Amphibious Cybertruck

Which would you like as an option?


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Good idea, and find a way to tuck in those deflated inflatable on the sides or in the cab.
With the right elastic baffles it could fold itself back into storage trays in custom made Rocksliders/running boards under the doors.
This is one of the reasons I’m hoping Cybertruck has customisable UI with power/ control ports for accessories.
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I think that the only problem with CT's buoyancy is the bed: unless you make it watertight, water will enter the bed pretty easily. However, a watertight tonneau cover and bed could make CT a potential submarine! all Teslas can be driven through water and the only problem is the air filter that gets destroyed in the process. Some smaller adjustment could really make CT an amphibious car
I think we need someone much smarter than me to calculate the displacement of the truck. We could find the open bed might not make much difference if open or closed.

The formula for calculating volumetric weight is length x width x height (cm) / 5000.
 

Ogre

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Needs an option for folks who won't go swimming unless they can touch the bottom of the river or lake with their toes.

I'd love for the Cybertruck to be able to ford deep rivers or even float briefly, but I don't want any weight/ range/ cost penalty for more than ensuring the truck can survive a little dip.

This is fine with me.



Also... HTFU Rivian, there are videos out there with the Model 3 pushing through deeper water than this.
 

Cybertruck Hawaii

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Offer a floating Cybertruck as a option for the younger generation. I’m retired and don’t want the added cost of something that I will never use.
 

John K

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Offer a floating Cybertruck as a option for the younger generation. I’m retired and don’t want the added cost of something that I will never use.
If you are still in Hawaii, you can ‘drive’ from island to island.

Agree, limited application should be optional.
 


FutureBoy

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Offer a floating Cybertruck as a option for the younger generation. I’m retired and don’t want the added cost of something that I will never use.
If you are still in Hawaii, you can ‘drive’ from island to island.

Agree, limited application should be optional.
Instead of a floating CT, it might be better to have an optional boat that can be towed. This boat would be its own trailer, be able to carry the CT on board, use rollers to transfer power from the CT wheels to the boat propeller, and have a foldable front entry ramp so the CT could be backed onto the boat during the launch from a ramp process.

Imagine driving to a boat ramp with your towed boat/trailer. As you back the trailer down the ramp, the front of the boat lowers to become a loading ramp for the CT. Just before the boat starts to float (while the wheels are still in play), the CT stops pushing the boat and instead starts backing up the loading ramp onto the boat itself. Once the CT is fully on the boat with the wheels centered on the rollers, the front of the boat is raised. Then the wheels of the trailer/boat are raised so that the boat is fully floating. Then the CT driver continues to "back up" the CT, which causes the CT wheels to push the wheel rollers in the boat, which causes the boat propeller to turn in reverse, and the boat starts to back up. I don't have an easy way to make the CT steering get translated into steering the boat but I bet that if the rollers were able to turn with the steering of the CT wheels that this would be used as steering for the boat.

Once you are ready to get out of the water, the process reverses. The boat is steered to a boat ramp. On approach, the trailer wheels are lowered. Once the trailer wheels are on the ramp, the front of the boat lowers and the CT can be driven off the boat. As the CT disembarks, the trailer hitch is re-attached. Then the loading ramp is pulled up. And finally, the CT can pull the boat/trailer out of the water and drive away.

If the boat were well designed, it would be able to move fast (CT super torque used for that propeller). Plus with no motor/battery specifically for the boat, the boat itself would be very light. I'm sure this is something that could be built. The first ones would certainly be interesting. But after some iterations, I can imagine getting hydrofoils involved too for an even faster and smoother ride.
 

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The idea of actually spending money to turn an awesome truck into an expensive, shitty boat has absolutely zero appeal.
 

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The idea of actually spending money to turn an awesome truck into an expensive, shitty boat has absolutely zero appeal.
How about spending money to turn an awesome boat into an expensive garage for your CT so you can travel the world and have a CT available to drive when you get to your various destinations?

This would of course take serious cash. Billionaires only need apply.
 

Ogre

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How about spending money to turn an awesome boat into an expensive garage for your CT so you can travel the world and have a CT available to drive when you get to your various destinations?

This would of course take serious cash. Billionaires only need apply.
A boat that is capable of moving the Cybertruck around the world is not going to be powered by the Cybertruck battery. At that point, the truck is just cargo.
 

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Instead of a floating CT, it might be better to have an optional boat that can be towed. This boat would be its own trailer, be able to carry the CT on board, use rollers to transfer power from the CT wheels to the boat propeller, and have a foldable front entry ramp so the CT could be backed onto the boat during the launch from a ramp process.

Imagine driving to a boat ramp with your towed boat/trailer. As you back the trailer down the ramp, the front of the boat lowers to become a loading ramp for the CT. Just before the boat starts to float (while the wheels are still in play), the CT stops pushing the boat and instead starts backing up the loading ramp onto the boat itself. Once the CT is fully on the boat with the wheels centered on the rollers, the front of the boat is raised. Then the wheels of the trailer/boat are raised so that the boat is fully floating. Then the CT driver continues to "back up" the CT, which causes the CT wheels to push the wheel rollers in the boat, which causes the boat propeller to turn in reverse, and the boat starts to back up. I don't have an easy way to make the CT steering get translated into steering the boat but I bet that if the rollers were able to turn with the steering of the CT wheels that this would be used as steering for the boat.

Once you are ready to get out of the water, the process reverses. The boat is steered to a boat ramp. On approach, the trailer wheels are lowered. Once the trailer wheels are on the ramp, the front of the boat lowers and the CT can be driven off the boat. As the CT disembarks, the trailer hitch is re-attached. Then the loading ramp is pulled up. And finally, the CT can pull the boat/trailer out of the water and drive away.

