TESLA SHOULD CANCEL THE CYBERTRUCK

[Deleted member 3316]

Read carefully, there is a hint of bias in the article.

Just a hint…???

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[Cybertruck Hawaii]

I’m not ready to pay over 40 grand for a electric pickup truck with useless options. Only the base Cybertruck can offer that.

 

[ajdelange]

The article is click bait and intended to target us to get a rise out of us.

Think so? Ya mean like the post I was responding to?

 

[tjordan]

I thought your whole article was a joke and at some point you were gonna be like... nah I'm just kidding. But your right, we should all just cancel our orders because you think the truck is as inferior as your thought process. Get a clue you douche.

AGREED!

Reading through it I was waiting for the "Gotcha" moment when they admitted it was tongue in cheek.

Rivian a rival to CT? They're not in the same class. Literally. Rivian is a little truck like a Ranger. CT is an F-150. Lightning is an electric F-150, with worse stats and higher price than the Cybertruck. The Hummer EV? Well that's not a pickup so I haven't even bothered looking at the specs. Just an odd electric SUV.

One decent point the article made is that Ford has been doing pickups forever, and Tesla has not - so Ford may have an advantage in functionality. That remains to be seen once they are both on the road and we hear from the people.

 

[Ogre]

Rivian a rival to CT? They're not in the same class.

A lot of people on this board would opt for a Rivian sized truck if the price were competitive with the Cybertruck prices. I know I would.

The problem I see is the Rivian is in the weird position of being smaller and much more expensive. Or in the case of the tri motor, the Rivian simply has a much lower range.

 

[SwampNut]

Rivian a rival to CT? They're not in the same class.

It depends on how you define it, and individual needs. I'm not in the market for a Rivian due to the lack of off road ability and the range. But many others would find them interchangeable. I once shopped BOTH the "small full size" trucks and the diesels, and either would have suited the need then. Not in the same class, yet interchangeable for me.

 

[HaulingAss]

I’ve loaded quite a bit over the side. Usually lighter things you want up near the cab. If you are loading boxes often it’s easier to lift them over the side then climb up into the bed and carry them to the front. You can also stand in the bed and unload over the edge. Also, if you are at a yard and garden shop, often they will load up gravel or gravel/ bark by dumping it over the side of the bed.

The Rivian also has an adjustable air suspension so it can also get it’s sides pretty low and level. (I know, the CY has this too, but the CT sides are ~15” taller at the cabin).

As I said above, this is not a huge deal for me, just concerns I’ve had thinking about the Cybertruck Based on owning a truck.

Based only on what you wrote, I don't think a pickup is the right fit for you. And, yes, the Cybertruck really is a full-sized pickup. I'm 6'-04" and I wouldn't even think of loading my bone stock F-150 4x4 over the side of the bed - that's just ridiculous. And unloading it from the side would be impossible unless I was over 7' tall. Even then it would be far from ideal. The Cybertruck with the suspension in freeway mode would be easier but I still don't think there would be a lot of use cases where I would side-load/unload.

The 2-wheel drive pickups of the 60's, 70's and into the 80's could be side-loaded and we did do that if the items were not too heavy or bulky. But modern trucks have grown in size and now trucks get loaded and unloaded from the tailgate almost exclusively. It's a real edge case where someone would want to unload over the bed sides

The Rivian is like a play truck with it's dinky little 4' bedette. The bedette is so short there is no reason to load it from the side. And most people are not tall enough to effectively side load/unload it either. But who cares? Side-loading sucks on modern trucks.

 

[HaulingAss]

TESLA SHOULD CANCEL THE CYBERTRUCK
The Competition Has Already Beaten The EV To The Market, With Better Products
by

Manoli Katakis October 18, 2021, 4:03 pm

Image via Tesla

Tesla has given the auto industry establishment a lot to worry about. Here are a few examples: a complete rethinking of how to sell a car, with no franchised dealerships; the ability to keep the vehicle’s software fresh through OTA updates; semi-autonomous driving; wild stock prices. The irreverent nature of Tesla has favorably disrupted the auto industry, causing a shakeup in how business is done, period. It’s had just about every large global automaker biting on the bait. But the Cybertruck continues to be a joke. And as the clock continues to tick forward, there’s really no reason for the automaker to continue committing to an inferior product, compared to three vehicles that have emerged as frontrunners to take it on. Vehicles that have already started to get in the hands of customers.

Image via RivianRivian R1T

Perhaps the biggest threat to Tesla comes from well-funded EV automaker Rivian. A new-age automaker that took its time ironing out its inaugural productsbefore getting them into the hands of customers, the Rivian R1T has proven to be more than competent in extreme conditions, validating its 800 hp and 900 lb-ft of torque by entering off-road events like the Rebelle Rally, and crossing the Trans-America trail. Where is Tesla in validating the Cybertruck, two years after revealing it?

