Any updates?

[Macgreiner]

Has there been any news as to when the final design is going to be released? Seems like it was meant to happen a long time back now.

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[Crissa]

No.

I think the last we heard was 'no door handles'.

-Crissa

 

[FullyGrounded]

I think Elon is having a tough time pinning anything exactly, given the issues with circuit boards and the scarcity of them. On top of that, I truly think Elon is concerned about losing interest when he brings the revised and the necessarily limited in options, Cybertruck. So many things he brushed off earlier, are quite possibly haunting him now. I mean, it was leaked that the vault cover would most likely contain the solar PV cells, and serve as the solar he suggested. That is almost crazy to me, because it doesn't help at all if you need to access the truck bed, and it's at a more or less fixed angle, when it does happen to be closed. The best solar will follow the sun. Something loose that can easily be redirected would be much more helpful. But, this isn't best for business, as it adds parts and therefore complexity. That's just the solar. Consider the passthrough, that I think was almost promised, with a/c to the bed. The a/c is relatively easy, but the passthrough I can't even imagine, given the track the tonneau cover requires to open/close. Add in the 5th wheel question, winch options, camper options, etc, etc, etc. It's a pretty long list.

 

[CyberMoose]

I think Elon is having a tough time pinning anything exactly, given the issues with circuit boards and the scarcity of them. On top of that, I truly think Elon is concerned about losing interest when he brings the revised and the necessarily limited in options, Cybertruck. So many things he brushed off earlier, are quite possibly haunting him now. I mean, it was leaked that the vault cover would most likely contain the solar PV cells, and serve as the solar he suggested. That is almost crazy to me, because it doesn't help at all if you need to access the truck bed, and it's at a more or less fixed angle, when it does happen to be closed. The best solar will follow the sun. Something loose that can easily be redirected would be much more helpful. But, this isn't best for business, as it adds parts and therefore complexity. That's just the solar. Consider the passthrough, that I think was almost promised, with a/c to the bed. The a/c is relatively easy, but the passthrough I can't even imagine, given the track the tonneau cover requires to open/close. Add in the 5th wheel question, winch options, camper options, etc, etc, etc. It's a pretty long list.

The initial Cybertruck prototype is all they really need to turn into a production model. The only difference that was actually sort of confirmed was no door handles which wouldn't be a different task since they already have controls in the B pillar to unlock the door and to open the door on the no handle roadster, you swipe your finger in the same area. Also Teslas have a plunger to help force the door open already, so there isn't anything new really that Tesla would need to do except programming to make a finger swipe activate that plunger.

The solar vault cover option definitely won't be an ideal charging benefit. If you are driving on a sunny day or spend a lot of time parked out in the sun, you'll get some benefits, but it's still pretty minimal and most people are aware of that, you probably wouldn't even notice the increased range added to the vehicle.

The passthrough wasn't promised. There was a tweet that asked if the bed was going to have HVAC, access from the 2nd row of the cabin and bio defence.
His answer was yes, probably, partially.
Probably isn't really a promise and it doesn't mean that the 'access' will be a full midgate passthrough, it could just be a window that can be opened, if they are able to add access at all.

Then when it comes to 5th wheel and winch, neither have every been mentioned by Tesla or Musk, so putting them in is probably low on the list and could come down to 'if it's easy enough'

 

[Crissa]

If you are driving on a sunny day or spend a lot of time parked out in the sun, you'll get some benefits, but it's still pretty minimal and most people are aware of that, you probably wouldn't even notice the increased range added to the vehicle.

Oh, you'd notice. Because most days, most people don't drive that far. Even if it's a small benefit, it will mean plugging in less frequently.

Sure, it won't matter much in a road trip, other than taking care of a little bit of the A/C. Or not dropping range while sitting in a remote parking space.

-Crissa

 

[GnarlyDudeLive]

Oh, you'd notice. Because most days, most people don't drive that far. Even if it's a small benefit, it will mean plugging in less frequently.

