Cybertruck Range: Losing the Story

[HaulingAss]

I hope. So much for all that "we have to make the Cybertruck affordable" talk by Elon.

The Cybertruck will be very affordable, just like previous Tesla, it will take time.

Tesla has opted to pay off the roughly $2 billion (maybe a bit more) in development costs sooner by charging more for the first production runs, while their production volumes are still low. As they ramp to higher and higher volumes, and figure out ways to make them quicker and with less labor, they will start dropping the price.

By paying off development and tooling costs sooner, Tesla will later be able to drop prices lower, and sell in higher volumes, than they would otherwise be able to. Lower prices result in a larger addressable market. It surprised me that Tesla took this route as I thought they would amortize the development costs over 6-8 years of production, rather than charge a lot upfront.

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[ecotrials]

I hope. So much for all that "we have to make the Cybertruck affordable" talk by Elon.

As the 4680 ramp and road map continue, there will be more energy per cell. I believe to 500+ mile range was based upon 4680 meeting full long tern specifications. This may have the effect of offering two battery sizes, one to keep the range now available, the longer range variant getting closer to 500 miles. I also believe many will be quite happy with the lower range. I, for one, wanted the 500 miles for towing. With the 340 mile AWD, I hope (and expect) I can get to the furthest location without charging, and then if required, charge on the way home when a more leisurely time constraint won't make much difference to me.

 

[intimidator]

When is the last time that you drove 700 miles non-stop ?

I would drive about 450 miles one way on trips 3 times a year.....stopping 5-10 minutes once for the comfort station. Then when I arrived I still need to get gas for about a week.
As an EV owner now, I sure do stop a LOT more on trips, just the nature of owning an EV.
I do miss the convenience of going 700 miles between fill ups.

 

[HaulingAss]

I would drive about 450 miles one way on trips 3 times a year.....stopping 5-10 minutes once for the comfort station. Then when I arrived I still need to get gas for about a week.
As an EV owner now, I sure do stop a LOT more on trips, just the nature of owning an EV.
I do miss the convenience of going 700 miles between fill ups.

And your stops are probably a lot more lengthy in a Ford Lightning, on average, than a vehicle like the Cybertruck that can use the Supercharger Network.

 

[Celiboy]

Any trip in a BEV that requires more that 1 supercharge stop is going to be a real hassle. (require time and patience)

For my RWD M3 this is 350 miles
For a model S Long range this is 500 miles

The CT will be between those.

We travel to Washington state 2-3 times per year. It is a 700 mile drive. In a BEV we will just need to find hotel in Boise with destination charger. (very important IMHO)

Marathon trips should just be avoided at this level of technology, but 90% of our miles are super easy. This is worth it IMO to get off oil.

It’s also worth it to get off oil changes, starters, transmissions and transmission fluid, radiators, alternators, and timing belts and every other thing that has a two year lifespan before it needs to be replaced.

In the time I’ve been waiting for my Cybertruck I’ve had to have the transmission rebuild in one vehicle twice at around $2k each time before I had to junk it and buy a newer used truck to pull my boat. I decided in 2019 on reveal day I was getting away from ICE vehicles permanently. This truck can’t come fast enough.

 

[DrPhyzx]

What “unscheduled” stop?

A stop caused by range being less than what was expected/projected. I haven't had this problem so much in my Bolts (our family has had one as a daily since 2017) which rarely get driven more than 200 miles/day, but a Model 3 I was driving for a while on longer trips would invariably complete a leg with less charge remaining than projected at the beginning of the trip, even when driven conservatively. More than once, this meant adding a Supercharger stop at a time/place I hadn't planned for. So, I am suspecting this may also be an issue with the CT.

 

[Huntsman]

…There is a good explanation in the linked article about why Tesla gets so much better EPA ranges and why it is all perfectly legal under the regulations

https://www.caranddriver.com/featur...-factor-tesla-uses-for-big-epa-range-numbers/

Your linked article was very informative - thanks for sharing.

 

[CYBRSMTH]

Great commentary to a thoughtful article. I listen to several EV podcasts and watch a lot of EV YouTube videos and they’re saying the same thing. The EPA test, while more realistic than the WLTP test, is still flawed. In fact, according to Kyle Connor of the Batteries Included podcast, there are several EPA range tests for automakers to choose from, so they can cherry pick the data to get a rosier score!

 

[HaulingAss]

I have an EV. I drive an EV. But still have a dinosaur breather in the driveway as well.

Had a "long range" F150 with the large gas tank and got 700 miles of range before adding more liquid carbon in the tank.

I don't care about joules, or kWhs. Just want convenience when using my vehicles.

Roadtrips take a lot more brain cells, and time, with the EV. Done it a number of times. So tbh we take the ICE now. Love the EV but there are clear limitations. Maybe in 5+ years there will be 10x more charging locations, and EVs will all be 800 volt architecture and charge in 15 minutes. Just not now.