When it comes to the awareness of Rivian and its products, that’s probably where Tesla still has the Michigan-turned-California automaker beat. But that’s probably because Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe hasn’t been on The Joe Rogan Experience. Or Cathie Wood decreeing absurd share price targets for the automaker on CNBC (yet). But delivering on product promises, on time, is also why a car company is so much more than a cult of personality.

Image via GMC.GMC Hummer EV

GM has made a big splash by resurrecting the Hummer name, and its macho proportions and radical power numbers (1,000 hp!) have the electric pickup truck putting off quite the vibe. The truck is also set to begin production by the end of the year, just behind the Rivian R1T, and seemingly well ahead of the Tesla Cybertuck.

And this new Hummer EV isn’t some badge-engineered compliance car, either. It shares zero parts with any existing General Motors vehicle. And, when you watch the Hummer EV do its Crabwalk dance in person, there’s no denying that the electric truck is pretty damn cool. Cool enough to where even Tesla CEO Elon Musk admitted to rethinking the design of the Cybertruck, which would incorporate rear wheel steering, at minimum.

Image via Ford

.Ford F-150 Lightning

Where the GMC Hummer EV and Rivian R1T seem more positioned to stand out in a crowd, the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning gets things down to brass tacks. For its part, Ford Motor Company has gone as far as to admit that Tesla is the catalyst for its EV push, but has focused its market positioning of the F-150 Lightning truck as one that’s built to work, and what it can do on the job site. Stats like being able to power a house for three days, or that it stands to be the most affordable electric pickup truck on the market when it launches in early 2022, are helping the electric truck garner the attention of fleet buyers, with enough reservation deposits to motivate Ford to double its production targets next year. And, for better or worse, President Biden drove one.

While the Ford F-150 Lightning may not have the thick stainless steel body that the Tesla Cybertruck may have, Tesla lacks the decades of learning and customer data on people who use their trucks for work, which Ford has in spades.

Image via Twitter

.How Much Of The Tesla Cybertruck Was Just A Cash Grab?

As of this writing, customers that have put down a Tesla Cybertruck reservation deposit have not been notified that the vehicle has been or will be canceled, so the interest-free loan generated from reservation holders remains in circulation. But with the automaker pulling the original specs and pricing of the Cybertruck from its website recently (despite still accepting reservations), something appears off. And since Tesla has decided to eliminate its communications department a while ago, we’re left drawing our own conclusions.

Will Tesla ask reservation holders to go for something else? Perhaps only if a Cybertruck 2.0 doesn’t reveal itself. But like the new Tesla Roadster, the Cybertruck seems to have been demoted from industry disruptor, to yet another simple fan-boy fantasy.

Image via Tesla

“Better Products” From The Competition

The genuine flaws of the Tesla Cybertruck appear to be that it takes in zero account of any pragmatic use. Although, the Cybertruck is an incredible exercise in designing a vehicle that can circumvent just about every single transportation law in the DOT’s sizable rulebook.

Because of its gross vehicle weight rating putting it in the Class 2B category, it does not require the following:

• airbags
• a shape optimized for pedestrian safety
• a crumple zone for crash safety
• NHTSA crash testing
• EPA electric range testing

Other vehicles like the Hummer EV and Rivian R1T may be classified in the same gross vehicle weight category, but GM and Rivian at least know better to implement these safety features into the design of their electric trucks, regardless the regulatory framework. It’s just good business practice, as the product would appear unfinished otherwise.

Add to it that the Cybertruck body is stainless steel, Tesla could save well into nine figures by simply forgoing any need to paint it over its lifecycle. This is based off what traditional OEMs have been seen investing over time just on paint tooling alone.

All in all, the Tesla Cybertruck would cost a fraction to build in comparison to what General Motors and Ford have earmarked for tooling and engineering of its upcoming electric vehicle offerings. See investments at the GM Factory Zero and Spring Hill plants, as well as Ford’s recent Kentucky and Rouge Complex announcements. To that end, the Tesla Cybertruck deserves incredible praise, and similar techniques should be applied where appropriate across the industry. But beyond this, the Cybertruck feels like an inferior product compared to its rivals as it stands, which bring more functionality and thought-out touches to the table. To the point where I’m not sure why anybody would want one, beyond the clout.

Was The Tesla Cybertruck A Ruse?

Telsa revealed the hulking Cybertruck thinking what, exactly? That a bunch of Bay Area sociopaths are going to suddenly trade in their Model 3 and master parallel parking a Class 2B pickup truck next to a tent colony? That the Texas brodozer crowd is going to suddenly trade in lifted diesel trucks for something that can’t roll coal? Are coastal elites going to behave poorly on Twitter when it doesn’t fit in a parking garage, or there’s nowhere to charge one?

It’s one thing to put a refundable $100 deposit down for kicks. It’s another to live with such an automobile.

Somewhere between November of 2019 and now, the Tesla Cybertruck as it is has stopped making sense. And based on what we’re seeing from GM, Ford and Rivian, it’s time for Elon Musk and company to go back to formula. That’s not to say that Tesla shouldn’t or can’t build a truck. Or that people wouldn’t buy a Tesla truck. It just should be a good one.

