Range Extender Battery removed from Cybertruck online configurator

[mongo]

Remember battery day? This was presented as a fully formed product. The “incremental” improvements in prior cell density have been nowhere near what the proponents have predicted (the 15% per year projections have been WAY off base). 500 mile range was to be day one, not ten years from now, if ever. Range was the Original Tesla magic. It does not exist with a CT acting as a real truck.

What Battery Day did you watch?
Elon: "So what what this enables us to do is achieve a new trajectory in the reduction of cell cost and now to be clear it will take us probably a year to 18 months to start realizing these advantages and probably to fully realize the advantages probably it's about three years or thereabouts"
https://www.tesla.com/2020shareholdermeeting

Still waiting on your proof that time of sale 30D credits can be clawed back during to insufficient tax liability...

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[JackCypher]

Elon has stated several times the range/battery capacity is based on your bladder. Which is assumed to be 300 miles before you need to pull over and pee.

I for one, think this is a very poor association to make as a deciding factor for the amount Kw capacity and range to build into a vehicle.

 

[Gigahorse]

Elon has stated several times the range/battery capacity is based on your bladder. Which is assumed to be 300 miles before you need to pull over and pee.

I for one, think this is a very poor association to make as a deciding factor for the amount Kw capacity and range to build into a vehicle.

The problem is it is not consistent.
If you assume 300 miles or 4 hours is the bladder test, it doesn't hold up to the 60min test when towing a trailer. Which is fine if there is a battery pack you can add.

Just all the towing marketing does not match up with the bladder logic with taking the pack away.

 

[SCTesla]

So what happens now. Does Tesla

1. Abandon all towing claims, marketing, and hope?
2. Build a CT with the 500+ mile of range pack?

Probably neither.

 

[Gigahorse]

Probably neither.

Will be interesting to see what happens here, a LOT of CT owners bought the truck with the ability to tow in mind, took it in the teeth and thought the battery pack would be a solution. Now we have a 110k truck that can't tow, and no tow solution is coming.

 

[SCTesla]

Will be interesting to see what happens here, a LOT of CT owners bought the truck with the ability to tow in mind, took it in the teeth and thought the battery pack would be a solution. Now we have a 110k truck that can't tow, and no tow solution is coming.

If you've listened to Elon he said the CT tows great and Teslas focus is to expand SCs rather than to invest in larger battery packs.

I think it's 50/50 about the range extender coming out, but the low demand of the CT probably doesn't help justify the R&D to make it.

 

[scottf200]

Tesla has for a long time made the stance that more superchargers are the goal rather than giant packs of batteries in cars or trucks.

True for cars. I don't think the 'or trucks' was included in those conversations. There were several reasons they were shooting for 500 miles after all in the first place instead of 325-340 they do for cars.

 

[SCTesla]

True for cars. I don't think the 'or trucks' was included in those conversations. There were several reasons they were shooting for 500 miles after all in the first place instead of 325-340 they do for cars.

Either because of cost or battery supply, Elon shifted this thought to the CT, too.

He said on JRE people think they need more range in a truck, but in the real world, it's simply not true. He said for the 1 or 2 times you will tow long distance per year, there should be ample fast Super Chargers, but people don't need to carry around those huge packs the rest of the time.

I don't agree with this obviously, but that's the shift Tesla made.

 

[Pulaski]

Will be interesting to see what happens here, a LOT of CT owners bought the truck with the ability to tow in mind, took it in the teeth and thought the battery pack would be a solution. Now we have a 110k truck that can't tow, and no tow solution is coming.

For the majority of us that actually tow for work and job sites, the current tow range is more than enough for daily use. Given that most job sites aren't greater than an hour away from the shop.
In terms of reducing CO2 emissions, I consider the use case listed above far more valuable than a casual weekend warrior hauling their camper and concerned about range. The SC network can mostly assist with those needs.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

What Battery Day did you watch?
Elon: "So what what this enables us to do is achieve a new trajectory in the reduction of cell cost and now to be clear it will take us probably a year to 18 months to start realizing these advantages and probably to fully realize the advantages probably it's about three years or thereabouts"
https://www.tesla.com/2020shareholdermeeting

Still waiting on your proof that time of sale 30D credits can be clawed back during to insufficient tax liability...

Holy cow, SERIOUSLY? Battery day was Sept 22, 2020, over 4.5 years ago. Last time I checked the new format had dismally missed its INITIAL target objectives in every possible way, but chiefly density, charging speed and thermal management, and there have been no measurable improvements within the initial roll-out, so much so that Tesla is internally moving away, acknowledging it was a massive mistake, and building new models with old formats. Fanboi much? Or just a TSLA holder? The new Model Y uses the LG 2170, no cast battery structure, virtually NONE of what was promised on battery day. Not one single thing. And it is nearly five years later.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

For the majority of us that actually tow for work and job sites, the current tow range is more than enough for daily use. Given that most job sites aren't greater than an hour away from the shop.
In terms of reducing CO2 emissions, I consider the use case listed above far more valuable than a casual weekend warrior hauling their camper and concerned about range. The SC network can mostly assist with those needs.