Sure, it won't matter much in a road trip, other than taking care of a little bit of the A/C. Or not dropping range while sitting in a remote parking space.

-Crissa

I am a rare low millage person due to working from home for the past 13 years and on a off-shift. ~10 miles a day represents my normal average other than a handful of longer road trips per year. I would practically never need to charge mine. IMO: If Elon really wants the solar as an option and if it is a poor performing option for the cost due to positional limitations, I could see it being a standard feature on all CT's just as a selling point. If that was the case, how could anyone really complain about it if its a free addon? =) While possibly gimmicky depending on its actual performance, it definitely would be a hell of a marketing/advertising advantage. I would take it over the F150 V2G being that the V2G feature has a hidden cost in actually making it work by having an 80-100amp line installed out to the garage/outside charging location.

 

[SpaceYooper]

The solar vault cover option definitely won't be an ideal charging benefit. If you are driving on a sunny day or spend a lot of time parked out in the sun, you'll get some benefits, but it's still pretty minimal and most people are aware of that, you probably wouldn't even notice the increased range added to the vehicle.

I'd notice it. I drive about 14 miles to work and park in the CO sun everyday for the next 8-10 hours. It would make my commuting costs next to nothing.

 

[CyberMoose]

I'd notice it. I drive about 14 miles to work and park in the CO sun everyday for the next 8-10 hours. It would make my commuting costs next to nothing.

Yes that's why I specifically added if statements in my comment and 'most people won't notice' I'm sure that if someone lived in whatever city is known for the most sunlight on average per year, parked in the sun 100% of the time, and never shut the vault, they would love it.

You and I are good examples of opposite people for this example. You park in the sun all day and I'm guessing won't have the vault open a lot. I have tons of trees on my property, especially near my driveway. My truck would probably be in the shade except for a few hours of the way when parked at home. My workplace is in the city and uses a parking garage, a lot of the places I get groceries are in the shade, if i'm camping my truck would be in the shade of a forest. I would also have the vault open a lot for taking out the ATV, dirt bikes, or other large items. I still might get the solar option depending on the cost, but it wouldn't do me much good.

Obviously not everyone is in my situation and not everyone is in your situation. Most of the US and Canada aren't summer all year and while there are sunny days in the winter, it's often overcast. If I had to take a random guess i'd say the benefit for the average person might be 50% of optimal use if you looked at it over a period of a month or longer.

 

[Crissa]

Even if it were overcast and you're only getting half the range... That's still a couple hours you don't have to be plugged into an L1 outlet. You don't need as much air conditioning when it's cloudy, either.

-Crissa

 

[Diehard]

I don’t think having some sort of pass through is a big deal and most likely is already included. It does not need to be an innovative or genius solution. Tundra has had a back window that operates just like side windows for years.

I doubt this or solar cells are much of a concern for Elon. He said design is complete a while back. Manufacturing is where most of the frustration will be. If 4680 is not ready for prime time to meet the deadline, adjustments will have to be made that may reduce production volume. If the cast has a problem, it could be a major process challenges.

As we saw after a delay for model S they delivered 25 units that were not ready just to meet their second deadline. Many more waiting for update before they can be distributed. Cancellation of plaid Plus tell us things are not always peachy. And model S has been around for many years. CT is a radically different beast that may have challenges Tesla (or any car manufacturer) has never seen before. Just because Tesla does difficult stuff regularly, it does not mean all difficult problems can be solved quickly all the time. We have to expect some delays even if production CT looks exactly like the one revealed.

I know I am being a buzz kill but if I am wrong, we will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Crissa]

The cancellation of Plaid Plus doesn't really tell us anything. The Plaid's stats basically overwhelmed the Plus's, except range. The battery pack is actually smaller, better cooled. There would be no reason to have a model coming out next year when you could be selling and showing off the peak model today.

-Crissa

 

[tidmutt]

I don’t think having some sort of pass through is a big deal and most likely is already included. It does not need to be an innovative or genius solution. Tundra has had a back window that operates just like side windows for years.

