The Positive, Argument Free Cybertruck Thread

[Coolbreeze704]

This will die quickly and be buried just like a positive news story on the 6 o Clock news but I will start it anyway.

Instead of what's wrong with the Cybertruck, what's wrong with Elon, what sucks about the CT range or what sucks about the forum/forum member, this soon to be forgotten thread is an attempt to give forum members a thread to be positive, say something positive and feel OK about it and without reprisal. Not sure it is possible but I am going to try.

I want to thank so many forum members for the years of thoughtful, helpful and inciteful content to get us through these 4 long years. Absolutely makes this forum one that is meaningful and respected by outside sources for Cybertruck news and information.

IMO The Cybertruck, in person far exceeds my long held hopes for what it would be.

Thanks to Tesla for not settling and truly going 1st principles and designing a vehicle that was thought to be impossible and will wake the industry up to get out of their lazy, it is good enough way and make them invest and push this industry forward.

I have truly enjoyed the Lightning and would recommend to anyone but going to 340 miles compared to 240 will be appreciated.

IMO FSD will be here soon and if you have not experienced it you hopefully will soon. I am amazed by how far it has come and can tell it is right there. It will change everything about transport in the next 5 years.

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[theoldguy]

Im happy to post to this thread. I too am a FSD Beta Tester and need to remind myself just how far Tesla has come.
I keep telling myself that the Cybertruck will definitely be worth the wait. Plus I have some cyberbeer just waiting to christen the truck lol.

 

[Gigahorse]

I have truly enjoyed the Lightning and would recommend to anyone but going to 340 miles compared to 240 will be appreciated.

It is a big leap forward with innovations like Steer by Wire, and rear wheel steering on a production vehicle. The vault to keep things safe and power options are much needed in the truck space.

As far as range though, your lightning may have about the same real world range as the AWD CT

 

[Coolbreeze704]

It is a big leap forward with innovations like Steer by Wire, and rear wheel steering on a production vehicle. The vault to keep things safe and power options are much needed in the truck space.

As far as range though, your lightning may have about the same real world range as the AWD CT

I could argue that but I won't. I enjoy my Lightning and really the 240 hasn't been an issue but I'm excited to see where the Cybertruck will take me.

 

[Gigahorse]

I could argue that but I won't. I enjoy my Lightning and really the 240 hasn't been an issue but I'm excited to see where the Cybertruck will take me.

Nice to hear you are doing ok with the 240 on the Lightning, impressed with how quickly Ford was able to bring an EV truck to market.
Has the 240 been an issue when towing? Low range of the CT is mostly only an issue for road trips and hauling for most.

 

[Coolbreeze704]

I just have a utility trailer. I've loaded it up with probably close to a thousand pounds but it's still semi-local transport so I haven't noticed or had issue anytime using the Lightning for towing locally.

The bottom line is an EV truck is not an issue as long as you understand it's limits and liabilities. Tons of positives over ice for most use cases. At least in my experience.

 

[Diveflyfish]

I am still in awe that the concept of a vehicle that is IP67 rated, and by the engineer behind it, that a potential for floating with an outboard! What other Easter Eggs will be encountered?! I am grateful to all involved that this vehicle has come to fruition, and it will only improve with time……. Cheers and Kudos to kindred spirits that envision a positive future instead of dwelling negativity.

 

[tmeyer3]

This is exactly why I don't really engage anymore. Everyone has some argument that has to be made, some rant, some point to make. I just want to own my truck and enjoy it with other owners. That's not this forum, sadly. Maybe it will be someday.

 

[Diveflyfish]

I would also offer that the levels of thought and genius that are truly at play have not even been remotely lauded adequately. Think of all the mechanical and software engineering solving anticipated issues on uncharted waters pun intended!

 

[Coolbreeze704]

This is exactly why I don't really engage anymore. Everyone has some argument that has to be made, some rant, some point to make. I just want to own my truck and enjoy it with other owners. That's not this forum, sadly. Maybe it will be someday.

