Anyone that is familiar with Tesla and their supercharging network soon learn that 300+ miles is the perfect sweet spot.

This depends if you only drive on the interstate. You can’t drive through Glacier National Park. No charger in Shelby Mt.

 

[tcmccormick]

This depends if you only drive on the interstate. You can’t drive through Glacier National Park. No charger in Shelby Mt.

True, I do not see any Superchargers on this route but there are Destination chargers. Shelby, MT to Eureka, MT is 203 miles so in theory you could do it on one charge, but I would not feel comfortable trying that without charging on the way. Tesla may add a Supercharger in this area but who knows. They just added two more on our regular route from Nashville down to Florida panhandle one being a V4 charger. Eventually Superchargers will as plentiful as gas stations are today. We are still in the latter early adopter period, but will be past that in probably a year or two at most.

 

[SpaceYooper]

Eventually Superchargers will as plentiful as gas stations are today. We are still in the latter early adopter period, but will be past that in probably a year or two at most.

SC's will probably never be as plentiful as gas stations today. People charge at home most of the time, so there is not a good reason to put a charger on every major intersection and in every neighborhood.

The SC network will control grow, but people said that 4 years ago too when I was stating my 500 or bust reasons. They said by the time we get our CTs it's likely the network will be sufficient to not need a 500 mile truck. It's been 4 years and the network isn't sufficient enough yet for a lot of use cases to include mine.

 

[tcmccormick]

SC's will probably never be as plentiful as gas stations today. People charge at home most of the time, so there is not a good reason to put a charger on every major intersection and in every neighborhood.

The SC network will control grow, but people said that 4 years ago too when I was stating my 500 or bust reasons. They said by the time we get our CTs it's likely the network will be sufficient to not need a 500 mile truck. It's been 4 years and the network isn't sufficient enough yet for a lot of use cases to include mine.

Agree, not as many SCs are needed because most charge at home, which is one the most awesome things about owning an EV. It may take a while but as gas is needed less gas stations will transition to providing electricity instead of gas. That is already starting to happen. Maybe not one for one, but finding a place to charge fast will not be an issue. The adoption curve in exponential and will happen faster than most expect. Not overnight but pretty fast.

 

[tcmccormick]

He also said there would be a 500 mile range option. I'd like to see a solar tonneau cover combined with a bifacial (translucent) panel replacing the glass roof. You should be able to get close to 1250w with that.

Elon throws out a lot of ideas and while he did say this way back this more recent interview with Joe Rogan on this subject is what I was referring to Joe Rogan Elon interview 10/31/23
He said the physics will not work

 

[SpaceYooper]

The only reason I come to this site anymore is to see if my daily CT news scouring looking for info on the solar cover missed something.

So far. Missed nothing. Still waiting for breaking news on this solar cover that may make or break my purchase decision.

 

[SpaceYooper]

No Christmas Easter eggs regarding the solar cover. Still holding out hope.

 

[JBee]

No Christmas Easter eggs regarding the solar cover. Still holding out hope.

I read through the thread, but I am uncertain to why the solar cover is of a make or break importance to buy a CT?

Would you take an aftermarket version?

 

[SpaceYooper]

I read through the thread, but I am uncertain to why the solar cover is of a make or break importance to buy a CT?

Would you take an aftermarket version?

The current CT specs and price have already broken this truck for me. The solar cover option might still keep the dream alive.

Although novel, the range extender option takes up bed space and leaves us with an uneven surface.

Sure I would consider an aftermarket version. But I'm not going to buy the CT hoping something comes available that's suitable.

 

[REM]

SC's will probably never be as plentiful as gas stations today. People charge at home most of the time, so there is not a good reason to put a charger on every major intersection and in every neighborhood.

The SC network will control grow, but people said that 4 years ago too when I was stating my 500 or bust reasons. They said by the time we get our CTs it's likely the network will be sufficient to not need a 500 mile truck. It's been 4 years and the network isn't sufficient enough yet for a lot of use cases to include mine.

Large retail stores, malls, etc will eventually have most of the superchargers. I fully expect solar and battery farms to be installed at places like Walmart and target. It will lower their costs tremendously and give people a good reason to spend 15-30 minutes in their stores.

 

[JBee]

The current CT specs and price have already broken this truck for me. The solar cover option might still keep the dream alive.

Although novel, the range extender option takes up bed space and leaves us with an uneven surface.

Sure I would consider an aftermarket version. But I'm not going to buy the CT hoping something comes available that's suitable.

My question was more about why you need the solar cover, as in what necessary purpose does it have?

It's not really meaningful if it's only the size of the vault cover or rear window, and orientation would be an issue if not parked correctly. Also parking in the sun adds to the air-conditioning load, so when it's hot a small setup like that might not make enough to offset what the air-conditioning needs on a hot day.

I have a design that not only tracks the sun, but also uses the whole vehicle area and provides shade for the whole vehicle to stop heat gain. It also serves as a pop-up camper roof with integrated bed, with extra storage volume that can be locked open at different heights to act as a spoiler for towing, to reduce trailer drag, all whilst not encroaching on bed space, or extending past the vehicle footprint. Only adds 4-5" when closed and won't negatively impact asthetics or aero from the orginal when closed. Should be able to add up to 35miles range with that on a sunny summer day.

It"s very unlikely that Tesla would do something like that.

 

[Variable556]

My question was more about why you need the solar cover, as in what necessary purpose does it have?

While the question wasn’t to me, my reply would be:

1.) Significantly important (IMO) that if Tesla offers it, then the vehicle has to already be configured to accept it. That’d be a biggy for me.

2.) I (personally) would be happy with something that covers parasitic draw, plus hopefully banking a few miles a day. Anything past that would be gravy, and would become less useful as price, bulk, and complexity increased.


Having the ability to park in a remote location without the nagging worry that your charge is dwindling while you’re there would be great, and the less hassle involved would be even better.

Sponsored