Glass roof top?

[Cyber2019]

I think Cyber Trucks will be offered in two rooftop variations. Solid metal and Glass rooftop.
A glass rooftop could be cool. But when it gets super hot, I have experienced intense inside Model X and other cars with large glass rooftops.
What will you guys choose?

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[CyberT]

Glass Roof only, Tesla will never make a metal roof.
I've owned a Model3 for 5 years and the heat does not enter from the glass roof, as it blocks 99% of UV. The heat comes in from the other windows.

 

[CyberGus]

Tesla briefly offered a steel roof on the Model S before discontinuing it. The glass roof is a Tesla signature and I’d be surprised if they offered other factory options.

The roof glass actually rejects most of the IR heat, but the glass itself gets hot and conducts that inward. A steel roof would do the same.

 

[BillyGee]

We put up a mesh in the Y for the baby, but besides that, the roof heat had never been an issue.

 

[John K]

aftermarket liners are needed if you wish to block and further insulate the window.

 

[WHIZZARD OF OZ]

I think Cyber Trucks will be offered in two rooftop variations. Solid metal and Glass rooftop.
A glass rooftop could be cool. But when it gets super hot, I have experienced intense inside Model X and other cars with large glass rooftops.
What will you guys choose?

Still feelin' the 'SOLAR ROOF' over the cabin.
'Its the Vibe' ( The Castle )

 

[Startreknerd]

Glass Roof only, Tesla will never make a metal roof.
I've owned a Model3 for 5 years and the heat does not enter from the glass roof, as it blocks 99% of UV. The heat comes in from the other windows.

My wife's Model S is a metal roof, never say never

 

[HaulingAss]

My wife's Model S is a metal roof, never say never

Saying "Tesla will never make a metal roof" is a forward-looking statement, it doesn't apply to early experiments. Tesla quickly learned a glass roof made more sense for two reasons:

1) Safety

It's counter-intuitive but the kind of laminated safety glass Tesla uses on all their roofs actually offers better protection against the side intrusion crash test in which a vehicle sliding sideways "wraps around" a simulated telephone pole or steel post. It does this better than a steel roof of the equivalent weight.

2) Efficiency

No matter how low the vehicles aerodynamic Cd is, that number must be multiplied by the total frontal area to determine total drag. To achieve the same amount of interior roominess (headroom), a metal roof must be about 1 1/2 inches taller than a glass roof which increases the frontal area of the vehicle by 1.5 inches times the width of the car.

Using the Model S as an example, it's only 56 inches tall, which means 1.5 inches probably increases total drag by over 2%. Tesla could just reduce the interior headroom by 1.5 inches but that would make the interior a less inviting place.

While the efficiency argument is fairly convincing itself, it would be hard to justify the kind of weight required to make a steel roof as safe as a glass roof. The reason glass is safer in a side impact intrusion is because once metal bends, it offers very little additional resistance while the laminated glass spreads the impact more effectively to the entire opposite side of the roof and holds together, even after it's full of spider web cracks, and continues to offer meaningful resistance to further intrusion of a pole. Even in a high-speed frontal crash the glass roof helps hold the passenger compartment together better than a metal roof of equal weight.

We have three 2018 Model 3 and Tesla uses coatings that have some of the best heat-rejection properties in the business. They are not cheap, but the cost added to each vehicle is reasonable when considering how much comfort is added. We find the cabins cool and inviting even in the desert heat.

 

[Startreknerd]

Saying "Tesla will never make a metal roof" is a forward-looking statement, it doesn't apply to early experiments. Tesla quickly learned a glass roof made more sense for two reasons:

1) Safety

It's counter-intuitive but the kind of laminated safety glass Tesla uses on all their roofs actually offers better protection against the side intrusion crash test in which a vehicle sliding sideways "wraps around" a simulated telephone pole or steel post. It does this better than a steel roof of the equivalent weight.

2) Efficiency

No matter how low the vehicles aerodynamic Cd is, that number must be multiplied by the total frontal area to determine total drag. To achieve the same amount of interior roominess (headroom), a metal roof must be about 1 1/2 inches taller than a glass roof which increases the frontal area of the vehicle by 1.5 inches times the width of the car.

Using the Model S as an example, it's only 56 inches tall, which means 1.5 inches probably increases total drag by over 2%. Tesla could just reduce the interior headroom by 1.5 inches but that would make the interior a less inviting place.

While the efficiency argument is fairly convincing itself, it would be hard to justify the kind of weight required to make a steel roof as safe as a glass roof. The reason glass is safer in a side impact intrusion is because once metal bends, it offers very little additional resistance while the laminated glass spreads the impact more effectively to the entire opposite side of the roof and holds together, even after it's full of spider web cracks, and continues to offer meaningful resistance to further intrusion of a pole. Even in a high-speed frontal crash the glass roof helps hold the passenger compartment together better than a metal roof of equal weight.

We have three 2018 Model 3 and Tesla uses coatings that have some of the best heat-rejection properties in the business. They are not cheap, but the cost added to each vehicle is reasonable when considering how much comfort is added. We find the cabins cool and inviting even in the desert heat.

I made a factual statement. They did make a metal roof. That was all.

 

[srqTagle]

I think Cyber Trucks will be offered in two rooftop variations. Solid metal and Glass rooftop.
A glass rooftop could be cool. But when it gets super hot, I have experienced intense inside Model X and other cars with large glass rooftops.
What will you guys choose?

I agree 100%. I actually think it would be easier and cheaper to make. I am definitely not a fan of glass roofs and think it should be an option or completely removed going forward.

 

[Crissa]

I'd also point out that glass is actually more insulation than metal. You need an actual insulation layer to actually get insulation from metal roof. So that's a weird additional cost - the metal wall with insulation and headliner just ends up costing more per square foot than modern glass!

There are roof mounting points. You don't need a metal roof, or a magnet, just a bolt to go into the mounting point. And if you want it somewhere across the top, a bar or bit of expanded metal to reach.

I do not understand this problem. The holes are already in the roof, you don't have to add more.

-Crissa

 

[JBee]

For the cm bands the glass roof works for antennas from inside the vehicle, they should work for the lower bands as well, from handhelds. One of the biggest issues with cars is multipath and using high power without a good ground plane. But these can be compensated for with waveform design and SDR. But in saying that, isn't having a phased array on the roof, called Mcflatface, just way more useful and cost effective this day and age? I suppose HAM is good as a backup, like in a SHTF situation, but unless your running digital (and even then) most of the analog bands are super easy to block. That's why starlink forms the backbone of Ukrainen comms.

 

[JBee]

I'd also point out that glass is actually more insulation than metal. You need an actual insulation layer to actually get insulation from metal roof. So that's a weird additional cost - the metal wall with insulation and headliner just ends up costing more per square foot than modern glass!


There are roof mounting points. You don't need a metal roof, or a magnet, just a bolt to go into the mounting point. And if you want it somewhere across the top, a bar or bit of expanded metal to reach.

I do not understand this problem. The holes are already in the roof, you don't have to add more.

-Crissa

It's not a mounting problem, it's a radio frequency propagation problem. The antenna works better with a metal plate underneath it. Look up Rf groundplane.

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