First Cybertruck specific supercharger spots have been approved

[T3slaDad]

Something that people who intend to use their vehicles in commercial service need to think about: the SuperCharger network is not available to you. Nor would you really want it. Why pay Elon 28¢ a kWh when you can get it for less elsewhere? This would mean, of course, that you would have to install charging hardware "elsewhere" but you could easily install it in such a way that charging with a trailer attached is easily done. For a local guy running a lawn service that could mean at home or at his shop (if he has one). Level 2 charging is slow but if your aren't cutting grass at night you can be charging your CT just as a residential user would. Besides this Level 3 chargers are now being offered on the market. Most of them are only 20 - 50 kW at best but thats 2 - 5 times faster than Level 2 to the point that you could think about returning to the shop for an hour or so to pick up 80 - 100 miles of range during the workday.

That's a good and bad thought all at the same time, unfortunately. Range is drastically reduced when towing anything with decent weight, and many of these companies' employees will drive 200-300 miles a day.

Assuming range is cut in half for easy math and planning for the worst, that means the company needs the 500mi CT just to make it back to home base to charge at night. Or pay it's employees to sit at a 3rd party L3 charger for an hour (12.5% of their shift).

For travelers, having a pull through SC isn't as big of a deal. For contractors and various trades, permission to use and the ability to access a pull through SC could be a lifesaver! Maybe they could implement pull through stations similar to *cough* gas stations in select areas, available to anyone and not excluded to non-commercial use.

And let's not get started on the debate of excluded commercial use and allowed non-commercial use eligibility for SC's, that's a whole different can of worms. Tesla has their own way of handling things, I have no idea what that is, but they've made it clear a few times before that they don't want certain commercial users on the SC platform. Maybe that has/will change over the years, we'll see.

I for sure bet they'll allow robotaxis to use SC's and either have the robot charging arm (still in active development, btw), or paid assistance managing the plugging and unplugging at the stalls for a fee. As a RT fleet operator, I would gladly pay a $5-10 connection fee to keep my RT fleet charged and running 24/7 vs having to call them to home base and charge myself for a few hours at L2 speeds! Or maybe a monthly subscription of $49 for unlimited connections (separate from the charging cost of course)?

Think about it: if there's 10 SC stalls at a station, and each 80% top off takes 30min (getting faster, speculation of 15min by the time CT rolls out), assuming the station is at 80% capacity for 20 hours a day, and 30% of users take the connection fee service at $10, that's $960/day income. Minus paying someone $15/hr to plug in cars all day (adjusted to $25/hr after employee costs) with 24hr availability ($600 total cost), that's a $360/day revenue stream per station. And the profit margins get bigger the more stalls you have per station, or the more fully autonomous stations you have (eliminating employees from the situation).

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[KendrickMB]

As of now, I don't tow. When I do, it'll likely be small and around town, like taking a jet ski to the river 5 minutes from my house if I ever buy a jet ski. As such, I don't really have a dog in the fight. Feel free to call me our if I don't know what I'm talking about. However, I do still think Tesla should deploy pull through chargers, even if I won't personally need them. If Tesla wants the CT to be a serious contender or at least garner a decent sales rate, they need to think of convenience.

I've never needed to drop a trailer, so I don't know how easy or difficult it is. But even if it is easy, why add the hassle? Make owning a Cybertruck easier for people by removing that hassle. Convincing people to switch to EVs is already difficult, especially convincing truck buyers, so Tesla needs to remove as many limitations and hassles as they can.

 

[T3slaDad]

Convincing people to switch to EVs is already difficult, especially convincing truck buyers...

We'll, an estimated 1.2mil CT reservation holders and growing just under 1yr of announcement may disagree with you there. But I totally get your point! Part of the shift to EV's is to make life more convenient for their owners. No more regular maintenance, no more surprises by engine rebuilds or other damage from riding changes between oil too long, no more periodic brake pad changes, no more gas range anxiety (aka. empty tank syndrome) since your EV is fully charged every day, the list goes on and on.

Why hinder those benefits by making owners unhitch when they're on a long trip, or out working on the job, or....? If you have enough parking lot space for pull through chargers, I don't see the need why not to do it. Plus, it would be nice not to have to back into a SC spot every once in a while if a few are unoccupied, just sayin' ? There's a SC near me that has an end unit that's a standard pull in vs backup and it's a breath of fresh air every once in a while.

 

[OneLapper]

dropping a trailer is a huge deal. Comparing a 10 minute stop for fuel in my truck with trailer now to say over an hour with disconnect, drop (hopefully close and then add a locking ball if you care about your trailer staying there) unplug, reposition and go.


if I’m pulling a trailer across country this could conceivably add 18-24 hours to the trip depending on towing range.
now add in all the labor. What if someone has some minor physical limitations

I'm willing to bet that by the time you get clear across the country with your CT and trailer, you'll be able to drop the trailer in 60 seconds and then hook up in 120 seconds. Practice makes perfect!

We all know that the Tesla Supercharger network was designed and installed long before the CT was a thing. Us new CT owners will have to suffer "first adopters" charging inconveniences until SC areas are modified with pull through chargers, or the semi chargers are put in truck stops (if the CT can even use those which I think is unlikely). How about all the early MS owners? Tesla had hardly any SCs in 2012! Now, those were hardcore "first adopters".

