AD #2724 – Tesla Unveils Wild Cybertruck, Lexus Shows Off First EV, GM Plans Electric Truck for Fall 2021
November 22nd, 2019 at 11:59am
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Runtime: 12:06
0:07 Tesla Unveils Wild Cybertruck
0:31 Cybertruck Specs
1:22 Cybertruck Maintains Common Tesla Interior
1:41 Cybertruck Built to Pair with Tesla ATV
2:13 Cybertruck Styling Likely Reduces Tooling Costs
3:50 GM Plans EV Truck for Fall 2021
4:15 GM & Isuzu Invest in Diesel Engine Plant
4:47 Lexus Shows Off First EV
5:22 IIHS To Update Side Crash Test
6:07 Are Labor Costs Hurting Detroit Automakers?
8:28 NACTOY Finalist Viewer Feedback
10:17 What Car Is Elvis Sitting In?
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TESLA UNVEILS WILD CYBERTRUCK
Tesla unveiled its electric pickup last night, what it calls the Cybertruck, and all we can say is “Wow!” It’s unlike anything we’ve seen in a long time. It’s origami styling of flat surfaces and hard breaks may have more to do with reducing tooling cost, and we’ll have more to say about that in a minute. But first, some specs.
CYBERTRUCK SPECS
There will be three different propulsion offerings. A single motor rear-wheel-drive, a dual motor all-wheel-drive, and a tri-motor all-wheel-drive that we guess will provide torque vectoring at the rear wheels. Elon Musk says the fastest version of the truck, the tri-motor, will accelerate from 0 to 60 miles an hour in a blindingly fast 2.9 seconds. It will deliver 500 miles of driving range, carry 3,500 pounds of payload and tow a 14,000-pound trailer. The other versions have less range and towing and carrying capacity, and are not as quick, but are still impressive nonetheless. You can click on the headline link in today’s transcript to get those details.
CYBERTRUCK MAINTAINS COMMON TESLA INTERIOR
The interior design is similar to other Tesla’s: with flat, minimalist surfaces, and long horizontal lines. A 17-inch screen dominates the dashboard. Thanks to no driveshaft hump in the floor, the layout comfortably provides seating for six people.
CYBERTRUCK BUILT TO PAIR WITH TESLA ATV
The bed offers 100 cubic feet of lockable storage space, and it has a telescoping ramp built into the tailgate that allows you to drive a motorcycle or ATV right up into it. In fact, Tesla also unveiled an electric ATV it calls the CyberQuad. The pickup comes standard with an air suspension that can be lowered to make it easier to load up the bed. Tesla also showed a camping version with a pop-up tent and a stove that swings out from the bed.
CYBERTRUCK STYLING LIKELY REDUCES TOOLING COSTS
But what really makes this truck stand out is the way it looks. The Class A surfaces are made from cold-rolled stainless steel. And note that they are completely flat. The hood, the roof, the sides, and the tailgate are completely flat. Note that the wheel wells feature straight lines with hard breaks. Even the windshield and side glass is flat. There are no compound curves, no reverse dihedrals, and no rounded surfaces. Besides creating a unique look, we think Tesla is doing this to hold down tooling cost. The exterior panels all look like they could be fabricated, not stamped. And even if they are stamped, they look like they could be done with one set of dies per panel, instead of the four sets of dies it typically takes. That could save tens of millions of dollars in tooling cost, maybe more. And it helps explain why Elon Musk says the base price will be just under $40,000.
Even though we’re very impressed, that styling is a bit wonky and is going to take some getting used to. So what do you think? Is this something that you’d like to see in your driveway?
GM PLANS EV TRUCK FOR FALL 2021
GM thinks it could be a great competitor against Tesla’s new Cybertruck and Ford’s proposed electric F-series. Both Tesla and Ford believe they can finish the race first against each other by getting an EV truck out first, and now GM wants a bid. The automaker is planning to build electric trucks at its Detroit/Hamtramck plant which should hit showrooms in the fall of 2021.
