Battery Options

[Ogre]

Every pound Tesla shaves off the weight allows them to put a smaller battery on the truck and saves them money (or lets them increase the range numbers).

Lower curb weight is fundamental to the Cybertruck value proposition. Tesla's ability to make the Cybertruck profitably hinge on their ability to make a lighter, more efficient vehicle.

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[Ogre]

You can see the weight problem gets worse with our preferences for absurdly large vehicles.

Did you add to your post after I replied? I swear this wasn't there.

I agree with almost all of your points about weight and mega-vehicles. I'd love if all road taxes, tolls, and fees were based on vehicle weight. I'd love to see cars like the Aptera dominate our roadways. I just don't see it happening without cities and states changing the way they structure regulations and road fees. I think Germany has a much more stringent driver licensing process for

If everyone were driving smaller cars, roads would be safer for everyone.

 

[Crissa]

It wouldn't hurt my feelings in the least if vehicle weight and mileage was a component of vehicle registration cost.

I wish! My Zero costs almost as much to register as my Mazda. Most of the registration is price.

As long as the battery in my Zero is healthy (and batteries are expensive) ,it's going to retain more price than a car.

-Crissa

 

[Crissa]

I don't think this exoskeleton is as initially announced anymore. Given the 8k gigapress is for cybertruck rear castings, the exoskeleton isn't exactly an exoskeleton anymore, but a hybrid ...

The Cybertruck was always going to have a cast part there. You need arches and ribs for the motors and wheels to attach to in the most light-weight manner.

Look at a crab: It has an exoskeleton. But the part of the shell where the legs attach, by the gills, is this complex shape with ripples and ridges cast into it.

That's what the megacasting brings to the Cybertruck. It's the complex shape that marries the strength of the shell through to the motors and creates a bed for the load to sit upon.

The Cybertruck's strength is like a truss bridge - those big box ones with all the steel on the sides - and the megacasting is the deck between those body panels. The deck doesn't hold up the weight of the bridge, it just transfers the load to those sides.

-Crissa

 

[firsttruck]

Even if Cybertruck only weighed the same as F-150 1/2-ton, the Cybertruck would probably have better towing stability than other 1/2-ton pickups because of the Cybertruck's lower center of gravity and 4-wheel steer. The Cybertruck's trimotor 14,000 tow rating does put it in range of lower 3/4-ton pickups.

 

[Eedeen4]

Good ground clearance. Almost a boat, won’t rust like my 2003F150. The ICE Ford raptor is heavy vehicle. Way lighter than all the existing ICE semi’s on the interstate. Main problem with bridges made with steel that rusts, and non stainless rebar that corrodes from salt and acidic rain water.

 

[ajdelange]

Every pound Tesla shaves off the weight allows them to put a smaller battery on the truck and saves them money (or lets them increase the range numbers).

That's true but weight has an amazingly small effect on consumption at least when on a paved surface. Go off road and the story is dramatically different. The reason that this is so is that of the three loads that are proportional to vehicle weight good regen recovers the lions share of the potential and inertial loads leaving only rolling resistance.

To get a handle on this plan a trip with ABRP and then plan it again with 400 lbs extra weight. Check how much more juice you will use.

 

[Ogre]

That's true but weight has an amazingly small effect on consumption at least when on a paved surface. Go off road and the story is dramatically different. The reason that this is so is that of the three loads that are proportional to vehicle weight good regen recovers the lions share of the potential and inertial loads leaving only rolling resistance.

To get a handle on this plan a trip with ABRP and then plan it again with 400 lbs extra weight. Check how much more juice you will use.

We were talking about the difference between 5800 pounds and 8000 pounds... that's more than a 5% range difference according to ABRP. If you are talking curb weight and have a range target of 500 miles, you now have to add more battery capacity to make up for a 25 mile range shortage.

 

[rr6013]

I have a reservation for the dual motor CT, but would like to upgrade to the +500 mile battery. Has there been any discussion regarding battery upgrade options?

There could be…upgradable build options. Subsidy, shortages and volitile markets with COVID disruption could produce an environment that options move trucks off the production line.

Such options would enable future upgrades for compatibility with newer technology or greater functionality selling more Cybertrucks.