Image via Tesla

Written by Manoli Katakis
Detroit Region SCCA Member and founder of MC&T. Automotive Media Jedi Knight. Not yet the rank of Master.

https://www.musclecarsandtrucks.com/tesla-should-cancel-the-cybertruck/

This article is really innovative. Somehow the author managed to tell us the competition is coming and it's going to be really good without actually using the phrase, "the competition is coming." or "Tesla killer".

Impressive! I had actually forgotten all about the competition that was allegedly coming.

 

[Crissa]

It depends on how you define it, and individual needs. I'm not in the market for a Rivian due to the lack of off road ability ...

The Cybertruck isn't likely to be much better off road than the Rivian, though.

-Crissa

 

[Ogre]

Based only on what you wrote, I don't think a pickup is the right fit for you. And, yes, the Cybertruck really is a full-sized pickup.

I‘ve owned a truck for 3 years. I know what owning a truck is like.

Do not remotely understand how people think they can make this kind of assessment based on a couple comments on a forum.

And unloading it from the side would be impossible unless I was over 7' tall. Even then it would be far from ideal.

I’ve loaded and unloaded small light objects over the side of my Tundra many times. As I mentioned above you can unload heavier objects over the side while standing inside the bed. Unloading firewood, shoveling dirt over the side, etc. Not only is it possible, it’s sometimes the preferable way to unload things which are up near the cab of the truck.

 

[SwampNut]

The Cybertruck isn't likely to be much better off road than the Rivian, though.

-Crissa

LOL! Come on. How much off-road time do you have, and/or have you looked at all the clearance and approach/departure angles? Even the stock tires that come on them? If any of the existing stuff actually ships, it blows away the Rivian by a huge margin.

That said, here we have tons of rocks in this area. The Rivian does fine on maintained trails, fire roads, and washes. It is not going here, and the CT is:

 

[2000prerunner]

LOL! Come on. How much off-road time do you have, and/or have you looked at all the clearance and approach/departure angles? Even the stock tires that come on them? If any of the existing stuff actually ships, it blows away the Rivian by a huge margin.

That said, here we have tons of rocks in this area. The Rivian does fine on maintained trails, fire roads, and washes. It is not going here, and the CT is:

yeah true

I am totally all in for an EV truck. It will do all the "normal" truck stuff, like haul things / family , camping, basic off-roading all while not worrying about paint , gasoline bill , servicing engine, T-case, trans or worrying about common truck upgrades like re gearing differentials for big tires or transmission coolers and so on. that parts great and worth it.

However, like you, I have been off-roading for 15+ years (building pre-runners mostly) and for sure the cyber truck will not be super great at "real" off roading. Not sure about 4x4 crawling, but as for higher speed "prerunner" or sand-sports or "Baja" stuff that's going to be an epic fail in the cyber. The air suspension will most probably explode due to shocks getting too hot from beating a 5,000lb truck over woop sections and the range is going to be around 50 miles or so in the dirt when mashing that pedal through sand or so. This has already been proven with rivian tests in baja (floppy stock truck like suspension and lower range when going fast off road) as well as the
Lordstown Motors EV truck which did a desert race (much less range than they predicted). In all fairness this type off off road is niche , but at lest with other trucks there are aftermarket options to make them capable off road (bolt on long travel kits and aftermarket race shocks).

 

[Crissa]

The longer wheelbase of the Cybertruck is going to have different tradeoffs. All those features you point out may make the Cybertruck merely catch back up to the Rivian.

I find the handwaving here to be exasperating. We don't know right now. There's no Cybertruck to test yet.

-Crissa

 

[SwampNut]

If we believe the published specs, then we do know. So are you saying that you don't believe the published numbers will be true?

 

[2000prerunner]

The longer wheelbase of the Cybertruck is going to have different tradeoffs. All those features you point out may make the Cybertruck merely catch back up to the Rivian.

I find the handwaving here to be exasperating. We don't know right now. There's no Cybertruck to test yet.

-Crissa

We kind of know in a way how it's going to off road. Like a super heavy ass full size truck with no locker up front. Tesla "reinvented" motors and drive lines no doubt. But their suspension, chassis is nothing revolutionary. 8" total wheel travel, double wishbone suspension (IFS) IRS swing maybe with fragile CV axles and unit bearings for the big tires to ride on. Hummm sounds like a stock chevy silverado or tundra to me. The air ride has been around for while too. Air ride is great for like a Land Rover commercial and maybe for loading up a bed. but that crap is absolute trash in a real off road situation (again probably not what you are thinking, so please don't try to regurgitate what some dingus said online about "auto levels itself off road". That BS is for a sales brochure or some newbie trying to "off road").


No offense, it seems like most of your off road expertise/experience is limited to YouTube videos and V-blogs from "influencers". So what seems like "handwaving" to you is actually legit points. Guess we will wait and see tho, can't wait to see what you think when you get yours in the dirt for the first time.

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