For the last 6 years, the Supercharger stops in my Model 3 have averaged about 15 minutes each. The Cybertruck's lower highway efficiency will probably extend that to about 23 minutes. But I didn't order a Cybertruck for road trips as one of the main use cases.

The best EV for road trips is the EV that slips through the air with the least amount of drag.

 

[Crimson_Fate]

At this point I am more then likely to buy a new Tundra then to wait for the promised 500 mile CT at a reasonable price. This weekend we went 420 miles round trip on a single tank of gas in a 2017 highlander , 3 hours there and 3 back , didn't need to stop anywhere for anything, My Model Y would have required 2 stops.

The biggest flaw with Tesla is that they don't give people what they want, instead they give them what they believe they need or can get away with because it influences how much profit can be made.

You don't need a HUD
You don't need stalks,
You don't need 500 miles of range ( even though in reality it would end up being about 300 of real range)

You had a reservation on a 500 mile 80k Truck for four years ... well its going to be 100k and 300 miles not due toi inflation but because there is demand now and we can profit from it . Heck.. want to be one of the first, give me another 20k.

Not even an explination given... the huberis from Tesla is something to watch.

I enjoy driving EV's but I don't believe I will be purchasing another.

 

[PilotPete]

At this point I am more then likely to buy a new Tundra then to wait for the promised 500 mile CT at a reasonable price. This weekend we went 420 miles round trip on a single tank of gas in a 2017 highlander , 3 hours there and 3 back , didn't need to stop anywhere for anything, My Model Y would have required 2 stops.

The biggest flaw with Tesla is that they don't give people what they want, instead they give them what they believe they need or can get away with because it influences how much profit can be made.

You don't need a HUD
You don't need stalks,
You don't need 500 miles of range ( even though in reality it would end up being about 300 of real range)

You had a reservation on a 500 mile 80k Truck for four years ... well its going to be 100k and 300 miles not due toi inflation but because there is demand now and we can profit from it . Heck.. want to be one of the first, give me another 20k.

Not even an explination given... the huberis from Tesla is something to watch.

I enjoy driving EV's but I don't believe I will be purchasing another.

Tesla doesn’t give people what they want? So, what you are saying is, every other manufacturer does, and Tesla doesn’t. Well, I guess that explains why the MY outsells every other car, because it doesn’t have what people want, but the cars it outsells is exactly what they want. Wait, that makes NO sense whatsoever.

So maybe Tesla doesn’t offer what you want, or what you think people want? I don’t need a HUD (sure, I’d like one) I don’t need or want stalks. I don’t need or want to pay for 500 miles of range. So, maybe they are giving some people what they want. Or let’s look at the MS. They went all yoke, but that wasn’t what the people wanted, and sales showed it. So they added the option, but the option became the norm. So now you get a wheel as standard and you have to pay extra for the yoke. If this doesn’t indicate that Tesla will follow what the MAJORITY of people want, I don’t know how to better explain it. And with the price difference for the yoke, it gives you an idea of how the difference to the production line affects profitability. So, sometimes what people want isn’t wanted enough for the price difference. And no, they don’t owe you an explanation of any decision they make. Why would they? Huberis? I think there is some out of control hubris to believe a corporation owes you an explanation for any decision they make. When was the last time Ford offered an excuse explanation for why they did anything? Sure, sometimes they issue a press release with a butt-load of propaganda and corporate advertising double-speak about the story they want you to believe. No thanks, I’ll take silence over condescending BS.

 

[Saygmo]

At this point I am more then likely to buy a new Tundra then to wait for the promised 500 mile CT at a reasonable price. This weekend we went 420 miles round trip on a single tank of gas in a 2017 highlander , 3 hours there and 3 back , didn't need to stop anywhere for anything, My Model Y would have required 2 stops.

The biggest flaw with Tesla is that they don't give people what they want, instead they give them what they believe they need or can get away with because it influences how much profit can be made.

You don't need a HUD
You don't need stalks,
You don't need 500 miles of range ( even though in reality it would end up being about 300 of real range)

You had a reservation on a 500 mile 80k Truck for four years ... well its going to be 100k and 300 miles not due toi inflation but because there is demand now and we can profit from it . Heck.. want to be one of the first, give me another 20k.

Not even an explination given... the huberis from Tesla is something to watch.

I enjoy driving EV's but I don't believe I will be purchasing another.

Absolutely agree. I was specifically excited about the cybertruck for the huge range numbers, living in NorCal we have plenty of chargers to choose from but it’s still an issue of range anxiety until there are a few chargers at every gas station and hotel. The freedom of having 500 miles of range helps tremendously, and is why I got in que for a ramcharger as soon as they were announced. I’m still tempted by the cybertruck, but I’d like the awd with the 50kw bed pack, can’t wait to see range tests when people get that. Also hoping that extra battery helps the charging speed, even if it’s charge limited due to being bed mounted, and will slightly affect range, at least it’s closer to the range promised and gives that peace of mind to adventure further from a charger.

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