Tesla tells workers on Cybertruck line to take 3 days off

[Crissa]

You should ask the mods to get rid of off-topic content rather than giving them views.

How do you know a reply is off topic until you read it?

-Crissa

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[Qball]

Sounds like they are optimizing production line to make them even faster! My goal is to purchase the CT sometimes next year but have a lot going on in my life right now. The hope is by the time I can get one late next year the kinks are mostly out and price will be lowered and possibly some inventory discounts too…..one can always dream right? ?

 

[CyberGus]

Yeah... I don't think precedent bodes well for that prediction:

https://jalopnik.com/the-vegas-tesla-tunnel-remains-hilariously-bad-1851690478

I'm not surprised you think Jalopnik (and that article in particular) passes for legitimate journalism.

Jalopnik is absolute trash! The tunnel does everything it’s supposed to do. It’s also being expanded to the airport. ?

One of the top comments on the Jalopnik article:

Another dumb lazy written article by Bradley Brownell. Did the Las Vegas Loop do its job of transporting your body from one point to another faster and cheaper than it would have taken if you walked or taken taxi/Uber? Yes? Then why the hell are short-sighted small-minded people like you always trying to compare other transport systems to this? You might as well make the same dumb statement regarding normal on-surface city transportation that “it’s just cars on surface street! What’s the big deal? A train or monorail system will be much better blah blah blah”

 

[Deleted member 17810]

Completely off topic, but the boring tunnel is great in theory.

The issue is that promised fsd is years years late.

 

[Madaven818]

They probably have to switch to the lower cost line ASAP to start selling CTS again.

I was speculating that Optimus was giving it a go

 

[DJAlan2000]

I wish my bosses would give ME 3 days off with pay (and not use my vacation!) just so they could make a tunnel look better... in my case, it was a BRIDGE between 2 sides of our campus that they had to redo... Took 2 weeks and we had to hike down a hill and back up again (bridge is about 150 feet above another road and 'gulch')... not something fun to do for 2 weeks in the heat of JULY!!

But don't listen to Jalopy nicks... They lie all the time, and when they aren't lying, they are either stretching the truth or they are re-reporting some story from months ago... They are all about GAS cars and trucks and are definitely against Tesla!

I remember one story they did on 'EVs and their range' where they (supposedly) drove 5 different ones from 100% to 'dead' to find the range and then RANKED THEM by that! Well, of course the cars with the biggest batteries went farther than the STANDARD model 3 they tested...

I posted a reply saying they are comparing them wrong, and said, I wonder if they are going to compare Trucks with one of them having 40 gallon tanks compared to one that has 20 gallons and see which one can go farther... duh...

If an article compares an EV with a battery that is 120 kW to one that only has a 70 kW battery, take a guess at which one will likely drive a farther distance... duh...

 

[Crissa]

Completely off topic, but the boring tunnel is great in theory.

The issue is that promised fsd is years years late.

Las Vegas precluded them doing testing in the tunnels, as well, so it's always weird this is a point at all.

You might as well make the same dumb statement regarding normal on-surface city transportation that “it’s just cars on surface street! What’s the big deal? A train or monorail system will be much better blah blah blah”

I mean, for destination to destination those would be more efficient! And ofttimes cheaper per rider. But also way most expensive to get them going, per mile.

-Crissa

 

[YDR37]

As I've mentioned before, I've monitored the used Cybertruck market carefully since introduction. There is no sign of overproduction or collapsing demand there.

There is still not a single Cybertruck on the used market for less than ~$85k.

Above was posted on December 4, 2024, and it was true at that time. But two weeks later, the floor has apparently dropped.

$80,000: AWD, 10K miles, Florida, private seller.
$82,000: AWD, 16K miles, California, private seller.
$82,995: AWD, 17.4K miles, New Jersey, dealer.

Would assume all are Foundation Series, although only the Florida truck is explicitly listed as such. Maybe it is becoming difficult to sell used FS AWDs at prices much above $80K, given that brand new non-FS AWDs are readily available at $80K.

At some point, used non-FS AWDs should start to become available. You would expect them to be priced even lower, perhaps under $70K.

 

[kpanda17]

No sorrow here
FS AWD dropped used to rhe price of a new AWD non FS
CT is running the normal used depreciation path
2025 could take used CT AWD down to $69K
These prices will make used CTs very popular
Let’s all welcome lower prices if used is your goal
Let’s hope at $80K new AWD will tech evolve to 400 miles of range

 

[HaulingAss]

Yep and truth is, Tesla has no idea what the TAM numbers are for this controversial and unusual vehicle.

