Tesla pickup truck

Originally posted by acorn: ↑

One thing about Tesla. They like to reengineer or modernise engineering.

So, it made me think why Musk wanted the pickup to look like this. Apart from getting everyone talking.

Is it all about the production savings ?

Musk said a couple of years ago that the pickup had to be relatively cheap and it had to be practical. It couldn't come with a price premium like some of the other Tesla vehicles.

Because of it's unconventional design, it is much cheaper to build according to Musk. There's no doubt it will be quite practical based on what we know. Especially if he can find a way to put a utility body on it and build an extra cab version using the same manufacturing techniques.

It seems he's taken the tech from his other cars ( maybe the plaid and the roadster ? ) so rather than build a fancy, swoopy body, he's gone with the super practical version for commercial and fleet customers. Nice and cheap with the already developed drivetrain technology.

And here's why. If the vehicle is cheap enough, which it appears to be, then he might be able to sell them in fleet numbers. By doing that, which the competitors probably won't be able to match, his manufacturing costs will fall quickly giving him an advantage.

Just a theory. It will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Btw. It appears a rematch with the F150 is on. Ford wants one. Apparently Musk has agreed. It looks like the F150 in the clip was 2wd so it sounds like the gauntlet has been thrown. Bring it on.

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In its current configuration a conventional cab chassis with a trayback isn't possible for the cybertruck because the high sides behind the cab are part of its structure. The Cybertruck is already an "extra cab" in American speak, in Australia we call them dual cabs. Our extra cabs (and king cabs) are just some more room behind the front seats sometimes with kid sized seats fitted.

That initial "drag" with the F150 was so mismatched it must have been deliberate. That Ford have taken the bait is interesting, they must think they have a fighting chance of winning or at least drawing the battle. To be fair the vehicles will need to be evenly ballasted then assuming they can both produce enough torque at the wheels to spin them it should be a battle of traction controls because the static coefficient of friction is generally higher than the sliding coefficient of friction.