With all respect, I can't speak to someones' disabilities. But if I were to, I would think the CT will be good a platform for mobility limited people, but honestly I've never considered that. Smart Summon, FSD, cameras to help hook up to a trailer, a vault or hitch to carry a scooter, maybe a vault mounted wheel chair elevator? I have seen the roof mounted wheel chair elevators that can be installed on most any car or van.

The CT isn't for everyone. And no one should believe it's a towing beast like my 2wd 2002 Dodge dually with the Cummins and 6 spd manual trans. The CT is a pickup, with some cool job site niceties, that can tow when you need to. Nothing tows better than a dually. Except a semi tractor. Or a Prevost bus with the 20k receiver.

In my opinion, if you're serious about towing your 14k lbs 5th wheel camper, you already own a 2500 or 3500 series pickup. That'll be a better tow vehicle than the CT, if only for the convenience of the 50 gallon fuel tank and pull through fuel pumps that we all enjoy now.

I should really have my coffee before I type out these morning replies........

 

[Ehninger1212]

Dropping a trailer really isn't that big a deal, provided you have a working electric tongue jack. And that's not to mention the ease of setting the trailer jack foot and then dropping the CT rear suspension.

I used to do exactly this with my LR3 before I stopped using it for work.. I would set a 8"x8" wood block under the jack and then I would switch the suspension into "Access mode" (lower 4"). I would do the same thing to re hitch. Line up the ball and put it in standard height. So easy.. I don't think I ever really had to crank the manual jack... This also made truck's without air suspension seem like a PITA.

 

[SolarWizard]

We'll, an estimated 1.2mil CT reservation holders and growing just under 1yr of announcement may disagree with you there. But I totally get your point! Part of the shift to EV's is to make life more convenient for their owners. No more regular maintenance, no more surprises by engine rebuilds or other damage from riding changes between oil too long, no more periodic brake pad changes, no more gas range anxiety (aka. empty tank syndrome) since your EV is fully charged every day, the list goes on and on.

Why hinder those benefits by making owners unhitch when they're on a long trip, or out working on the job, or....? If you have enough parking lot space for pull through chargers, I don't see the need why not to do it. Plus, it would be nice not to have to back into a SC spot every once in a while if a few are unoccupied, just sayin' ? There's a SC near me that has an end unit that's a standard pull in vs backup and it's a breath of fresh air every once in a while.

I don’t know where those estimates come from but in no way will more than 200k people per year actually buy these things, especially if the nov 3 outcome doesn’t change. $50-90k trucks for people that don’t already have them, don’t know where to park them, don’t actually need a truck is a pipe dream. Real truck people won’t trust this thing at all for 2-4 years because it’s just too dissimilar.

 

[FutureBoy]

I don’t know where those estimates come from but in no way will more than 200k people per year actually buy these things, especially if the nov 3 outcome doesn’t change. $50-90k trucks for people that don’t already have them, don’t know where to park them, don’t actually need a truck is a pipe dream. Real truck people won’t trust this thing at all for 2-4 years because it’s just too dissimilar.

And yet somehow you find yourself here. Seems like you are 2 - 4 years ahead of your stated migration. Did you put in an order? Or are you still kicking the tires?

 

[Red61224]

Two thoughts:

1) I disagree with some comments posted here about the need for pull through stalls for the CT. Yes, it might not be "much" of a pain to disconnect and reconnect a trailer. But, MOST people who haul the trailers will NOT want to do so on a regular basis! If Tesla is serious about getting the CT sales for business/work usage - then, the pull through stalls should be a serious consideration. If I'm running a landscaping business with four people in the truck and someone is going to try to convince me to go electric - my having to disconnect my trailer every time I want to "top off the tank" will be a SERIOUS detractor to my willingness to leave my ICE truck to try EV.

2) WHY? WHY? WHY? Does everyone keep referring to the CT as "HUGE?" The truck height, weight, and length are literally the averages of the figures for the F-150, Chevy 1500, and Dodge Ram 1500.... So, the CT is just average in size for a normal sized truck. I just don't get it.

Imagine the sky screaming if ICE vehicles had to drop their pants....I mean trailer, just to get fuel at a petrol station. That would not go over well.

 

[OneLapper]

Imagine the sky screaming if ICE vehicles had to drop their pants....I mean trailer, just to get fuel at a petrol station. That would not go over well.

I recently dropped my trailer just so I could get a cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts at the drive thru. They closed the inside counter. And I really wanted a cup of coffee.

 

[SolarWizard]

And yet somehow you find yourself here. Seems like you are 2 - 4 years ahead of your stated migration. Did you put in an order? Or are you still kicking the tires?

I ordered 3 in the first 5 minutes of the reveal because I’m flipping them for cash days after taking delivery. I’m interested in having an electric truck but I wanna see what they look like in 5 years

my sister took my reservation for the Rivian R1S which I think she’ll love because of the interior but who knows

for now I’ve got an ecodiesel Jeep gladiator and a whole fleet of vehicles commercially to pick from for towing and hauling

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