GM & ISUZU INVEST IN DIESEL ENGINE PLANT
After strong demand for more diesel-powered trucks, General Motors and Isuzu are now investing $175 million into a new engine plant in Brookville, Ohio. The 251,000-square-foot facility is set to make engine blocks and heads for the Duramax engine, which powers the 2020 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra Heavy-Duty pickups. GM plans to have construction finished by the end of next year.
LEXUS SHOWS OFF FIRST EV
Lexus took the wraps off its first ever all-electric vehicle, the UX 300e, which is based on its UX compact crossover. It features a 54.3 kWh lithium-ion battery, which provides a range of 400 kilometers or just under 250 miles and that’s based on the NEDC test. It goes on sale in China and Europe next year and 2021 in Japan but interestingly, there’s no mention of it coming to North America.
IIHS TO UPDATE SIDE CRASH TEST
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side-impact crash test in 2003 and the safety agency says it’s time for an update. It says the current ratings no longer help consumers distinguish between vehicles and there’s no further room for improvement in the test. Expected to launch next year, the updated side-impact test will include a higher impact speed and a heavier, movable barrier which represents a more modern vehicle. The IIHS says the data collected during the current test correlates closely with fatality risk, so the new test will likely use the same dummies and collect similar information as the current one.
ARE LABOR COSTS HURTING DETROIT AUTOMAKERS?
The Detroit automakers have the highest labor costs among automakers in the U.S. And GM’s and Ford’s new contract with the UAW pushed wages up even higher. So is this going to put the Detroit automakers at a competitive disadvantage with foreign carmakers building cars in the U.S.? On Autoline This Week, Kristen Dzickek, a labor expert with the Center for Automotive Research, shared her insight into the issue.
Kristen Dzickek, Center for Automotive Research
“It’s not entirely clear just yet- at General Motors they’re looking to retire, early retire, or incentivize people to leave. 2,000 production workers and 60 skilled trades- that’s a limit. The Ford tentative agreement has unlimited amount of production workers and 200 skilled trades. If they can move those people along and replace them with new hires that come in at the bottom that can help blend hourly labor cost down and their proved vehicle cost is what really matters, not hourly- you buy labor to make a vehicle. They’ve brought those costs down considerably since 2007. If there’s 2-3% raises in the cost per year it’s not going to be that significant. Two things that make up that gap with the international (companies) is there are very hefty profit sharing checks that roll into the hourly wage, so $63 an hour at General Motors, $5.81 is there profit sharing check from last year. So you bring that down and it’s $58, and it’s not so crazy when the internationals are at $50. The internationals are also a blend of different companies that some of them have just started their operations and they may have three, four, five year grow-ins to their top wage, but the plant’s only two years old so nobody’s got five years, they aren’t at the top of their scale either. So the internationals are not going to stand still and there’s some flexibility in these agreements to bring the temps (workers) to permanent status and to blend the average hourly labor cost down.”
You can watch that entire show right now on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
NACTOY FINALIST VIEWER FEEDBACK
Yesterday we reported the finalists for North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year awards and asked you to guess who will win each category. While looking through the comments we came across this one from Kit Gerhart, “As far as the trucks, the Gladiator is certainly getting the attention, and it looks kind of cool, but the pricing is crazy. I don’t know if the jury factors that in much, though.” Kit goes on to ask, “John McElroy, are there specific guidelines you are supposed to use, and if so, is ‘value’ one of them?” Well we talked to John and he says there are no specific guidelines for jurors to follow, but value is one of the things he considers. He says he wants to make sure the vehicle is a good value for the segment it fits into. For example, a $60,000 mid-engine sports car could be considered a good thing, while a $60,000 mid-size truck might not be.