Huh? Tesla has a very good idea what the Total Addressable Market is for the Cybertruck and, like all their vehicles, it's a function intertwined with cost to produce. Unlike legacy truck makers, Tesla is not willing to sell it at a loss of tens of thousands of dollars for each truck they make.

Tesla knows that the more they make, the less it will cost, which is why they have been studying the design of the production lines involved for efficiency and speed optimizations. A production line is never a single line, particularly at at Tesla which is more vertically integrated than other automakers. There are multiple production processes that all feed the main final assembly line.

Tesla goes into production when they can configure a production line that makes sense. As processes and potential bottlenecks are better understood, they adjust the processes for speed and efficiency. This allows them to increase the production rate with fewer line workers and bring the cost per vehicle down over time.

The Model 3 went through this same dynamic. They even added a new production line inside a tent to get volumes where they needed to be to reach the right price point. Demand is very sensitive to price point.

The Model 3 started initial production in the summer of 2017 but had a very slow ramp due to over automation that wasn't working as seamlessly as planned. They had to re-configure the production line and processes multiple times before they could sell them profitably and at a low enough price that they could also sell them in very high volumes. As production volumes increased, the "pinch point" was the last 3-4 months of 2018, almost a year and a half after production started. That's because it costs time and money to achieve volume efficiencies, the payback comes when you can just run the production line and not mess with it.

The Cybertruck is designed to be easier to build due to extensive use of aluminum castings that are so consistent from part to part they can function as their own assembly jigs, a new kind of network using different wiring and different connectors (but less computers and less wiring/connectors), lack of a paint shop for final body finishing and a structure designed to assemble with fewer steps, fewer robot welders, leading to more cost effective assembly.

However, these optimizations are exactly why Elon planned a slow and gradual ramp for the Cybertruck. Anytime you make a clean sheet design, especially when increasing the content of new construction techniques significantly, there will be longer optimization curves, than if you make essentially the same car with 20 more hp that is an inch longer, has new color options, different tire sizes, and has redesigned styling flourishes inside and out (but uses all the same production technologies). Legacy auto might even slap on a new model name even though the underlying technology and assembly processes have not changed.

In the case of the Cybertruck, Tesla is challenging traditional automaking processes in fundamental ways. That comes with special challenges with regard to optimizing the production line, for example, the learnings around production of the stainless parts and how they feed into the general assembly line. Like how to best route and install a new kind of wiring. Everything must be optimized for speed and efficiency so the line can operate reliably with fewer line workers.

And we know Tesla is succeeding relative to legacy auto EV truck production because Tesla announced they hit Cybertruck net profit in Q3 2024 while legacy auto still sells their EV trucks at losses amounting to tens of thousands of dollars for every truck produced (even though they have been in production for more model years)!

Certainly the 500K/year numbers and even half that are unrealistic without dropping the prices 20%. A "traditional" truck buyer is not their market even with the political shift.

Tesla's business plan is to make the trucks increasingly more affordable as production rates increase. That has been the plan all along, even though Cybertruck will not hit $39.9K, $49.9K and $69.9K without scary levels of deflation, combined with a serious de-contenting of the exceptional features the Cybertruck currently comes with at no extra charge.

Features like the best sounding audio in the segment, adjustable ride height with a massive 8" range of adjustment, adjustable compression and rebound damping that automatically adjusts on the fly to suit loads and conditions, steer-by-wire, combined with four-wheels that steer, to provide the easiest and most nimble manuevering in the segment, the most damage resistance of any truck on the market, the most rust resistance of any truck on the market, an automatic, self-disappearing, all-metal, tonneau cover that a 300 lb. man can walk on (and that encloses the largest volume truck bed in the segment), etc. etc, These features come even with the lowest spec $79.9K Cybertruck without FSD. And that is the price that will lower as efficiencies increase, but it we had better hope it never hits the announced prices because that would imply a devestating level of deflation (combined with de-contenting).

Looked at objectively, the $79.9K Cybertruck offers more value than a legacy EV or gas truck at the same price point, but there has been such a cacophony of false narratives and fake news that most traditional truck buyers still have no clue how much value the Cybertruck actually has. Most of them still think it is a highly flawed, fragile car pretending to be a truck that rusts easily and breaks down regularly. They simply are ignorant. That will not be fixed by expensive multi-million-dollar advertising campaigns, it will be fixed by firsthand exposure, butts in seats, testimonies from trusted friends, co-workers and family members. And that takes time. Remember, it hasn't even been a full year since it was made in any significant numbers. People still don't even know exactly what they are looking at, and how good it is.

