Glass Topper is a SHOW STOPPER !

[Flyrod]

lol... I drive two convertibles with the tops down as much as possible.... I wish that baby could come off and store it in the back... Life is too short to drive a hardtop!

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[Bill906]

My fav thing is looking up and around while I ride through the redwoods

Imagine after FSD happens. Recline seat and stare at the stars/redwoods/skyscrapers on a long drive as you fall asleep.

 

[SSonnentag]

Even if the whole roof was covers in solar and you got 1.5 or 2 kWh and maybe 9 kWh to 12 kWh per day on the high end. That's not even 10% of the battery. I don't really get what the emphasis is on solar if it isn't enough to do much with. Ok, if you only drive 5 miles to work then I get it. Maybe you never need to plug the truck in, but really you still are going to need to plug it in because most people drive more than 15 miles in a day. Really I think the main benefit of the solar on the truck is going to be for camping trips where you want to run axillary devices (lights, air mattress pumps) and not drain the battery or use that solar to precondition the vehicle, keep sentry mode or over heat protection on etc.. I bet that overheat protection and other general precondition features use up almost 1.5 miles per hour on this truck while it is parked. So again, if anything the solar will help just keep the car from losing miles.

I built a solar vehicle as a class project in college. They only make sense if they are super light weight.

The big advantage of solar would be indefinite parking without needing to be plugged in. Parking at the airport wouldn't be an issue, assuming you have outdoor parking and not a garage. Solar would also be great for camping or other weekend outings where plugging in isn't always an option. Adding a couple of percentage points to the charge is a whole lot better than losing 1-2% per day just having the truck sit parked.

 

[FutureBoy]

Yup, it is much easier to type a paragraph than it is to actually make it happen.

If they can’t make the panels thin enough, rear seat may have to have height adjustment to allow for headroom when it is open. Having rear seat passengers and vault open at the same time would be very rare for my case but it could happen.

The less desirable option is using the same type of cover they are using now but store it under the roof as accordion folding system Instead of rolling it. There would be less of it to store since the vertical part of it in back panel is eliminated. longevity may not be as good with mechanics and solar on this option.

I am OK with manual vault operation if motor + gears/belts are heavy, large or difficult to fit.

Since the big reveal way back in time I've been thinking about the cover panels coming in under the glass of the cabin to save space and allow for things like the pass-through. In fact, I've mentioned it in this forum multiple times. The headroom issue could be addressed by having a final layer of glass below where the panels travel to protect passengers' heads (and especially hair) from getting caught up in the track that the panels travel in.

Your post though got me thinking. A lesser car maker might do something like just have the cover slide up on top of the car above the glass roof. There are, of course, all sorts of issues regarding wind, rain leaking, ugly rails being visible, making roof racks that don't interfere, etc. But I suppose that it could be an option. Not one I like though.

For me, the cleanest way to handle the cover is to have it embedded between 2 windows and coming into the passenger compartment. This also keeps gunk from jamming the panels of the prototype as they drop down beneath the bed. You know that people loading sand or dirt are going to end up getting some falling into that slot and over time fouling the cover tracks.

 

[Ogre]

For me, the cleanest way to handle the cover is to have it embedded between 2 windows and coming into the passenger compartment. This also keeps gunk from jamming the panels of the prototype as they drop down beneath the bed. You know that people loading sand or dirt are going to end up getting some falling into that slot and over time fouling the cover tracks.

Lots of big question marks around this.

The above is from the patent app. Looks like you have to pull up the vault floor to access/ repair the cover.

Looking at the diameter of the coiled cover, seems like the chances of seeing it inside the cabin or on the roof are pretty slim.

If you have dual windows that makes it harder to have a pass-thru from the vault to the cabin.

 

[Crissa]

Looking at the diameter of the coiled cover, seems like the chances of seeing it inside the cabin or on the roof are pretty slim.

Diagrams are not to scale. So we don't know. It just hints. But it may just be hinting what the path is.

-Crissa

 

[Diehard]

In fact, I've mentioned it in this forum multiple times.

I am a relatively new member. Didn’t mean to steal your idea. If I had seen it, I would give credit. I always think my ideas are original until I find out someone had thought of it a century ago.

whenever someone says what would we do if that brilliant inventor was never born? I giggle a little. I think most inventions are born out of needs, wants and circumstance and those things are often not that rare or uncommon.

to protect passengers' heads (and especially hair)

I won’t have the hair problem by the time my number is up.