Hope that clears up your question Kit. And while we’re talking about the Car, Truck and Utility of the Year finalists, let’s talk about how you all seem very confident in two of the winners. The Chevy Corvette and Jeep Gladiator are the clear favorites in your minds for Car and Truck of the Year. People seemed less interested in Utility of the Year, but those that did vote, voted in favor of the Lincoln Aviator. I’m with you all on the first two, C8 and Gladiator, but I think the Kia Telluride will win Utility. And if you’d like an idea of what the actual jurors think, we’ll have a couple of Autoline This Week’s dedicated to the awards that will go up in early January before the winners are announced.
WHAT CAR IS ELVIS SITTING IN?
Time to go into the way-back-files in your brain again. Autoline viewer Rob wrote to us to say that his wife was going through some old Elvis Presley records and asked him what car was on the cover of “A Date with Elvis” that came out around 1960. Rob notes, Elvis is turned around sitting in the front seat of a convertible car. Rob did try and Google the answer, but it said the car is a 1973 Stutz Blackhawk III, which is clearly not right. We tried to Google it as well. That returned a BMW 507 as the answer. While BMW found Elvis’ exact 507, did a complete restoration and awesome restoration blog, it is also clearly not the car. We eventually did find the car on the cover and the V-shape in the steering wheel was a big factor in helping us find it. But we’d like to give you all a chance to show us your automotive knowledge before we reveal the answer next week. Just leave your guess in the comments.
But that’s it for today’s show. Thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
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Comments (85)
November 22nd, 2019 at 12:11 pm
If the Tesla pickup highlights any one thing it is the utter bankruptcy of the Tesla brain trust.Same old wildly optimistic promises wrapped in neo-Delorean sheet metal. Just plain ugly!
November 22nd, 2019 at 12:16 pm
Finally an electric vehicle that looks like an electric vehicle.
November 22nd, 2019 at 12:17 pm
Elvis’ car is a Lincoln, but I’m not sure what year/model.
November 22nd, 2019 at 12:23 pm
I have no requirements for a pickup truck but the cybertruck specs and features are impressive. I would add the 120/240 AC inverter to my Model 3 in a heartbeat.
I would expect a Kambach aero spoiler for the sharp peak AFTER some wind tunnel and tuff testing. They might have gotten the angle right.
It looks like an F117 offspring with a DeLorian.
November 22nd, 2019 at 12:27 pm
Thanks for the reply from John. Yes, that answers my question, and my thoughts on ‘value’ regarding your examples are similar, especially since mid-engine sports cars tend to be low volume, compared to pickup trucks.
November 22nd, 2019 at 12:40 pm
One good thing about the Tesla Truck is it isn’t able to be detected by radar. Would look perfectly at home parked next to a stealth fighter.
November 22nd, 2019 at 12:45 pm
Elvis’s car I believe is a 1958 Lincoln Premiere
November 22nd, 2019 at 12:49 pm
Yes, the Elvis car is a Lincoln convertible, may be 1958-9. The tesla is a Moon buggy design which looks home made. A wicket fast contractor getaway truck for sure.
November 22nd, 2019 at 12:50 pm
#6 – I too thought about asking about the radar cross-section. Perhaps after market providers are already working on a radar absorbing and laser reflecting nose cone.
November 22nd, 2019 at 12:50 pm
It looks crazy but Tesla’s market capitalization exceeds the value of both Ford or GM by a wide margin. We’ll see…
November 22nd, 2019 at 12:56 pm
“Cybertruck Styling Likely Reduces Tooling Costs” and sales. The truck has some nice features like the extendable tailgate and suspension lowering. However in addition to the horrible styling the blindspot on this thing has to be bad and with the rear bed cover closed and no side mirrors I assume lots of sensors and cameras help maneuver this thing?
November 22nd, 2019 at 1:02 pm
According to Jalopnik, the Tesla thing is about the same size as a regular “crew cab” short bed pickup, but in one picture I saw, it looks much bigger. Does anyone know for sure?
