Tesla Cybertruck
A truck too ugly to be a Cadillac. But the specs sound incredible. Of course Elon’s claims often exceed reality (or at least his date and price numbers often do), but it also has enough slop, that it’s still impressive anyway. So while his demo of throwing a steel ball at the window ended poorly, and I’m not sure what value being slightly bullet resistant (for one of the weaker handguns, 100’ away), it can tow, and you can get a 500 mile range, and it is a truck w/AWD and can beat many cars in the quarter mile... and it’s vapor for a couple more years, unless Tesla hits a date, for the first time ever.
The other side is comparing this years hype to next years delivery, isn’t exactly fair. And the reason Elon is doing this, is he sort of has to. Yes, he has a brand. Yes, the model 3 is selling. But to keep the stock valuation up (and the money to grow), there has to be more. (New markets).
- Ford Mustang Mach-E is a much better looking car than the Model-Y,
- VW, Chevy Bolt, Nissan and Hynundai and coming for the Model 3
- Jaguar, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo are all going after Models S and X, only they have better stylists, interiors, dealer networks, brands and fit and finish.
- Ford, General Motors and Rivian Ford have all announced electric pickup trucks coming in 2021. Elon announced first, but there's a big question whether he can beat them to market.
That's not to say the Tesla's are without charm or features, the big screen, the software updates, and the drivetrain are certainly competitive or value add. But it's not a one player game -- and all the players are carving out niches. The other car makers are entering the electric market and applying pressure.
So far, Elon has done far better than industry people expected. But they have less room to operate, and better competition, every year. Thus while I hate the design language used. It does have a few functional features. Great specs, and if they can hit numbers, it has good enough economics that it can make a pretty good argument for a work truck that is reminiscent of the high design of a Pontiac Aztek or the Volkswagen Thing.
Renders
Frankly, renders of what people thought it would look like, were far better than the real look. And I more want a bus/van style (with a retractable roof for high loads).
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