For me, the cleanest way to handle the cover is to have it embedded between 2 windows and coming into the passenger compartment. This also keeps gunk from jamming the panels of the prototype as they drop down beneath the bed. You know that people loading sand or dirt are going to end up getting some falling into that slot and over time fouling the cover tracks.

I agree. I really like pushing a button to open and close the vault. It looks really cool and convenient but I am perfectly fine with a low tech solution of putting the vault solar panels in a designate spot in the cabin, tailgate, frunk, R1T hole anywhere Tesla decides is a good spot. If you are a truck driver, you can handle a bit of inconvenience. This probably sounds awful to anyone that need to open and close the vault frequently but mine would be closed most of the time. I will put up with a lot to get that full pass through.

 

[Ogre]

Diagrams are not to scale. So we don't know. It just hints. But it may just be hinting what the path is.

Sure. But inside the cabin seems like a no-go. I've seen roll up doors similar to this and they are generally at least 8". The bigger and thicker the slats, the bigger the coil.

Even if this was super compact, we're talking about a big lump in the roof inside the cabin and a lot of lost headroom where it slides.

Where it's tucked in the illustration is about as out-of-the way as you can get.

 

[tmeyer3]

Lots of big question marks around this.

The above is from the patent app. Looks like you have to pull up the vault floor to access/ repair the cover.

Looking at the diameter of the coiled cover, seems like the chances of seeing it inside the cabin or on the roof are pretty slim.

If you have dual windows that makes it harder to have a pass-thru from the vault to the cabin.

The patent applications are as generic as possible while describing the whole. It's annoying to read for sure.
In one embodiment the cover is "stored in a compartment in the lower portion of the truck, adjacent the juncture of the cab and the bed."
Later on in the patent, they do say that the cover comes from the "cab". Edit: found it: "when the motor 320 turns in one direction, the tonneau cover 110 is pushed out of the opening 130 and unwound as it moves from the cab 103 towards the tailgate 108 of the bed 104."

Interesting, perhaps it'll be accessible under/behind the rear bench?
Cheers

 

[FutureBoy]

Sure. But inside the cabin seems like a no-go. I've seen roll up doors similar to this and they are generally at least 8". The bigger and thicker the slats, the bigger the coil.

Even if this was super compact, we're talking about a big lump in the roof inside the cabin and a lot of lost headroom where it slides.

Where it's tucked in the illustration is about as out-of-the way as you can get.

Inside the cabin would not be a roll-up solution. The cover would continue forward flat to the peak of the roof. If that isn't enough room, it could potentially turn down at the front toward the front windshield. No rolling involved. Only need the thickness of the cover itself and possibly the extra layer to protect passenger's hair.

 

[Ogre]

Inside the cabin would not be a roll-up solution. The cover would continue forward flat to the peak of the roof. If that isn't enough room, it could potentially turn down at the front toward the front windshield. No rolling involved. Only need the thickness of the cover itself and possibly the extra layer to protect passenger's hair.

A couple things here.

The vault cover which might be wet, sandy, dusty, or muddy is now inside the cabin.

Now you have a big path for air to make ingress into the cabin and leaks.

You lose 2-3" of headroom along the whole path of the track.

I think keeping the track outside the cabin is just a really good idea.

 

[Throwcomputer]

You can clearly see the demo model on stage in the release event roll up the tonneau cover below the bed on tracks that travel down past the rear windows on the outside. When they load the atv up into the bed.

It's been in the demo model this way since day one the same as the patent. Not to say things couldn't change by production.

 

[Throwcomputer]

20:38s mark

 

[John K]

Picture from Tesla’s site.

we can see the bed is sealed along the back gate. I have the same concern with debris falling down the space between the window and tonneau cover coming out. I assume there will be a brush type filler.

The sealed back, and ai expect an adequate seal with pass through, will keep debris mucking up into the cabin. I would more concern with the tiedown points in the bed. Even providing caps will get lost.

waiting for the final design to see if comfortable or will need to be augmented.

 

[Ogre]

Picture from Tesla’s site.

FWIW, that's a rendered image and not an actual photo. I think all of those original desert shots they use for promos are renders. There are some inconsistencies between those and the prototypes.

The smooth transition between tailgate and bed is not consistent with shots of the prototype in action.

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