The Tesla Pick-up truck!

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Batutta

Batutta

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I think this is where Elon took his design cues from--

 
As much as I rolled my eyes, this unveiling was a lot more entertaining than anything Apple has done in a long time.

(And it's all-electric, which is significant).
 
1. The windshield break was PAINFUL to watch. I don't mean that in a criticizing way, I mean it in a "put myself in their shoes" kind of way. They handled it well and seemed unphased, and I read somewhere that the supposed story is they threw the metal ball at the glass 5 times the night before to test it, which weakened it. (Also, if that's true, I mean... REALLY?). In any case, ballsy movie, so - props anyway.

2. Not phased by all the Elon criticism, he's done some hard to defend things, but I am glad this guy exists and is actually doing original, creative, cool things. I agree, what they are announcing is exciting on the level that Apple used to innovate under Jobs. Elon Musk is about the most uncharismatic keynote presenter you could get, but the unique and bold approach to take big risks, make hugely exciting innovations, and style things under his personal taste and just put it out in the world is bold and honestly, really refreshing today.

Would this car pass the WAF (woman acceptance factor)? NO! Lol. But I love that he did this. Also, he's such a nerd, the car looks straight out of a video game and even their font ripped from Cyberpunk 2077. I don't mean that in a bad way, I just love the fact that this kind of thing exists... that someone has just put out a really unique new aesthetic design, an insanely impressive technological feat, and also rethought fundamental truck design.

Blah blah blah... wall street can criticize Elon Musk all they want, the things he's doing, perfect or not, are actually pushing the world forward in meaningful ways. We need more innovators concerned with product and innovation first. Those types are always a little eccentric.

Keep on "Eloning", Elon!
 
James0b57 said:
So good.


You see, a car is kind of like a camera.... ;)
Click to expand...

A corporate management class in college can include everything from the fast food chains to the software vendors. I recall having to do a report on Mitch Kapor and Lotus 1-2-3. In 1985, the full Lotus story wasn't yet written.

As to Tesla, I think it will get squeezed out by the German e-cars.
 
James0b57 said:
So good.


You see, a car is kind of like a camera.... ;)
Click to expand...


* Both are highly complex machines.

* Both can be used to make money.

* With both you look through glass when operating them.

* Half the fun with both is after-market accessorizing.

* You'd like both to last a decade or more, but the reality is that you'll get 3-4 years of use out of it and then trade it in on a newer model.

* You had to beg and plead your wife to let you buy both.

* Both will only fail you at really important times, never while just playing around with it.

* You love both dearly, but still didn't bother reading the manual for either.

* Both have a button you've never figured out what it does.

* Resetting the clock on both is a pain in the rear.

* Both can get you to bars.

* You hoped women would be impressed by both but as it turns out they really aren't impressed by either and it's only dudes who are impressed.
 
I have a sneaking suspicion the entire event was staged and it all went according to plan in that they knew the windows would break. Look at the media coverage this one incident has generated, publications that would never give the vehicle a second look and now showing the clip.
Elon Musk is no amateur in the PR game, I suggest this was a carefully rehearsed act that worked perfectly. How many commercial trucks are designed to tale a steel ball being thrown at them, none.
So why this one?
 
Big Elon fan but I think it is ugly. I also think modern pickup trucks look way over hyped and bulbous. So not much room for something normal to begin with.

For some reason, there is this association between electric vehicles and weird or goober designs. Like it has to be from the future or something. This just keeps us on fossil fuels!

I too think Tesla is going to have a tough time when the big auto folks show up. They kind of let Tesla be the rabbit running out front. The time for large scale all electric is still pretty far away due to the battery tech and customer adoption. We all deal with batteries on a daily basis. No way I want my car to run on this level of battery tech. Three years and it will go half the distance...
 
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Bassman2003 said:
The time for large scale all electric is still pretty far away due to the battery tech and customer adoption. We all deal with batteries on a daily basis. No way I want my car to run on this level of battery tech. Three years and it will go half the distance...
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laverdir said:
I wouldn't trust batteries in the wild.