The picture where it looks really long is about 1/4 of the way down in this article:
https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/22/we-have-five-questions-about-teslas-cybertruck/
November 22nd, 2019 at 1:04 pm
…and the article saying it’s basically the same size as other trucks is here:
https://jalopnik.com/how-the-tesla-cybertruck-hypothetically-measures-up-to-1839993925
November 22nd, 2019 at 1:10 pm
The Tesla truck looks utterly ridiculous to me, rear passenger head room looks non existent.
November 22nd, 2019 at 1:11 pm
1958 Lincoln Continental Convertible. Boom! Thanks Sean, that was fun.
Also, I’d like the Tesla Pickup range towing 14,000 lbs.
November 22nd, 2019 at 1:17 pm
15 Yeah it may be capable of towing 14,000 lbs but can it stop it? Trailer brakes don’t always work perfectly.
November 22nd, 2019 at 1:26 pm
I agree, 1958 Continental
November 22nd, 2019 at 1:33 pm
I figure the Tesla truck is shaped like stealth aircraft to present a small radar shadow. Otherwise it looks like a shop project to learn how to use a break.
November 22nd, 2019 at 1:33 pm
1958 Lincoln Continental Mark III
November 22nd, 2019 at 1:34 pm
Tesla’s new truck takes me back to a time long time ago when I made appliance boxes into cars. It looks good to me when I was 4 years old.
November 22nd, 2019 at 1:44 pm
15,18 It probably had 14 inch wheels, but if a car like that were made now, it would have 24 inch wheels.
November 22nd, 2019 at 1:45 pm
That was 15,19.
November 22nd, 2019 at 2:16 pm
Tesla pickup – Many nice features, however, the styling does not meet my tastes.
November 22nd, 2019 at 2:24 pm
Tesla pickup = fugly Hope it has a very strong air conditioning system because with that raked back windshield the solar loading is going to be astronomical. Best looking pickup truck ever made was the first gen Nissan Titan 2 door model, it had a wedge shape that made it look very modern without being weird. When I worked at GM they had similar designs on the drawing board to the Nissan that were even more wedgy and modern looking but never went with them. Too bad, they were some really good looking trucks.
November 22nd, 2019 at 2:40 pm
Where are the mirrors? Are they required to have side view mirrors???
November 22nd, 2019 at 2:53 pm
24 I never really found any of the Nissan trucks very attractive.
My best trucks list;
1) 91-92 GMC Syclone Good looking and fast(then)
2) 85 Toyota Hilux from “Back to the Future”
3) 09-12 Ford Raptor Good looking and 6.2L
4) 04-06 Dodge Ram SRT10 sharp and 500HP
5) 89-90 Dodge Dakota Convertible Only cause it was a topless truck.
Honorable mention to 94 Dodge Ram simple because the design turned it around for Dodge selling only 95K trucks in 93 and 235K in 94 with what everyone called the Mack truck look.
However when it comes to looks alone I do really like many of the 50s and 60s trucks that are being used in resto-mods.
November 22nd, 2019 at 3:09 pm
I like the regular cab version of the 2nd generation Dodge Dakota, for a fairly recent pickup truck.
https://flic.kr/p/2haRXyD
November 22nd, 2019 at 3:26 pm
Other than the Model S, which I think is still a stunner, Tesla’s designs have not moved me. Til now. That truck is bad a**.
I also think it’s a blank canvas for those “art car” types to go bonkers on.
November 22nd, 2019 at 3:31 pm
So you save $$ building a vehicle, that is butt ugly, and no one buys it, was it a smart cost savings?
November 22nd, 2019 at 3:32 pm
28 I wonder if it will have paint as an option, or if that will be strictly aftermarket.
November 22nd, 2019 at 3:34 pm
Reminds me of the ridiculous EV vehicles they built on the British version of Top Gear several years ago.
