With sales down is the CT going to become a Delorean

[HaulingAss]

Is it really an exoskeleton design? I mean, aren’t the thin steel outside panels just decorative? I fail to see how CT is different than any other aluminum frame unibody, other than it’s like two unibodies smashed together.

What am I missing?

You think the Cybertrucks stainless steel panels are thin? Go read up on this.

The sail panels are stressed members of the chassis, that means they are not just "decorative". And the door panels are laser welded to the stamped inner stainless steel door panels.

The achieves what are likely the strongest and most rust-resistant doors in the industry.

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[Mini2nut]

If Tesla reduces CT prices by $7500 in Q4 due to the tax credit expiring on 9/30 it could boost sales.

Toss in referral credits, incentives, etc. would make it competitive against the $69,900 Rivian R1T Dual Motor.

Pop the hood on a Honda Prologue and you will see many parts with a GM label.

 

[JGTESLA]

Personally, I want the cybertruck to be successful enough for Tesla to keep around to further develop the software and ideally make a V2 when the current version starts to feel a bit dated.

 

[Scorpious]

This thread seems to indicate that selling 70k of a vehicle with 5.6 billion worth of sales is not worth keeping the line running upon demand. Workers can work on the Robotaxi line 4 days per week and run the Cybertruck line 1 day per week if needed. They spent the money producing the line, they will use it. Additionally, if needed to increase sales they will put another body type on top (van, different truck design) whatever to make money. They won't throw away the investment they have put into the line.

 

[REM]

I can do basic financial math. Tesla is charging 10 times more than the cost of the batteries for Powerwalls and Megapacks. They don't make those batteries themselves, and they have no technological moat against competitors, merely a head start. They aren't even using optimal chemistry for stationary storage, just what they are familiar with building cars. They have brilliantly shown there is a market but they can't own it at those profit margins. Ultimately, they will have no more long-term advantage with it than they have had with solar.

You think crunching a financial score on a spreadsheet can give you the total picture?

Vison, LOL? The vision has changed, dramatically and repeatedly. Support of it, whatever it happens to be momentarily, by Musk and his churning senior team rambles directionlessly with his whim and wandering attention. It's pointless then to base financial planning on it but only hope as a sycophant that his forays somehow prove profitable, as some have in the past. They have though, been far better at flogging the stock price than generating real profits. That's actually a vulnerability when the only way to monetize that is by trading it away.

It looks like any profitability it once had has now melted away, helped by Musk's support of the political team taking away the green energy tax credits that support sales, not only of EVs, but also those battery installations, and most immediately to the bottom line, the zeroed-out regulatory credits that have until now turned its losses into profits.

bankwupt! ?

 

[PungoteagueDave]

Then you simply don't understand the wider vision ?‍

I can’t believe that anyone is still buying this fanboi fodder. How’s the master plan #s 1, 2 and 3 going? FSD was announced as “next year” in 2014. Eleven years later…. I’m all in one Tesla and its products but let’s be real. The plan ain’t a plan. Camera vision isn’t going to be the ultimate answer.

 

[bg002h]

You think the Cybertrucks stainless steel panels are thin? Go read up on this.

The sail panels are stressed members of the chassis, that means they are not just "decorative". And the door panels are laser welded to the stamped inner stainless steel door panels.

The achieves what is likely the strongest and most rust-resistant doors in the industry.

I think they’re about ½ the thickness of the 2019 teaser. And the triangle part is glued on. I don’t see how doors are relevant to exoskeleton, but the door openings are smaller than the 2019 teaser, presumably to the more unibody design and/or marked decrease in the “exoskeleton” component of the thinned down exterior steel panels.

Don’t get me wrong, I like my beast…but I really want the 2019 cybertruck…ideally after fixing a few major oversights like access to cab through back window etc

 

[Mini2nut]

I read that the only part of the CT that qualifies as an "exoskeleton" are the rear quarter panels. They actually ad structural integrity to the vehicle. That's how Tesla gets away with using the term "exoskeleton" on the Cybertruck order page website.

The front valance, frunk, front fenders, doors and tailgate simply hang from the castings and unibody like any other modern vehicle.