I understand your point of view. There are a lot of great people here but I think 2 things or more are taking place.

One we are a large group that has been locked up in a cabin at the top of the ski slope for 4 years waiting on the snow we expect each year that doesn't come. After a while we loose track of the incredible scenery around us and focus on what we thought we should have had.

Also we have had a lot of people pour themselves into building incredible content over the years. Dug in to truly try their best to understand the CT and share it with the community. It truly was an enthusiast site. The community has grown beyond that and as such we have a more realistic representation of what most large forums function like.

I still think there are great people and wonderful content to keep me coming here daily.

 

[scottyah]

TIME FOR HYPE!!
Things I love about Cybertruck (unexhaustive list):

• Most American Truck in the world
• First to full Steer by Wire
• Stainless Friggin Steel?!?!? (I might have a SS fetish, not willing to diagnose)
• Wont have to worry about scratches/branches/rust form snow salts or living near beach
• Smooth AF ride for an off-roader
• Turning radius of a toyota corolla?! Turning radius is huge for a city/suburb dweller like me
• Can power tools (personally, battery chainsaws are amazing due to quietness but the battery life is abysmal. I can just plug one in now!)
• The room in the back seat! (Have you ever been in the back of a Tacoma? It sucks.)
• It's an EV, and a good one. Maybe y'all have driven EVs long enough you've forgotten about ICE problems, but I haven't
• Can play music from phones and stuff. More of a me problem, but cassettes after like 30 plays sound terrible and CDs stop when there's any little bumps.
• Horn button (Can't believe this wasn't a thing with Teslas, but glad it's back)
• Bottom looks like you can actually hose it out
• Bed can fit plywood
• Vault that locks securely and Just Works
• L-Tracks and plenty of tiedown locations
• Frunk!!
• Fast AF acceleration
• You can sleep in the cabin (on the huge dashboard XD)
• Watching Youtube and Netflix in the car
• You can see the sky from inside the vehicle

I think I fall in the target audience of "wants tesla but needs slightly more offroad capability than current models have" and this thing more than delivers

 

[cvalue13]

Here's my current positive take, which also happens to be legitimately my central take so far.

And I should preface it by saying these takes are informed by having spent time around and driving in a Cybertruck.

In 2019, I pre-ordered a "Dual Motor" because I don't tow ~3/4 class stuff, I don't need dumb acceleration in a truck, and a BEV with an EPA combined "300+" (even in 2019 'Tesla miles'!) is more than adequate for my use cases in all but the most fringe of conditions (and for those fringes, I'd have various solutions available to me). In all these ways, I'm similar to the vast majority of all Americans (a point I'll come back to) actual needs in a truck.

Cut to Nov. 30, 2023, and - insofar as caring about a product goes - I'm pretty impressed. Don't get me wrong, cheaper is always better and at these new MSRP's it will be a much closer call for me as to whether it makes financial sense to let go of my Lightning that's nearly paid off and at 2.8% APR.

But setting aside the financial responsibility point:

The "Dual Motor" is now dubbed the "AWD," and in terms of product proposition it's overall a more compelling product than the on-stage vision in 2019. Specifically, in 2019, the 'vision' of the Cybertruck was a vehicle that straddled the line between 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton truck. But cut to 2023, and Tesla instead has offered a product that straddles the line between a mid-sized truck and a 1/2 ton truck - which is a market segment that will be far more lucrative for Tesla, and have a greater chance of converting people from ICE to BEV.

The 2019 1/2-3/4 ton vision would have all the typical market problems of 1/2 ton trucks, that cause people to go midsized truck, mid-sized SUV, or sedan. And there are simply FAR more people in that bucket (and who would entertain BEV), then there are the bucket on the other end of the spectrum: people who need ~3/4 ton capabilities and would entertain a BEV truck. Meanwhile, people already in 1/2 ton trucks will probably be compelled by the proposition of a truck with ~same cargo room and capabilities of a 1/2 ton, but the footprint urban agility of a midsized truck (or better). (Having driven 1/2 ton trucks for 30 years, i think many of us do so because of the capabilities and despite the exterior footprint/agility.)

