Tesla Motors

[ExtraSlow]

Hah, I love the concepts this company comes up with. Can't wait to see what the pickup truck actually looks like.
https://electrek.co/2019/06/02/tesla...elon-musk/amp/

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We don’t want it to be really expensive. I think it got to start at less than $50,000 – it’s got to be like $49,000 starting price max. Ideally less. It just can’t be unaffordable. It’s got to be something that’s affordable. There will be versions of the truck that will be more expensive, but you’ve got to be able to get a really great truck for $49,000 or less.

It’s got to have incredible functionally from a load carrying standpoint, look amazing – but it won’t look like a normal truck. It’s going to look pretty sci-fi. That means that it’s not going to be for everyone- like if somebody just wants to have a truck that looks like trucks have looked like for the last 20 to 40 years, it’s probably isn’t for them.

It’s going to be a truck that is more capable than other trucks. The goal is to be a better truck than a [Ford] F-150 in terms of truck-like functionality and be a better sports car than a standard [Porsche] 911. That’s the aspiration.

[killramos]

300,000lbs of towing capacity lol

[Sugarphreak]

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[ExtraSlow]

Will be interesting if Rivian can stick to the previously announced timeline of assembly in October 2020 and delivery starting in December 2020. I'm a skeptic, so I'm guessing at least 6 months delay if they stick largely to the concept they've been showing. If they try to rivian-ize an F150 that'll take longer.

Concepts are fun, but I always think that the most important vehicle in a segment is the one you can buy.

[Sugarphreak]

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[ExtraSlow]

Test mules with different bodies are not even close to production vehicles.

Don't get me wrong, I'm rooting for them, but let's not misrepresent where they are.

[Sugarphreak]

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[ExtraSlow]

Wonder how they've mated the Rivian "skateboard" to the F150 body. That's a pretty complex thing to do since that body was designed for conventional frame and drivetrain components. If they have a production-ready method to do that, I'm impressed. If it's prototype components, which was my assumption, then I stand by my description of them as test mules.

[suntan]

What they did is they took the Rivian truck and glued a Ford logo on the front.

[Sugarphreak]

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[Xtrema]

EV Truck will be even more niche than EV passenger car/suv. Since they are mostly only used in North America.

Also, Tesla is back above $200.

Looks like sales and delivery staff are getting bonuses if they push past delivery goal for June.

That said, China bullying Tesla has begun:
https://seekingalpha.com/article/426...ses-high-risks

[Sugarphreak]

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[rage2]

The interesting thing for EV trucks is that there's a huge inconvenience/efficiency loss by parking outside especially in the winter. I don't know of any truck owners who park in their garage because of size, so there's a slightly different usage patterns there compared to an EV Sedan/SUV. It'd be interesting to see how that plays out once these trucks hit the market.

[Sugarphreak]

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[Maxt]

A large portion of truck sales are to service people on call that can't have a vehicle on charge with limited range when you need to go now. I've been thinking about the application of the ev truck in my work. It takes less than 10 minutes to fuel my present truck and it has over 1000km's of range with full tool load and it's ready whenever I need it. Rivian is saying 644 Kim's on full charge, but they don't say under what conditions. For charging time, all I can find is 30 minutes to give 200 mile range extension. These ev guys, especially Tesla, need to realize that a lot of fleet truck accessories are universal so they shouldn't be deviating from what we know as standard truck dimensions. It will be interesting to see the towing and hauling tests show up to see how well they handle additional weight as well. I know on the job sites I have a hard enough time finding a plug for my cordless drill batteries, having to look for one for a truck during the work day would be added annoyance.

[Sugarphreak]

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[Xtrema]

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I have a feeling towing is going to kill the range big time... these EV's are optimized for specific loads, suddenly adding more load to the motor would be tricky. It can be done with digital motors, but I wonder if they bothered.

Won't towing a 10,000lb trailer usually drop a 20mpg truck down to 8-10mpg? Why would EV be any different?

400miles of Rivian will be 200miles or less when towing.

Then like Maxt said, it's going to get annoying topping up. 10min at a gas station vs 1hr of Rivian with 150kw charger, if they even exists on your route.

[Sugarphreak]

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[JustinL]

I've been thinking that an electric drive trailer might help that combo for towing. A flat deck trailer has a lot of space for batteries under the deck, and with a small motor it could help offset the added energy cost of towing and do it's own regenerative braking. The problem is obviously now you've got 2 things to charge instead of the one.

[Disoblige]

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I have a feeling towing is going to kill the range big time... these EV's are optimized for specific loads, suddenly adding more load to the motor would be tricky. It can be done with digital motors, but I wonder if they bothered.

What is a digital motor?