The CT will be my first truck so I'm not much of a truck expert but I would think a sliding glass window opening would be sufficient for a pass through for me. I mostly want to be able to sleep in the bed with my kids, have A/C and access to the cabin in case I want to stow anything in there and have access to it. Being able to fold down the window would be amazing, but I can imagine that would be a difficult thing to engineer when you consider the retractable cover. I suppose the pass through is useful for long items as well?

Honestly, I'm not even sure how practical it will be to sleep in the bed. It seems like it would work as the sloping cover would provide plenty of headroom so it wouldn't feel too claustrophobic. The bed is 6.5 feet if I recall, which is enough room for me with some gear at the end.

As for those discussing the solar, I have never considered that a serious feature other than as some additional cost extra. I'm going to guess it wouldn't be cheap. If it's less than $2K I might consider it as I think it would be awesome when camping, help offset energy loss from A/C usage at night, plus charging tablets for the kids (LOL - camping yeah right) and maybe movie nights on the screen (assuming there is cell coverage - Star Link, when will you be an option!).

 

[tidmutt]

The cancellation of Plaid Plus doesn't really tell us anything. The Plaid's stats basically overwhelmed the Plus's, except range. The battery pack is actually smaller, better cooled. There would be no reason to have a model coming out next year when you could be selling and showing off the peak model today.

-Crissa

I think the 4680 supply are better used in the CT for now. If the CT was further away you might have the luxury of using the Model S and X to work out the kinks but that's a lot of reengineering and retooling for the S.

 

[CyberMoose]

The CT will be my first truck so I'm not much of a truck expert but I would think a sliding glass window opening would be sufficient for a pass through for me. I mostly want to be able to sleep in the bed with my kids, have A/C and access to the cabin in case I want to stow anything in there and have access to it. Being able to fold down the window would be amazing, but I can imagine that would be a difficult thing to engineer when you consider the retractable cover. I suppose the pass through is useful for long items as well?

Honestly, I'm not even sure how practical it will be to sleep in the bed. It seems like it would work as the sloping cover would provide plenty of headroom so it wouldn't feel too claustrophobic. The bed is 6.5 feet if I recall, which is enough room for me with some gear at the end.

The midgate passthrough is actually what I desire the most out of all the 'this may happen' sort of features that have been mentioned in tweets.

Without the midgate, it will still be very good for camping. If you wanted to sleep with the vault closed, like you said you have lots of headroom, but there is also light bars on the sides of the bed so you have that, plus the possible window that you can open for fresh air and a little light so it's not pitch black. If you sleep with the vault open, the tesla camping set tent is perfect for bed camping. I love the design of it and it is elevated so the counter and oven top can be stored under. i'm hoping that even without purchasing the kitchen part of it, that you can still have a sleeping platform to store stuff underneath.

Now if there is a midgate, you add another like 3-4' of space for more bed space if you have a few people or just a family camping trip with kids. Not only this but now you have a glass roof to sleep under with your feet going towards the tailgate and you can stargaze in bed while falling asleep.
Obviously there are also a lot of benefits for just a massive cargo area that could store almost anything. This would be perfect for anyone who goes to the timber yard a lot for work or home projects.

Something that i've mentioned on other threads and this is a little more specific but it's something I would really benefit from as well as a lot of other people i'm sure. I use my car a lot instead of a hotel, i'm pretty cheap despite my company giving me an allowance for a hotel. If I don't provide a receipt, they give me an average rate at the nearest hotel to where I'm sent. I am going to love having the Cybertruck when I am going on these trips because I will have a much more comfortable sleep. If there is a midgate, it also gives me more discretion when i'm doing this. With a midgate, I can just leave it open with the vault closed and when I leave the gym, I can just go to the back seat, and it wouldn't really draw any attention. But I don't really want to go to the bed, open the vault, climb in, and close the vault. looks a little weird.

 

[BillyGee]

As a truck guy who is driving an F350 that is barebones every day, I'll be happy if it had power windows and locks. Everything else is just gravy.

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