 

[RoadbossTX]

I find this incredibly hard to believe.

Telsa sedans are like 20-40% heavier than the avg ICE sedan weight.

Tesla Model X curb weight is 5,185 to 5,648 lbs.

Cybertruck made from SS, twice the size and much larger battery pack.. this thing will weight 20-40% more than an F150.

This brings me around to a hidden problem I have been considering regarding the eventual shift to the current proposed Tax credit cap of 50% of the market being EV vehicles. Aside from the extreme added strain on the already strained power grid, there is another potential problem from this wider adoption of EV vehicles on the road... greatly increased vehicle weight on the aging bridge network. If all EV vehicles including Semi's are 20-40% heavier curb weight on avg.. when we get to 50%+ EV's on the road.. you start to approach the designed safety limit of bridges when they were new.. nevermind when they are 50+yrs old and crumbling.

Current weight limits, and bridge (distance between axles) laws will not change to accommodate EV semi trucks. They will need to figure out how to reduce weight, or they will carry less payload.

 

[chalupacabre]

I have a reservation for the dual motor CT, but would like to upgrade to the +500 mile battery. Has there been any discussion regarding battery upgrade options?

If you drive 25 mph, you'll get 500 mile range, even further downhill. Towing will probably suck for all the EV pickups, so there goes 2% of the market. My 19M3 has a +300 mile range, so far no issues. Will drive from Houston to upstate NY this month, so we will let ya know how it goes. Ask yourself, do you need to always carry excessive battery weight that you'll only need x% of the time? If the next 5 years is like the last 5 years, you'll need to plan your charging, but after that, EV charging infrastructure will be better than gasoline availability ( better cause you charge at home, too)

 

[Ogre]

Current weight limits, and bridge (distance between axles) laws will not change to accommodate EV semi trucks. They will need to figure out how to reduce weight, or they will carry less payload.

The automaker says that Tesla Semi will be able to transport a payload “at least as high as it would be for a diesel truck.”

The Tesla semi will be able to haul as much as a diesel semi. That is the entire point of it after all.

Also, this isn't quite true. Electric trucks are being given an allowance for weight.

With both the U.S. and E.U. having approved higher weight allowances for electric heavy-duty trucks, we expect the payload to be at least as high as it would be for a diesel truck. In the E.U., electric semi trucks are allowed to be 2 tons (~4,400 pounds) heavier than diesel equivalents, and in the U.S. the allowance is 0.9 tons (2,000 pounds). When fully loaded, the Tesla Semi should be able to achieve over 500 miles of range, achieved through aerodynamics and highly efficient motors. This truck will be able to reach an efficiency of over 0.5 miles per kWh.

(From the same article above)

 

[ajdelange]

My 19M3 has a +300 mile range, so far no issues. Will drive from Houston to upstate NY this month, so we will let ya know how it goes. Ask yourself, do you need to always carry excessive battery weight that you'll only need x% of the time?

Some of us have had the experience of taking these vehicles on the road. We can answer your question. The answer is: ABSOLUTELY YES. In bold italic caps.

 

[Ogre]

Ask yourself, do you need to always carry excessive battery weight that you'll only need x% of the time?

Depends largely on how big that x% of the time is. More important, how much of a problem it is when you bump into that limit.

There are places I like to go where there are no Superchargers along the route and are either outside my range or I can't drive as a round-trip. I've had to stop at an L2 charger and after an hour added a full 25 miles. I've also had to drive 20 miles off my route to top off at a Supercharger. I've also finished a trip with 1 mile of range remaining even after cruising at 45 miles an hour for 50 miles.

Having a bigger batter removes a lot of the logistics issues around charging. The bigger battery also gets you from 0 to 300 miles range faster. It also gives you a lot more utility for non-driving things. That might be using camp mode, using power tools at a work-site, or backing up your house.

What is the efficiency penalty going to be for the bigger battery? Maybe 5-10%? Seems like a fair trade.

 

[Crissa]

What is the efficiency penalty going to be for the bigger battery? Maybe 5-10%? Seems like a fair trade.

Of course, that depends. Most people never road-trip, despite aspirations.

So it varies wildly.

-Crissa

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