November 22nd, 2019 at 3:47 pm
The Tesla Truck. I built better looking Soapbox Derby cars at 11 years old. I would not want one if they gave it to me. One word “UGLY”!
November 22nd, 2019 at 3:54 pm
An observer at the show thinks that the Tesla truck uses unibody construction. He said that pickup trucks need a frame and suggested that the Tesla truck will lack durability because of it design.
November 22nd, 2019 at 3:55 pm
20 Good memories
My favourite truck for looks is my Dad’s ‘64 Chevy C10 stepside in white. It was ‘just a truck’ and I loved it.
November 22nd, 2019 at 4:10 pm
Ya know, regardless of how I think the Cybertruck looks, they’re going to have one heck of a time meeting pedestrian safety standards. Not to mention the cheese grater interior. Looks like the team in Hawthorn we’ll need to smooth some things out.
November 22nd, 2019 at 4:16 pm
HOLY CRAP is that Tesla Butt freaking ugly, WOW! I wondered where the designer of the Pontiac Aztec , Nissan Cube and Juke went. Now I know. People said the Rivian was ugly , well ole Elon must have heard that and said “here hold my bong” Jumping Jesus that is bad. I can’t believe that Tesla who IMO opinion to date has made the best looking EVs that aren’t just electrified version of existing vehicles would come up with that and actually show that to the public. That looks like a 6 YO kid drew it on their book cover. I wonder how long Elon will be in the hospital for after shooting himself in the foot with that turd? I wonder if our cheerleader will tell us were all blind and it’s the most beautiful thing ever created?
November 22nd, 2019 at 4:32 pm
Flat sheet metal panels have a tendency to flutter at highway speeds (oil-canning). Perhaps our calendars are out-of-sync with Tesla… April 1 comes to mind.
November 22nd, 2019 at 4:32 pm
28
Can you imagine that with a camo vinyl wrap?
November 22nd, 2019 at 4:37 pm
The longer I look at it an the more I think about it in the context of generational change within society (and how I’m aging out of the mainstream), I can see every one of these things shipping with an “OK, boomer” bumper sticker.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK_Boomer
November 22nd, 2019 at 4:43 pm
36 Haven’t there been some military vehicles shaped kind of like that? Anyway, I’d expect a lot of various vinyl wraps on them, especially if they are sold only with bare stainless steel.
November 22nd, 2019 at 4:52 pm
34 Come on, the Nissan Cube, like the first generation Scion xB, is a great looking car.
November 22nd, 2019 at 5:10 pm
The Tesla truck looks like what a Bollinger truck would be if designed in Wackyland; or perhaps a futuristic Hollywood truck by George Barris.
Elvis’s convertible is a 1958 Lincoln Mark III.
November 22nd, 2019 at 6:06 pm
The Cybertruck needs to go back into the oven.
November 22nd, 2019 at 6:22 pm
Sure looks like a 1958 Lincoln Continental.
November 22nd, 2019 at 6:37 pm
42 Is this the one?
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/61/f0/26/61f026d7ff9c889cafafcb46ca1fe710.jpg
November 22nd, 2019 at 7:55 pm
45, meant @44
November 22nd, 2019 at 10:32 pm
This might be Teslas first flop. I don’t see many consumers buying this truck, there are no variants body wise. As far as performance, waiting to see the real-life stats.
November 22nd, 2019 at 10:44 pm
It seems to me if this is the Tesla design, to reduce stamping and production costs, then why not produce a van? A van lends itself to the flat-panel styling better.
November 23rd, 2019 at 3:43 am
That looks wicked cool, ” cybertruck” I’m buying 2 for sure..
November 23rd, 2019 at 7:37 am
That’s not a Tesla, that’s a Tonka. No, wait a minute; I’d rather have the Tonka.
And I’m thinking that with its 14000 tow range, the charge range will be reduced by 2/3′s (if any indication of TFL’s test of the Tesla X’s towing prowess is any indication). Okay, I’m just speculating, it would be more prudent to just wait and see.