In other words, the 2023 Cybertruck is a Dr. Who-like Tardis machine somewhere between 1/2 ton truck and a mid-sized truck in all the best ways (e.g., footprint and agility), while still being pretty close to or the same as a 1/2 ton truck in all the best ways.

That's an interesting product proposition. I find it best visualized in the following chart put together for another thread:

That middle row of yellow has a lot going for it, in terms of possible market penetration. Compared to the bottom of the chart, you don't quite get the items in green, but at the same time you aren't forced to take the items in red. And at the top of the chart, vice-versa.

The Cybertruck as a product proposition is a jack-of-all trades, truck wise - which inherently means it presents both compromises on any one metric, but also the ability to do about anything pretty well.

So all-in-all, the AWD delivered is as good as or better than the 2019 concept pitched, in almost all metrics. For Tesla that product makes a lot of sense. For me, it might. We'll see where I'm at when my number is called. (For now, I'm glad they aren't calling it yet - I'm certainly not a buyer of Foundation Series AWD, if only because my current alternative is so reasonable and sufficient.)

Speaking of the benefits of having time before my number is called:

I remain interested in the developing info around the Cybertruck quirks and performance details. Here is where my view of the Cybertruck is informed in part in virtue of having been a month-1 buyer of the Lightning.

When the Lightning came out, there was a lot of confusion, FUD, elation, and overall tom-fuckery about. Especially around towing and range.

As it turned out, the tomfuckery around towing and range largely and over time sorted itself into three main buckets of source:

(1) FUD - it was a truck, that was electric, and there were plenty of internet anti-BEV folks (especially truck folks) willing to come for it. Unfortunately, there was just as many purported proponents of electric vehicles also willing to come for it on FUD terms, insofar as *some other OEM fanbois* appear to value their $TSLA over their principles.

(2) MISUNDERSTANDING - as it turns out, the performance behavior of BEV sedans does not merely scale up linearly to the performance behavior of BEV trucks. Not only the size/Cd are different, but also the 'tuning' to which BEV trucks are put so that they can do all the 'truck stuff.' As a result, outsiders watching blips of data about Lightning performance were missing various forests for the trees. Tilting at windmills. In broad strokes, the Lightning's various performance behaviors of note had almost nothing to do with some magical difference in engineering at Ford, and almost everything to do with fundamental physics of BEV trucks at the current state of battery/charging infrastructure. As a result, BEV trucks wont yet be for everyone - but still can be for many.

(3) GENUINE CRITIQUE - here suffices to say the Lightning was an essentially beta consumer product, and no surprise there were genuine critiques to be had. But Ford did and continues to largely act on all those things to reasonable degrees. E.g., my 2022 truck doesnt have a heat pump, so for folks in cold weather that was an unnecessarily material drain. Now all Lightnings come with a heat pump. UT fixes via OTA, improvements in charging behaviors, etc. The truck I own today is better than the truck I bought in June of 2022. The Lightning people buy today is better than the Lightning I own today (at least, eg, in terms of the heat pump). All of these things were essentially the result of genuine critiques available to an essentially beta consumer product.


I give all that Lightning history of my own experience of course to frame the following point: I'm largely unfazed (and well calloused) against a lot of what is going on in *other* threads on this forum. Lots of FUD, lots of Misunderstanding, and buried within it all some genuine critiques of interest.

As more information about the Cybertruck's quirks and performance details come out, there will be more genuine critiques and as a result - as with the Lightning - more improvements over time.

(And as for the FUD and Misunderstanding: if there's a silver lining, it's that now the shoe is on the other foot, and now finally the bodies of my enemies are floating by, just as forewarned for months. It's a pitiful sort of satisfaction, but I'm not above it.)

So, as much as I have enjoyed the bit of time I've spent driving in a Cybertruck (always as a passenger, btw), and the YOLO part of my brain wants one YESTERDAY, I'll have to live vicariously through the forum members ahead of me in line - and console myself with the cold comfort of "patience" and "financial responsibility" and "don't make a habit of being a BEV truck early adopter..."