If the boat were well designed, it would be able to move fast (CT super torque used for that propeller). Plus with no motor/battery specifically for the boat, the boat itself would be very light. I'm sure this is something that could be built. The first ones would certainly be interesting. But after some iterations, I can imagine getting hydrofoils involved too for an even faster and smoother ride.
Can I get some of what you're smoking?
 


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Instead of a floating CT, it might be better to have an optional boat that can be towed. This boat would be its own trailer, be able to carry the CT on board, use rollers to transfer power from the CT wheels to the boat propeller, and have a foldable front entry ramp so the CT could be backed onto the boat during the launch from a ramp process.

Imagine driving to a boat ramp with your towed boat/trailer. As you back the trailer down the ramp, the front of the boat lowers to become a loading ramp for the CT. Just before the boat starts to float (while the wheels are still in play), the CT stops pushing the boat and instead starts backing up the loading ramp onto the boat itself. Once the CT is fully on the boat with the wheels centered on the rollers, the front of the boat is raised. Then the wheels of the trailer/boat are raised so that the boat is fully floating. Then the CT driver continues to "back up" the CT, which causes the CT wheels to push the wheel rollers in the boat, which causes the boat propeller to turn in reverse, and the boat starts to back up. I don't have an easy way to make the CT steering get translated into steering the boat but I bet that if the rollers were able to turn with the steering of the CT wheels that this would be used as steering for the boat.

Once you are ready to get out of the water, the process reverses. The boat is steered to a boat ramp. On approach, the trailer wheels are lowered. Once the trailer wheels are on the ramp, the front of the boat lowers and the CT can be driven off the boat. As the CT disembarks, the trailer hitch is re-attached. Then the loading ramp is pulled up. And finally, the CT can pull the boat/trailer out of the water and drive away.

If the boat were well designed, it would be able to move fast (CT super torque used for that propeller). Plus with no motor/battery specifically for the boat, the boat itself would be very light. I'm sure this is something that could be built. The first ones would certainly be interesting. But after some iterations, I can imagine getting hydrofoils involved too for an even faster and smoother ride.
I love your thought process here!

Rather than a trailer it might be lighter and simpler to have retractable wheels on your boat. The best part is no part!

As for steering I’d hazard a guess you could port the steering inputs electronically to the rudder rather than a mechanical transfer.

I’m not sure how many uses cases this flight envelope would cover but I’m sure it could be useful to someone.
 

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We just need a Tesla sized boogie board. Hit the water fast enough and you can just skim across the top. The tricky bit is you can only cross short sections of water.
 

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The buoyancy of the CT will suffice no floaties required. Provided the doors (with inflatable door seals) and electrical etc is sealed. It will only sink 250-300mm (10-12") into the water depending on its final weight. Which btw is the primary limiting factor to fording depth because it will float away if the wheels no longer touch the ground. Fording depth will likely be around 1m (3ft) with the air suspension fully raised.

The easiest method for water propulsion is a 10kW electric trolling motor which you can buy off the shelf, with electric steering, that you plug into the inverter output in the bed, and can connect to the tow hitch. It can be stowed in the rear underbed storage. Should be good for 3-5 MPH and 60-100 miles of range on a CT TM.

If you need extra bouancy or a safety margin then inflatable skirts, even in front and behind the CT will work. Battery gives it a low center of gravity which makes it ideal for stability. You can use the air suspension to pull the wheels up to reduce drag, but they will still stick out about 400mm, because there isn't more room in the wheel arches. This will make riding on the "plane" (hydrostatic lift) difficult and therefore also higher powered propulsion and speeds very unefficient.

Hydrofoil could be made to work though if you can achieve enough velocity to get it out of the water. You'll probably need a couple 100kWs to get it on the foils and about 50-100kW to keep it on the foils at around 30MPH giving you about 120miles range on a TM CT. Which is not much more than the trolling motor but about 10x faster, and will also be capable of dealing with larger swells. Foils could be made to extend on legs from either the outside (using the 3mm exoskeleton) or from inside the wheel wells (and attached to the suspension risers) for a cleaner more integrated look.

For submarine mode its a bit more difficult. First the cab air volume bouancy alone requires 5 tons of mass to neutralise. You need that space to sit and some air to breath, plus some extra air tanks if you plan on staying under for more than 30minutes with a few heavy breathers. You could use hydrostatic lift to stay underwater but that will require some wings, which is what kept the Bond Lotus down, (or maybe adjustable hydrofoil wings) and will require you to always be travelling forwards at a certain speed so the wings keep you underwater. But that is also a good thing, because that means when the battery runs out, the propulsion fails etc you will float to the top again with positive bouancy.

All within the realm of possible, engineering wise. The trolling motor is the cheapest "accessory" type option with the biggest impact. The others are fairly substantial changes.
 
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If you are still in Hawaii, you can ‘drive’ from island to island.

Agree, limited application should be optional.
I want to have that option, but certainly understand your desire to not pay for it if you wont use it.

Waterproofness requires a lot of careful engineering when done well and a lot of crack filling goop when done poorly. Its anyone's guess what mixture we get. Running 2 different assembly methods increases the chance that a float model will accidentally be built or retrofitted with non float equipment. Causing huge liability for Tesla. It is unlikely that you will ever be able to order a "float delete option" on a model advertised as float capable.

Take heart, waterproof seals wear out. You will never need to replace yours. You might even be able to sell your seals on the used market.
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