November 23rd, 2019 at 7:47 am
47 Maybe they were copying Jeep Gladiator, as far as no body variants. I suspect performance will be fine, but range, of course, will depend on what you are doing with it. A version with 300 mile nominal range might get more like 75, if pulling a 14,000 pound trailer.
I just don’t see many people wanting something that looks like that. I really wonder if that is what they plan to actually build.
November 23rd, 2019 at 7:55 am
50, Kit, funny you should mention that (you wonder if that is what they are actually going to build). The sketches I’ve seen when the Tesla pickup was still in speculation actually looked a far departure from what was shown, and while vastly different from what is currently available from the big three, had a styling exercise that looked futuristic but palatable to the eye; that triangle of design is just off-putting.
November 23rd, 2019 at 8:13 am
The Tesla Cybertruck will steal customers from everybody; pickup, sportscar, SUV, off-road, station wagon, you name it. It looks to be dirt cheap to produce and with its 3mm thick steel panels and built Ford Tough (Ford should hide that slogan now, it is embarrassing). It’s clearly designed by just creating two triangles to make it strong as a pyramid, and then add a couple of side panels.
The price is putting enormous pressure on the competition when the specs are counted. Many people will just want a basic tough vehicle that is cheap and fast. The exterior will create healthy fear with uncomfortable laughter amongst the fellow motorists. You don’t want to get hit by this anvil of a truck and not compete with its performance.
November 23rd, 2019 at 8:38 am
…and I just read in the morning paper that Tesla stock took a 6% dip yesterday in which they speculated between the look of the vehicle and the failure of the touted stronge glass demonstration (failed twice, though granted the metal ball didn’t penetrate the window, which was good but typical of any other laminated glass).
November 23rd, 2019 at 9:49 am
I’m surprised they hadn’t tested the windows before, if they were going to do that demo.
November 23rd, 2019 at 10:59 am
Well, one good thing about the Tesla truck, Larry D must have been too embarrassed by it to comment on Friday’s show, we need more stuff like that in the future to keep Cybil away for good.
November 23rd, 2019 at 11:31 am
What happened to the pickup at the Semi unveiling, that one looked kind of normal.
The rear view of the cyber truck reminds me of that that boat from Hulk Hogans tv show “Thunder in Paradise”. Or maybe that 80′s movie “Megaforce” that was a flop too.
November 23rd, 2019 at 11:45 am
#54 LOL ++++++++++++
November 23rd, 2019 at 11:55 am
@Kit. The reason the side windows broke was that they were pounding them with all kinds of things earlier in the day. That was good though, now everybody knows you will not want “bulletproof” side windows because of the safety reasons. Someday you might want to get out of the car or let the other people break the windows to get you out.
November 23rd, 2019 at 5:26 pm
900 hp hybrid Corvette.
https://jalopnik.com/the-c8-corvette-zr1-will-be-hybrid-and-make-900-hp-rep-1840013799
November 23rd, 2019 at 7:20 pm
60, Kit, I saw those rumors like M/T mentioned a couple of months ago as well. I reasoned that if they went with the (then rumored 1000 h/p) with electric assist it would be similar to a KERS system so as not to add too much weight to the vehicle. A heavy battery seems counter productive to me but my diatribe is pure speculation so how Corvette adds that extra power I don’t know. Why wouldn’t a burst of extra power do the trick (rhetorical question).
November 23rd, 2019 at 7:23 pm
The looks of the Tesla PUP are probably a test mule, which by the way makes a real “mule” look pretty…..well, sort of!!!…Then I have a Honda Clarity!—–Tesla must have hired the guy that designed the Clarity! Car drives well,very roomy and economical, but boy does it add a new dimension to the term “BUTT UGLY”!!! I guess Honda’s FCV needed a stablemate….They had to come up w/something to extend the use & manufacturing of the tooling for the FCV.