False. No one purchases a CT as a work truck. Literally no one - even the few guys with company name wraps do it for tax purposes. The people who have been able to afford this truck so far are exactly the people you implicitly deride as casual weekend warriors. I have homes in Maryland, upstate NY and Florida, all on the water, and set up with boat lifts and jet ski docks. That's the profile of the typical $100k truck buyer. My Maryland farm has diesel superduties but my problem is that the gated HOA communities in Florida have not allowed trucks over 1/2 ton until a law changed last July - so I could bring a superduty to my home there - so I decided to try towing the heavy boat with a CT, relying on the range extender commitment. This is no small thing or weekend warrior stuff - it's towing 1,050 miles north in May, with the 9,300-lb boat rig behind one truck, and the 3,100 32-ft 4-place jet ski/kayak rig behind the MY. The in July, we tow it all with the same two vehicles north to Lake George, for six weeks there with family, reverse to Maryland in late August, then back to Florida around November 1. That's 3,600 miles of serious at-the-limit towing every year, I expect for the next 10-15 years, same cycle every year.

You can minimize this requirement all you want with incorrect (work truck) misdirection but the fact is that plumbers, carpenters and electricians are not driving Cybertrucks. The flying buttress sides alone preclude that - a working person will not own a truck where they can't even reach over the side for stuff. The CT owner base is relatively wealthy people with toys to move. Yes, it might have been more widely accepted as a conventional pickup for real truck uses, but its final design led to a consumer conclusion that this hope simply isn't the case, hence its limited acceptance broadly, and zero application for actual working people. They are sticking with "real" pickup trucks with body-on-frame, utility bodies, steps, ability to add generic ladder racks, work boxes. Meanwhile, another promise made, another promise broken.

 

[Gigahorse]

For the majority of us that actually tow for work and job sites, the current tow range is more than enough for daily use. Given that most job sites aren't greater than an hour away from the shop.
In terms of reducing CO2 emissions, I consider the use case listed above far more valuable than a casual weekend warrior hauling their camper and concerned about range. The SC network can mostly assist with those needs.

Not sure what industry you are in, but if I have a site that is 50mins from the shop each way I am not going to make it there and back pulling even a decent size trailer. Granted I am going to be doing highway speeds most likely but unless I charge to 100% and don't use any power on the truck, no cooled lunchbreak in the cab, no 240v usage, it gets to close to call for even an around town out and back most days with a work trailer of any size.

 

[Gigahorse]

If you've listened to Elon he said the CT tows great and Teslas focus is to expand SCs rather than to invest in larger battery packs.

I think it's 50/50 about the range extender coming out, but the low demand of the CT probably doesn't help justify the R&D to make it.

I mean it does tow great, for about 80 miles at a time, which is ok if you are a homeowner that needs to pick up some 2x4s at the local hardware store. But any kind of work towing it tows great, but needs more range.

I think the range extender is gone, no reason they would intend to offer it but cut the option to buy it.
Only question is now is do they expand the battery pack in production vehicles, or is the CT going to be a fringe vehicle like the model X

 

[IIIEnforcerIII]

Lots of experts here seeming to know everybody else's circumstances. This JUST happened. Let's give it some time before we all act like we know it all. The RE never felt like a style Tesla would go with, so I'm not surprised by the move. For most people, it won't make much difference. It hurts me, because I hunt and I'm not sure I can get where I need to go with the tiny range once I'm towing my quad. I'll likely have to take a generator with me. But I knew that going in.

I do think it hurts for those WANTING to use them as local contractor vehicles especially once the cheaper RWD comes out and we see many more out there. If I had landscaping or other crews and wanted to use CTs, the cheaper RWD sounds good, but pulling anything really puts that in danger.

But to claim that "nobody uses them for work" is ignorant. I've seen many. We all just know the limitations and made our choices knowing we had to weigh the pros and cons. Let's give it a few days/weeks and see what we hear.

 

[TexasRaider]

False. No one purchases a CT as a work truck. Literally no one - even the few guys with company name wraps do it for tax purposes. The people who have been able to afford this truck so far are exactly the people you implicitly deride as casual weekend warriors. I have homes in Maryland, upstate NY and Florida, all on the water, and set up with boat lifts and jet ski docks. That's the profile of the typical $100k truck buyer. My Maryland farm has diesel superduties but my problem is that the gated HOA communities in Florida have not allowed trucks over 1/2 ton until a law changed last July - so I could bring a superduty to my home there - so I decided to try towing the heavy boat with a CT, relying on the range extender commitment. This is no small thing or weekend warrior stuff - it's towing 1,050 miles north in May, with the 9,300-lb boat rig behind one truck, and the 3,100 32-ft 4-place jet ski/kayak rig behind the MY. The in July, we tow it all with the same two vehicles north to Lake George, for six weeks there with family, reverse to Maryland in late August, then back to Florida around November 1. That's 3,600 miles of serious at-the-limit towing every year, I expect for the next 10-15 years, same cycle every year.

You can minimize this requirement all you want with incorrect (work truck) misdirection but the fact is that plumbers, carpenters and electricians are not driving Cybertrucks. The flying buttress sides alone preclude that - a working person will not own a truck where they can't even reach over the side for stuff. The CT owner base is relatively wealthy people with toys to move. Yes, it might have been more widely accepted as a conventional pickup for real truck uses, but its final design led to a consumer conclusion that this hope simply isn't the case, hence its limited acceptance broadly, and zero application for actual working people. They are sticking with "real" pickup trucks with body-on-frame, utility bodies, steps, ability to add generic ladder racks, work boxes. Meanwhile, another promise made, another promise broken.

Valid points

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