The Cybertruck is already the best-selling EV truck in the world (fake news reports to the contrary), and 2025 is going to be a record-breaking year for Cybertruck sales and Tesla is already gearing up for exactly that. Watch and see.

By 2026-2027 contractors will figure out they can send their Cybertruck to Home Depot (without an employee in it) and have the friendly Contractor Support Team at HD load their truck with the needed supplies,charge their account, and send it on their way. Ford and GM have nothing like it.

Yep, it's going to sell in great numbers! This is not 'hopium' talking, it's common frickin' sense, but only if you already know what a great truck the Cybertruck actually is, and how much value it offers buyers. Some of us already know that, most do not.

 

[HaulingAss]

Completely off topic, but the boring tunnel is great in theory.

The issue is that promised fsd is years years late.

FSD being years late is only a problem if someone beats you to it. No one else is even close.

And the Las Vegas Boring tunnels are great, not only in theory, but also in practice. That's why the powers to be have greatly expanded the tunnel project after the initial pilot project proved how well it worked and how low the cost was. If someone had a better, more cost-effective solution, they wouldn't have approved expansion of the Boring tunnel system.

People who are writing articles disparaging it are simply spreading false narratives in a lame attempt to take the shine off Elon Musk and his companies. We have so much fake and misleading news these days that it's not even worth consuming unless you just want to study the phenomena of fake news (or you are too stupid to know any better).

The X platform is the primary source used by powerful and effective people to stay on top of current events. That's what I'm seeing.

 

[Deleted member 17810]

FSD being years late is only a problem if someone beats you to it. No one else is even close.

And the Las Vegas Boring tunnels are great, not only in theory, but also in practice. That's why the powers to be have greatly expanded the tunnel project after the initial pilot project proved how well it worked and how low the cost was. If someone had a better, more cost-effective solution, they wouldn't have approved expansion of the Boring tunnel system.

People who are writing articles disparaging it are simply spreading false narratives in a lame attempt to take the shine off Elon Musk and his companies. We have so much fake and misleading news these days that it's not even worth consuming unless you just want to study the phenomena of fake news (or you are too stupid to know any better).

The X platform is the primary source used by powerful and effective people to stay on top of current events. That's what I'm seeing.

A late promise is still a late promise.

Let's not beat around the bush of why Vegas tunnels were approved. It's free money from the state.

It's barely arguable that it's a better transit system compared to local transit, mainly because it's still people manned cars. If it was autonomous, it'd be a different conversation, but it's not, so we can't.

I'm not touching that diatribe at the end.

 

[HaulingAss]

A late promise is still a late promise.

That's not controversial, it's obvious.

Let's not beat around the bush of why Vegas tunnels were approved. It's free money from the state.

That's BS. The source of the funding is seperate from the decision of what kind of transportation to install. The Boring Co. solution was chosen for it's cost-effective way to solve the problem. Las Vegas could have recieved the transportation funds for any kind of transit, even if it were less cost-effective.

It's barely arguable that it's a better transit system compared to local transit, mainly because it's still people manned cars. If it was autonomous, it'd be a different conversation, but it's not, so we can't.

The average ride length in the Las Vegas Loop tunnel system is less than two minutes! I think the City figures the human drivers are worth it from a crime/vandalism/litter/cleanliness perspective. Eventually the cars will drive autonomously, and humanoid robots will pick up litter, ensure cleanliness and alert authorities to vandals and crime. A huge strong point of the installed infrastructure is how well it adapts to the future. The investment in tunnels is a safe investment-because it's future-proof.

I'm not touching that diatribe at the end.

Good! The fact that you call it a 'diatribe' leads me to believe you wouldn't have much of value to add.

 

[Deleted member 17810]

That's BS. The source of the funding is seperate from the decision of what kind of transportation to install. The Boring Co. solution was chosen for it's cost-effective way to solve the problem. Las Vegas could have recieved the transportation funds for any kind of transit, even if it were less cost-effective.

All boring tunnels have been subsidized.

Nevada is really good at funneling money.

It's especially good at throwing money at things that benefit the affluent. Like the boring connections.

 

[Crissa]

I think the bigger argument is the lowest bid for a light rail / subway solution was 10x more per mile. Sure, rail would be better, and cheaper per passenger mile... but they were never going to pay for it.

-Crissa

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