November 23rd, 2019 at 7:47 pm
61 Yeah, I’d think a short, extea burst would be the only purpose. A 2-3 kWh battery would use up some space, maybe from the frunk, but people wanting the ZR-1 probably wouldn’t care. I wonder where they’d put the electric motor, between the DCT and the final drive?
November 24th, 2019 at 9:10 am
61,63 I looks like it will be 4wd, with motors in the front, a battery somewhere, and probably a motor/generator between the ICE and the transmission. It sounds way too complicated.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/c8-chevrolet-corvette-zr1-hybrid-twin-turbo-dohc-v-8-with-900-hp/
November 24th, 2019 at 9:26 am
64, Seems that article dances around what we are speculating. With the ZO6 not yet out, the ZR1 is even more speculation. Chevy may have some surprises before all is said and done. With the car not even out it makes sense not to spill all of the beans to keep interest up in the brand.
November 24th, 2019 at 9:39 am
65 Yeah, a lot of speculation, and the ZR1 is probably at least a year away, maybe 3.
November 24th, 2019 at 5:17 pm
146K cybertruck orders, says Elon.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1198344195317985280?s=19
November 24th, 2019 at 5:36 pm
I think Elon’s smoking dope again.
November 24th, 2019 at 5:40 pm
Read a theory that the Tesla truck is just an attention-grabbing stunt before they reveal the real thing later. Makes sense to me.
November 24th, 2019 at 6:45 pm
68 …or the people placing those orders
November 25th, 2019 at 3:02 am
” Bob White Says:
November 22nd, 2019 at 12:50 pm
It looks crazy but Tesla’s market capitalization exceeds the value of both Ford or GM by a wide margin.”
here we go again. How many times need we stress that the value of a share of a company has LITTLE to do with the amount of its assets or its sales, BUT the expectation of FUTURE PROFITS, (and NOT bankruptcy 2.0, if I could add a hint)for that company.
Returned after a 3 day trip by slow train to China’s AMAZING ancient Capital of Xian, I saw the Delorean truck on a chinese language channel, where it saw Musk hurl a brick and break a window.
I was not sure this was his pickup, due to the far-out Sci-fi or High school science project looks, which I am not a fan of. Still, if he can sell a pickup Truck with this HUGE performance for $40k, as much as GM asks for the FAILED (100%) Bolt, which is a hatch people refuse to pay more than $17k for, and pickup trucks, the sky is the limit for performance versions, I predict there will be PLENTY of buyers!
I also saw again in all-chinese channel, a white Tesla 3 being displayed in a Tesla store and the price, which I forget (I think it was $50,000 US but it does not make sense to use $ here)
November 25th, 2019 at 3:08 am
among the 100 amazing things I saw in Xi’an, besides the damned tourist trap terracotta soldiers of 200 BC (thousands of them life size), and the VAST history museum,
I saw a pink current model civic driven by a young woman (who else), Mary Kay stuff
I saw a blue Fit parked illegally get a ticket, the meter maid was a short uniformed male who went to give a ticket to a car two cars from the Fit, the Fit driver then threw a fit (could not resist), rolled the ticket into a little cylinder, set it on fire, and threw it on the pavement, all this not only in the presence of the above meter maid, But also right in front of the Communist Party Provincial Headquarters and essentially State Government of the province of Shaanxi (which should have at least 50 mill people).
November 25th, 2019 at 3:27 am
https://www.autonews.com/future-product/futuristic-design-questioned-after-tesla-cybertruck-launch?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20191122&utm_content=article5-headline
Wall Street Analysts divided on the Tesla Pickup.
I think the $40k will sell a TON of them, even if I am not a fan of the shape myself (it would look much better with a minor modif up front), but not to the traditional pickup buyers (except if some of them, who are very loyal to US automakers, see the failure of any import to challenge US made full made pickups, if some of them realize that Tesla is more American than the “american” automakers who make EVs in mexico and Buicks in China.
