Range Extender Officially Cancelled!

[PungoteagueDave]

This is not the first time Tesla pivoted. Folks may remember how they were proposing battery swap stations, and then it got cancelled. Hopefully they have something lined up as a functional replacement for the cancelled Extender.

Battery swap was never real; it was smoke & mirrors to meet CARB credit sales objectives. Not a pivot - it was always gaming numbers.

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[PungoteagueDave]

We can only hope for an aftermarket battery upgrade at this point. It seems like Tesla is dropping the ball with other promised Cybertruck features such as Autosteer (Enhanced Auto Pilot) and no matrix headlights, although the latter was never baked into the design anyway. Now I’m doubting if unsupervised FSD will ever be made available for the Cybertruck, even after it comes out for the SEXY models.

Zero chance of aftermarket battery alternatives. BMS is core to Tesla’s software engine - no battery from a third party can fall within the current support envelope.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

I'm naive to think the best selling electric truck in the world is not about to be cancelled?

Sheesh! Do you think Ford is going to cancel the Lightning, GM is going to cancel the Silverado and Sierra and Rivian is going to cancel the R1T?

Because these other trucks sell in lower volumes than the Cybertruck. And they all lose significant amounts of money compared to the Cybertruck. Think about what you're saying.




That's such a niche use case, I'm not even going to address it, even if a few people here want that. Tesla is about transitioning the world from fossil fuels as quickly as possible, not addressing every niche use case before they even have 10% penetration into the high volume market.

It's ridiculous in the extreme to think they should prioritize what most people don't need or want.

The difference is that GM and Ford sized production capacity for current volumes. Tesla built a specific plant for billions of dollars intended to ANNUALLY kick out 250k CTs (initially) and 500k CTs eventually. The ROI decision is completely different, especially if Gigafactory Austin can be accretively repurposed for other models.

 

[mongo]

The difference is that GM and Ford sized production capacity for current volumes. Tesla built a specific plant for billions of dollars intended to kick out 250k CTs (initially) and 500k CTs eventually. The ROI decision is completely different, especially if Gigafactory Austin can be accretively repurposed for other models.

Austin was built for the Y and is also making Cybercab. Cybertruck is just a section of the facility. And it's only listed as >125k/yr. Who said 500k a year?

 

[PungoteagueDave]

Austin was built for the Y and is also making Cybercab. Cybertruck is just a section of the facility. And it's only listed as >125k/yr. Who said 500k a year?

Separate buildings. Elon said 250k initially, 500k eventually.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

“At an annual shareholder meeting early this year, CEO Elon Musk said the brand could produce anywhere between 250,000 to 500,000 Cybertrucks annually. However, in its communications to its suppliers, Tesla revealed a goal of 375,000 annual units.”

https://insideevs.com/news/690829/tesla-cybertruck-production-capacity-260k-units/

 

[mongo]

Separate buildings. Elon said 250k initially, 500k eventually.

??? What separate buildings?
Elon 2023 Shareholders meeting "I'd say a quarter million a year is a reasonable guess and it might be 500,000, I don't know. We'll make as many as people want and can afford. It's going to be hard to make the cost affordable because it is a new car, new manufacturing method, so in the grand scheme of things relative to the production rate of all the other cars we make, it will be small. But still very cool."

That does not mean the lines are sized for 250k-500k now.

 

[HaulingAss]

The difference is that GM and Ford sized production capacity for current volumes. Tesla built a specific plant for billions of dollars intended to ANNUALLY kick out 250k CTs (initially) and 500k CTs eventually. The ROI decision is completely different, especially if Gigafactory Austin can be accretively repurposed for other models.

Stop talking out of your butt! GM and Ford are losing tens of thousands of dollars on every EV truck they sell, even today. Cybertruck production has the best cost structure of any EV truck being made today.

Cybertruck sales volumes will probably surprise all the naysayers in Q3, Q4 and beyond. The timing of increasing sales has more to do with economic conditions than anything else. There is so much fake noise online (compared to in the real world) that it's not even funny. The EV trucks that are in real danger are those of GM, Ford and Rivian because they all have less favorable economics than the Cybertruck and sell in lower volumes.