To conclude, it probably doesn't need saying for anyone who was followed the forum closely for a while that by no means do I think everyone should be equally happy about the 2023 Cybertruck offerings. People who made pre-orders on the basis of wanting a ~3/4 ton truck were left in the cold (at least for the foreseeable future). People who made pre-orders on the basis of wanting a long-range version of the CT were left a little bit in the cold (at least for the foreseeable future).

The only consolation that might be offered to those folks:

(1) if you *really* needed a ~3/4 ton truck, the battery and charging infra really just isn't there yet - which is probably why Tesla ultimately chose not to make you pay for one

(2) if you *really* needed a long range truck, here's the cold reality: what Tesla *used* to sell as "500" miles in 2019, was never going to satisfy you; and in 2023, if you think $80K is expensive for 340 miles, you would've NEVER clicked 'order' on a '23 500mi version even if Tesla had decided to offer you one.


Meanwhile, for anyone who was happy with a 2019 Dual Motor, in the main Tesla's now put out a pretty compelling first offering (price, mostly, aside).

Now it's time to drill down and determine what exactly is just typical Tesla marketing, and what's the real product underneath. Preview: a real-world product that present real world compromises. Nothing comes for free.

 

[tmeyer3]

I understand your point of view. There are a lot of great people here but I think 2 things or more are taking place.

One we are a large group that has been locked up in a cabin at the top of the ski slope for 4 years waiting on the snow we expect each year that doesn't come. After a while we loose track of the incredible scenery around us and focus on what we thought we should have had.

Also we have had a lot of people pour themselves into building incredible content over the years. Dug in to truly try their best to understand the CT and share it with the community. It truly was an enthusiast site. The community has grown beyond that and as such we have a more realistic representation of what most large forums function like.

I still think there are great people and wonderful content to keep me coming here daily.

I'm here daily also, but much more of a lurker now. To explain why wouldn't be very positive of me

I think I fall in the target audience of "wants tesla but needs slightly more offroad capability than current models have" and this thing more than delivers

Me too!! My Dad has a reservation also and as soon as we both get a delivery we're planning an epic Death Valley off-road trip from Tea kettle junction to Nevada!

We have plans for a 2kW fold out mini trailer that carries camping gear and has a built in kitchen. At low speeds it shouldn't be a huge battery drain, but it's onboard battery will store 500W charging while driving, and 2kW while deployed/camping. While we staycation from place to place, it'll be a great way to trickle charge!

 

[Coolbreeze704]

I've learned a lot lurking here for the past year or so (and finally creating account just before launch date), so thank you all. As for me and the truck, I've got simple needs:

• Be electric (electricity is ~$.08/kWh where I live).
• Keep my dog safe and comfortable, whether in rain / snow / shine while I run errands.
• Be able to take a couple loads of yard waste and random crap to the dump every couple of weeks.
• Be able to pick up lumber and sacks of yard stuff / sakrete occasionally.
• Be impervious to the low branches of the ornamental trees that were planted too close to my driveway 20 years ago.
• Be able to carry a couple kayaks to nearby waters.

It didn't even dawn on me that the CT could/would act as a backup battery to the house until they announced it. That is a HUGE bonus to me, as I was actively shopping house backup systems. I ended up ordering the beast because, with the $4K credit for installing the gateway and whatnot, it reached my "oh, what the hell" threshold. Plus, I really like that 3-headed beast logo...

I don't tow, and we have another mid-size hybrid SUV for long road trips. We'll see what happens, but my plan is for the CT to be my daily around-town-running-errands-with-the-dog driver. I'm fully aware the CT is overkill for my needs, but I ain't getting any younger and this thing will be silly fun.

Totally forgot about the Powershare Gateway system and credit. That is a huge bonus. I was not only going to get FSD but the addition of the Powershare capability (didn't expect) and equipment and install credit is a huge win for me as I had planned on doing this anyway

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