Cybertruck Range Extender

[GuyV]

The problem with adding any charging hardware to the Cybertruck is this: It will with a near 100% certainty be more efficient and less expensive to utilize that hardware off of the truck. Adding it to the truck adds drag, mass, and solar production penalties.

The one use case where it makes sense is driving off-grid for extended periods of time, and that is pretty much it. Even if you were in an apartment with no charging option, and parked in the sun all day, it would still be a decades long ROI compared to super chargers.

The other way it makes a lot of sense is it you add all the mentioned hardware to a trailer. Assuming you RV and boondock a lot, it starts to make more sense.

As far as extended range, I am going to wait for the option to replace the current HV battery pack with a new battery tech in the future. My only fear there is Tesla will block/avoid this option because they make more money selling new cars vs upgrading battery packs.

For me it's not the cost saving, but the convenience of offsetting vampire drain wherever/whenever it is parked, any more than that is an added bonus. Let's recall the Musk once teased us about a solar tonneau cover.

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[thetuxcat]

Autoline CT teardown shows the battery has an extended port, so it was intended to be added.

I personally (probably within the next year or so) plan on installing some programmable 800vdc power supplies (I'm thinking frunk right now) to be able to plug in roof top solar, my own batteries like eg4ll, or just a straight up gas generator for extended driving or towing. The parts I have picked out would be either a 300lb 14.5kw generator, a 500 lb 24kw generator, or 2x 200 lb 12kw generators. Current cost will be somewhere around 10k since I would be doing it myself. To put that in perspective, driving down the freeway not towing consumes about 30-35kw (120 kwh can usually let me drive about 3.5-4 hrs at 70 mph on a full charge). So a 24kw generator would mean that only 6-10 kw is taken from the battery resulting it a 12 (at 70 mph) hour drive time between recharge/fill up. Equivalent range of over 800 miles per charge/fill up.

Edit: it wasn't sandy munro I saw the range extender on, but autoline's caresoft

What do you think about connecting a 48volt battery from Amazon

 

[Edphonse]

What do you think about connecting a 48volt battery from Amazon

For what purpose? 48v only runs the auxiliary equipment and I am fairly sure Tesla doesn't use bidirectional chips for the 800 to 48 volt system.

 

[Gigahorse]

Range extended was canned, but truck will still be mostly usable if they can get our charging times to be reasonable.

A year later still waiting for that 500kw charging and a decent curve.

 

[bg002h]

Range extended was canned, but truck will still be mostly usable if they can get our charging times to be reasonable.

A year later still waiting for that 500kw charging and a decent curve.

Meh…I was kinda keen on a carrying a 2,000lb bullet behind my head at 80 mph.

 

[mongo]

Range extended was canned, but truck will still be mostly usable if they can get our charging times to be reasonable.

A year later still waiting for that 500kw charging and a decent curve.

It doesn't matter how quickly the truck gets to 100% if 100% doesn't get it to the next charger...

 

[Gigahorse]

It doesn't matter how quickly the truck gets to 100% if 100% doesn't get it to the next charger...

100% will get the truck from one charger to another in most places, even when towing (100 miles) but if it takes 90mins to charge vs the 30 promised that is very problematic and can take a 6 hour ICE tow trip and turn it into a 14 hour slog.

 

[mongo]

100% will get the truck from one charger to another in most places, even when towing (100 miles) but if it takes 90mins to charge vs the 30 promised that is very problematic and can take a 6 hour ICE tow trip and turn it into a 14 hour slog.

I don't live most places...
Last trip to the inlaws required 92% from Supercharger to Supercharger in good weather.

 

[Gigahorse]

I don't live most places...
Last trip to the inlaws required 92% from Supercharger to Supercharger in good weather.

Yup, all the more reason they need to fix the charge curve so that 92% doesn't take 90-200minutes to charge.

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