 

[HaulingAss]

That does not mean the lines are sized for 250k-500k now.

True, Tesla only has one Cybertruck production line. But the facts don't matter to people trying to create and reinforce negative narratives.

 

[cyberville]

I'm still optimistic that Tesla provides a solution for achieving the trip/towing scenarios that FS buyers envisioned based on order-time specs. Tesla recognized the importance of this when it offered the RE at time of ordering. We can rewind and imagine if it wasn't available when ordering.

Hopeful thought: in the RE email, it says stop selling...this doesn't have to mean stop making or no alternatives right? Given that we're talking EV truck towing/range, It would be nice to have more explanation. Hoping for the best.

 

[SCTesla]

I'm still optimistic that Tesla provides a solution for achieving the trip/towing scenarios that FS buyers envisioned based on order-time specs. Tesla recognized the importance of this when it offered the RE at time of ordering. We can rewind and imagine if it wasn't available when ordering.

Hopeful thought: in the RE email, it says stop selling...this doesn't have to mean stop making or no alternatives right? Given that we're talking EV truck towing/range, It would be nice to have more explanation. Hoping for the best.

They never made it and there wont be 3rd party options. It's dead.

 

[YDR37]

Zero chance of aftermarket battery alternatives. BMS is core to Tesla’s software engine - no battery from a third party can fall within the current support envelope.

Have to agree. An aftermarket solution would need to be deeply integrated with Tesla's own hardware and software. Not going to happen without Tesla's full cooperation and consent. Even if a third party somehow found enough hacks to make it work without Tesla's cooperation, it could break after every Tesla software update.

 

[hemiarch]

So, I’m sure this has been proposed on here before but if you used the space originally intended for the range extender to strap down one of these….
https://www.homedepot.com/pep/EcoFl...107&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UfkwaTIfrnvD2TP98-IrxMe1
Not sure if you could fit two or three of the batteries in height but you’d have 12-18kwh of extra juice but also 2.6kw worth of solar inputs.
you could use the 240 outlet in the truck to fill it up while you were supercharging too.
Would even retain space on either side for carrying cables or folded up solar panels.

 

[cyberville]

So, I’m sure this has been proposed on here before but if you used the space originally intended for the range extender to strap down one of these….
https://www.homedepot.com/pep/EcoFl...107&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UfkwaTIfrnvD2TP98-IrxMe1
Not sure if you could fit two or three of the batteries in height but you’d have 12-18kwh of extra juice but also 2.6kw worth of solar inputs.
you could use the 240 outlet in the truck to fill it up while you were supercharging too.
Would even retain space on either side for carrying cables or folded up solar panels.

YES...once these SS puppies grow up, pursuing a DIY extender project like that would be fun. EV-version of the 2nd pic I'd use flexi-solar panels that would roll when the tonneau cover rolls...only when engaged, so catching rays and uncovering the bed are possible.

 

[YDR37]

So, I’m sure this has been proposed on here before but if you used the space originally intended for the range extender to strap down one of these….
https://www.homedepot.com/pep/EcoFl...107&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UfkwaTIfrnvD2TP98-IrxMe1
Not sure if you could fit two or three of the batteries in height but you’d have 12-18kwh of extra juice but also 2.6kw worth of solar inputs.
you could use the 240 outlet in the truck to fill it up while you were supercharging too.
Would even retain space on either side for carrying cables or folded up solar panels.

Weight appears to be 182 lbs for the basic 6 kWh battery (112 lbs) plus inverter (70 lbs). Add 112 lbs for each additional 6 kWh battery, so should be 294 lbs for 12 kWh or 406 lbs for 18 kWh.

If you carried this in the bed, you wouldn't be able to charge the truck while driving. But you could do so overnight while parked, and it would be a lot quieter than a portable generator. Significantly more expensive though.

Even the 400-lb 18 kWh version, which is available for $8,000 (without panels), would only represent a relatively small fraction (like 15%) of the CT's 122 kWh battery capacity.

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