I believe besides the few traditional owners above, the mass of the buyers will be greens who need the utility of a pickup, and appreciate the 6 seats and its performance, fans of those god-awful space soap operas (Star Wars and Star Trek and 99% of all Sci Fi movies, who really suck). I would be curious to test drive it though.
November 25th, 2019 at 5:06 am
aAccording to Musk the inspiration for the truck design was the Lotus Esprit. A total non-truck… funny.
It also resembles in its awkward sharp lines a concept from Aston from 1980 or so, the Bulldog, which had 600 HP, unbelievable for the time where Mercs had… 120 and topped at 249 HP, and Ferraris were not much better, with around 200 HP, pre-Testarossa.
November 25th, 2019 at 6:03 am
Musk sez he already has 146,000 orders for the Cybertruck (at $1,000 each, that’s a cool 146 million bucks)
Even if half of these are not cancelled, he will sell more with the remaining half than the failed Bolt in its ENTIRE lifespan.
November 25th, 2019 at 6:06 am
75 I assumed $1000 but actually he requires only $100 for a reservation, so 146k of them is a mere $14.6 bucks. Even Elizabeth Warren’s net worth is more than that (and Biden and Sanders’s)
November 25th, 2019 at 7:43 am
Musk’s tweet:
146k Cybertruck orders so far, with 42% choosing dual, 41% tri & 17% single motor
Most of the orders are for the multi-motor ones, but with only $100 deposit, these “orders” don’t mean much.
November 25th, 2019 at 8:44 am
I’m guessing the reveal is a publicity stunt which is why he is only taking $100 deposits. I’m willing to bet he will eventually release the actual truck design that will look more like this.
https://www.breezcar.com/img-c/pageimg/4800_W750.jpg
November 25th, 2019 at 8:57 am
56 Nope! But I do like him on the huge time difference as the comment section is good reading and without his typical FAILURE Bolt and Humpty dumpty Hacket and meaningless observations like 72.
Can we start a go fund me to keep him in China longer?
November 25th, 2019 at 9:37 am
78, Lambo, yeah, that’s what he needs to make. But if he does I’m guessing his biggest buyers will probably be the weekenders (lifestyle truckers) not the utility/heavy use truckers. Too soon to tell (but we’ll all be keeping our eye out for what develops).
November 25th, 2019 at 11:11 am
80 Yeah if its unibody and a very short bed it might have Subaru as its biggest competitor. Pull from all the adventurous pet owning buyers. Green and a place for the dog after it gets all muddy at the park. He could easily offer the suspension lowering and tailgate option that the wedge offers. The bed enclosure would work too as that seem to be a series of slats like a roll-top desk which could match the curved shape just as easy as the strait bed. My guess it that wedge will never see production.
November 25th, 2019 at 11:18 am
“Cybertruck” is unibody.
November 25th, 2019 at 12:24 pm
Over 200,000 pre-orders now at $100 a pop. As I said, this ain’t designed for boomers.
November 25th, 2019 at 4:49 pm
79 Did you not even read 72, which you refer and betray your utter ignorance of everything, OR did you read it and still did not understand the first thing?
And you are out of luck, China bans FACEBOOK and GOOGLE, not Autoline, so I could post from here until the cows come home. Maybe you should once in your life go outside of your little town or state or country or continent and see how the rest of the world lives for a change.
November 26th, 2019 at 9:09 am
The Tesla truck will do ok, I do not think these will be bought by green people but just to show their neighbors “Look what I got”. Most will be parked in driveways, not garages, as one will need to show it off and nobody can see what is in your garage. And with this styling, nobody will mistake it, so everyone will know you have a Tesla. I wouldn’t be caught dead in one, as in my mind it is the Aztek of trucks. My two pennies. (Bring it on L. D., tell me how wrong and foolish I am).