Range Extender w/o Deposit?

[VAF84]

Anyone have any substantiated ideas on this. I'm likely to buy an extender if I follow through on the CT, but don't want to tie up deposit money. I'm assuming not placing the deposit just means that you have to wait until the deposit holders get theirs. If it's anything like the FS roll out, that would mean almost a year after the roll out. What do you all think?

Personally, I'm pretty sure I'll need it, and maybe a year after purchasing my dual motor I'll be ready to purchase. I'm just hung up on a Silverado EV now with extended range for less than a CT with the added range extender. I'd like to get into the CT, but it's going to cost me more with the range added, so it'd be nice to spread the cost out. I guess I'm more worried about buying the CT and not having access to a range extender at all without placing the deposit.

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[Woodrick]

No one knows, but it is very doubtful that that the demand is as high as that for the Cybertruck.
And the production is probably done on the battery side of the house, so they should be able to produce them.

Why do you think that you need one?

BTW, is a 2023 LER a Lightning? You may want to think about updating your vehicle to make it easier for others to understand what it is.

 

[VAF84]

No one knows, but it is very doubtful that that the demand is as high as that for the Cybertruck.
And the production is probably done on the battery side of the house, so they should be able to produce them.

Why do you think that you need one?

BTW, is a 2023 LER a Lightning? You may want to think about updating your vehicle to make it easier for others to understand what it is.

Yes, 2023 Lighting Extended Range, it just got replaced by Ford with the Hybrid, but already missing the EV driving experience.

I have a 20' enclosed cargo trailer that on occasionally I tow up to 900 miles. More importantly I sometimes end up in rural areas for months at either a AirBnB or hotel. I need to have enough charge to make it seven days in case the nearest DC chargers are out of the way, so that on my Sunday supply runs I can also charge for the week. I had a bit of a rough experience with the 320 mile Lightning in that regard; moreso in the winter. If I get the CT I'd sort of be rolling the dice that the better aero and heat pump will mitigate the severe range loss I had in the Lightning during cold weather.

Part of this is that when I'm on these long jobs, if I'm close enough to home I'll try to drive home Sat after work and come back Sun to work. For example, right before turning in the Lightning, I was putting 600 miles every weekend. Luckily Buc-cees had the Tesla chargers along the way in perfect locations, I had to make 2 stops. With limited time, it'd be nice to minimize that to one or none.

To be fair, things have improved dramatically even in the one year I had my LER. Gaining access to Tesla chargers was a big deal. We still need a little more infrastructure in places like S. Texas, north New Mexico, and northwest KY close to Indiana. However, east Texas and Louisiana are decent. Having a 450 mile range battery makes things more convenient, and piece of mind.

All that said, yes I get it that in my case ICE is probably better. However, I'm a motorhead and tech enthusiast and I probably spend more time with my vehicle than back home in my house; I'd like it to be fun on the short runs and relaxing (hands free driving) on the long ones. I've been in my hybrid for two weeks now, and as incredibly nice as it is, going back to the higher center of gravity, no one pedal drive, and no instant torque has been hard to adjust to (first world problems).

 

[Woodrick]

By the time that you get your Cybertruck, by the time that the Extender becomes available, I suspect that you may find that you really don't need it.

If you stay at regular locations, it you work at regular sites, look at asking or helping get J-1772 or destination chargers installed. For B&B it is a real plus to have one, especially if they are in an area that doesn't have any near charging.
Ranches often may have NEMA 14-50 sockets available.

As to stopping to charge, the FASTEST way to travel is to actually stop more, charge at lower numbers to get on the best side of the charging curve.
You can go from 5% to 50% in a LOT less time than 20-80%, like half the time.

 

[VAF84]

By the time that you get your Cybertruck, by the time that the Extender becomes available, I suspect that you may find that you really don't need it.

If you stay at regular locations, it you work at regular sites, look at asking or helping get J-1772 or destination chargers installed. For B&B it is a real plus to have one, especially if they are in an area that doesn't have any near charging.
Ranches often may have NEMA 14-50 sockets available.

As to stopping to charge, the FASTEST way to travel is to actually stop more, charge at lower numbers to get on the best side of the charging curve.
You can go from 5% to 50% in a LOT less time than 20-80%, like half the time.

Agree, mostly it takes the guess work out of things, which is where peace of mind comes in. My AirBnB last month had a regular 120v outlet and it was enough to cover my daily driving on this project using my Tesla mobile charger, but at my new one they didn't let me charge. On one drilling project I was able to plug into the diesel generators with a 50' 50amp extension cord so that helped out a little, but the cold weather had decimated my range. It all depends on site setup, housing setup and it changes all the time.

 

[VAF84]

I just got my invite, and the range extender expected date slipped from early 2025 to mid 2025. I'm going to mentally note the range extender is unlikely to be widely available for the CT until 2026.

I'll make my final decision this week on the CT, but this new info sort of makes my question a moot point. No extender anytime soon.

 

[Crissa]

If you want the extender, put down the deposit. That's how they determine demand to complete production.

-Crissa

 

[VAF84]

If you want the extender, put down the deposit. That's how they determine demand to complete production.

-Crissa

It’s a Catch-22 though. If history is any indicator, there is a tendency to overpromise and under deliver on dates. So if they’re already slipping on dates, then it doesn’t seem like a practical idea to hand them $2000 for a product that doesn’t have a firm delivery date. I’m not sure it’s going to exist for the duration of my ownership because I don’t know if I’m going to keep this one year or five years. We’ve already seen the expected delivery date get pushed back and now we’re at mid next year. There’s no reason that they couldn’t delay that into next fall winter or even 2026 we literally have no promises , or any prototypes that have been caught on camera.

A little bit of irony here, let’s say that I feel like the range here isn’t much better than the lightning I was in and it’s still not making me feel comfortable, I’ll forgo my nonrefundable deposit and I’m more likely to sell the truck sooner than later to get a Silverado.

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