Especially in extreme cold conditions.
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Exactly. Electric may work for people that only do in-town, short distance type commutes and can put the vehicle on charge whenever it is parked, like at their office and home, but for those that travel and can't plan their day/trip around "where can I plug my vehicle up", it's not gonna work. I have a 50 gallon tank on my diesel truck. My cruising range is about 900 miles and thanks to infrastructure in place to serve the trucking industry, you can find diesel everywhere along the interstate.

I agree that we need to find a way off of fossil fuels for vehicles(and power plants) much sooner than later, but it can't be under the current limitations if it's going to be widely accepted. Now, if they can find a way to get 400-500 mile cruising range with the ability to recharge the cells to 100% in five minutes and charge stations are everywhere that traditional gas/fuel stations are, then we'll start getting there.
 
laverdir said:
I wouldn't trust batteries in the wild.

Especially in extreme cold conditions.
Click to expand...

Another cold factor is that there's no engine heat to draw from for cabin heating, so electrics need power for heating as well which impacts battery life and range significantly.
 

The Aztek wasn't a career ender: Tom Peters went on to design the C7 Corvette (which looked decent except for the rear/tail lights IMO. The C8 is a popular design (looks good to a lot of people)).
As a car guy and product designer, I'll rate the CyberTruck an F, primarily because it looks like a lazy design:
IMG_2488.jpg

The cybertruck doesn't follow the "Look Right, Flies Right" concept (think that was Kelly Johnson (SR71) and Ben Rich's favorite thing to say about aircraft design at Lockheed Skunkworks). The SR71 is still beautiful in 2019: designed in 1960!

There's a couple big tech releases that will radically change the electric car market (it appears these technologies have been around for a while for MIL/GOV use, e.g. for the electrogravitc vehicles operating out of Antarctica ("Space Force"); Area 51 isn't used for the really advanced vehicles anymore). When the big automakers have a larger presence in the electric market and we've moved away from the petro-dollar, commercially viable solid state batteries + super capacitors and similar tech will magically be "discovered" (currently not (publicly) commercially viable).

Basically unlimited clean power has been available for many years, suppressed for power and profit. Speaking of Lockheed Martin, they're working on cold fusion (which has been known to work since it's discovery in 1989; another suppressed technology about to be "discovered" as commercial viable once the markets have changed a bit more): https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/07/29/lockheed-martin-doubles-down-on-cold-fusion.aspx (July 2019 story). Clean technology suppression ties in with the Global Warming Hoax blamed on fossil fuels.

Here's the US Navy's portable fusion reactor public disclosure: https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielc...-patents-compact-fusion-reactor/#7b8d49c61070

Here's the soft disclosure for the US Navy's (Space Force) electrogravitc vehicles flying with "(coincidently unarmed) US Navy F18's on a training mission": https://www.sandiegouniontribune.co...ion/sd-navy-pilot-ufo-20171218-htmlstory.html . Translation: "UFO" => "US Navy / Space Force electrogravitic vehicles".

It's not clear yet if there's any danger re: EM radiation or otherwise for electrogravitic propulsion (ie perhaps only safe for drone use), or dangers of uncontrolled energy release in the event of malfunction or crash. For smaller vehicles like cars, fast charge / safe release technologies will likely be the safest / most commercially viable (so we can be charged for electricity vs. making our own).

They've scrubbed videos showing fitbit revealing the secret underground bases, didn't scrub the discussions: https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy..._a_ring_structure_in/?st=k3dvcv4q&sh=e6d4d338

Lockheed Martin is hiring in Antarctica for these non-existant bases / space ports: https://www.usap.gov/news/2603/
 
The next car and plane technology will probably be a turbine/electric hybrid, i.e., car/plane with a small jet engine that charges up its relatively small size battery, that feeds a full electric drive train. WrightSpeed is custom fitting heavy city trucks with it, there are British and Chinese companies that try to build hyper-cars with it, other companies experiment with the short-takeoff domestic route propulsion systems. In terms of the automotive market, you get the benefit of the electric vehicle fuel economy but you also get the energy stored in a diesel or even natural gas fuel tank. (Jet fuel is technically close to kerosene but turbines can easily run on the compressed natural gas).
 
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