 

[HaulingAss]

I think they’re about ½ the thickness of the 2019 teaser.

Yes, but you called them "thin" panels in general when they are still over twice as thick as the industry norm (and made of a much harder, much stronger material to begin with).

The industry has never seen anything this hard or durable. Not even close. They are the thickest in the entire industry.

So why did you call them "thin"?

 

[HaulingAss]

I read that the only part of the CT that qualifies as an "exoskeleton" are the rear quarter panels. They actually ad structural integrity to the vehicle. That's how Tesla gets away with using the term "exoskeleton" on the Cybertruck order page website.

The front valance, frunk, front fenders, doors and tailgate simply hang from the castings and unibody like any other modern vehicle.

These (front) items definitely become functional in a crash, hence the 5 star safety crash results. The large rear quarter panels are a critical structural component for the extreme rigidity under load the Cybertruck exhibits. This is one of the defining primary things that sets the Cybertruck apart from legacy pickups. The exoskeleton is critical component of this chassis rigidity and strength.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

These (front) items definitely become functional in a crash, hence the 5 star safety crash results. The large rear quarter panels are a critical structural component for the extreme rigidity under load the Cybertruck exhibits. This is one of the defining primary things that sets the Cybertruck apart from legacy pickups. The exoskeleton is critical component of this chassis rigidity and strength.

There is no exoskeleton on our CTs. The rear quarters are glued on and removable. There’s an interesting YouTube video of a repair/replacement of a partial rear casting structure, with the entire rear body removed. There’s another video series showing nearly all panels on a CT being replaced one at a time over a period of months due to glue failure, and ultimately a buyback.

Tesla found that the exoskeleton concept wasn’t technically feasible, so instead essentially hung the thinner stainless skins on a conventional steel backing structure. This decision was a big element in the two-year-delay in releasing the truck.

Abandoning the exoskeleton plan allowed Tesla to cut the stainless steel thickness by about half, regaining part of the weight that the underlying steel structure added. The combined effect is that the CT still ended up much heavier than a true exoskeleton would have achieved, hence the limited range and missed towing targets/low efficiency. It had never been done and the engineering was aspirational when announced - and in the end, available technology for metal bending and joining simply wasn’t up to it. Tesla learned a lot about bending stainless after announcing its plans, and found itself in a box, with promises vs timelines vs technical limitations. It went with what was possible vs what it had promised. It is interesting that the GM EV pickup models have almost the same efficiency per mile as the CT despite 2,000 more pounds gross weight and batteries nearly twice as big on the longest range models, plus a couple thousand more rated towing pounds.

 

[GuyV]

You think crunching a financial score on a spreadsheet can give you the total picture?


bankwupt! ?

So, that's your admission you got no counterarguments to reality, right? ?

 

[GuyV]

I can’t believe that anyone is still buying this fanboi fodder. How’s the master plan #s 1, 2 and 3 going? FSD was announced as “next year” in 2014. Eleven years later…. I’m all in one Tesla and its products but let’s be real. The plan ain’t a plan. Camera vision isn’t going to be the ultimate answer.

I don't think the problem is cameras. The problem is similar to the one they have with Grok frequently debunking Musk. They are much much further than they admit, or maybe realize, from mastery over the training of AI. As they throw ever more power at it to enhance its capability, the worse the problem becomes. They just can't make it do what they want it to in every situation. I expect they will get there someday, but that someday still isn't any time soon.

 

[Mini2nut]

Without modern structural adhesives manufacturing a Cybertruck OR modern jet airplane would not be possible.

"The 787—a.k.a. the Dreamliner—is the first commercial airplane in the world built largely from polymer composites. It’s a milestone in the use of plastic, an all-in wager for Boeing and a source of pride for composites experts at the University of Washington.

“We’ve been working on these materials and related things for most of our professional careers and it’s really, really neat to see it finally really making inroads in the aviation industry,” says Mark Tuttle, chair of the UW Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Making inroads? More like revolutionizing the industry. The 787’s reliance on polymer composites—the stuff of snowboards and fishing rods—signals a giant left turn in the way commercial airplanes will be built from now on.

“It’s the future,” says Kuen Lin, a UW aeronautics professor."

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