idleprocess
Flashaholic
There's probably a market for something that looks exactly like that. I just don't think it's large enough to justify launching the vehicle as-is.
I can appreciate some of the underlying concepts. The slab-sided design in particular - modern trucks are as sculpted as modern cars, thus every scratch and dent is magnified. With the exoskeleton concept out of stainless, dents pretty much won't happen and scratches won't stand out and will become part of the character of the vehicle.
But, wow, is that squashed-pentagon side profile problematic when it comes to usage. Sure, the market here is firmly lifestyle truckshttps://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgor...ps-the-next-big-thing-in-trucks/#15c0070e4c3f, which do serious hauling and towing perhaps ~annually. But corner cases drive vehicle purchasing decisions - be it 0-100 times for sports cars, 9-passenger seating in the family SUV "for soccer practice", or towing capacity for the daily driver full-size truck - these may not be used routinely enough to justify the purchase economically, but their presence is important during that all-important moment when the customer makes the decision to buy.
The Cybertruck may well hit a number of lifestyle truck qualifications on paper in terms of bed capacity/weight rating, towing capacity, etc. But it's also missing numerous key features such as easy side-access to the bed and compatibility with common truck accessories that will work on pretty much every other lifestyle truck. Sure, it can tow, go grab a load of mulch, and likely offroad like other trucks. But as it currently stands there's not a lot of path towards the commercial vehicles that the lifestyle truck is drawn from. Love them or hate them, full-size trucks have evolved steadily over the past ~century towards their present form for good reasons that suit the needs of commercial users. And this appeal is something that lifestyle trucks lean on heavily in their marketing even if most of them will never haul horse trailers nor sport a ladder rack in their life.
Thus, while it is very likely that Tesla will release a truck called the Cybertruck, I suspect the final product will undergo some changes.
And while Tesla is clearly aiming this at the lifestyle truck segment, I see some potential in the commercial market. Some huge percentage of the work trucks I see in the DFW area pretty clearly drive no more than 100 miles a day only partially burdened with materials; I suspect this is common throughout the country. The ability to provide power to small/medium tools seems like a good feature - heck there's a mobile dog groomer that I see occasionally in my neighborhood whose generator can be heard for blocks.
EDIT: I should add that while the article I linked cites "lifestyle trucks" as the emerging mid-size concept - ala the new Ford Ranger, Chevy Colorado, and the Jeep Gladiator - here in DFW the 1500-class quad-cab truck has been the daily driver of choice for a large segment of the population for going on two decades. A 1500-class truck won't be seen hauling a gooseneck trailer but they do consistently switch-hit as lighter-duty work trucks, especially by the time they're 15+ years old on their 3rd+ owner, and are sporting ladder racks, serious towing packages, well-used toolboxes, and a random collection of dents and scratches the owner would never consider fixing.
I can appreciate some of the underlying concepts. The slab-sided design in particular - modern trucks are as sculpted as modern cars, thus every scratch and dent is magnified. With the exoskeleton concept out of stainless, dents pretty much won't happen and scratches won't stand out and will become part of the character of the vehicle.
But, wow, is that squashed-pentagon side profile problematic when it comes to usage. Sure, the market here is firmly lifestyle truckshttps://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgor...ps-the-next-big-thing-in-trucks/#15c0070e4c3f, which do serious hauling and towing perhaps ~annually. But corner cases drive vehicle purchasing decisions - be it 0-100 times for sports cars, 9-passenger seating in the family SUV "for soccer practice", or towing capacity for the daily driver full-size truck - these may not be used routinely enough to justify the purchase economically, but their presence is important during that all-important moment when the customer makes the decision to buy.
The Cybertruck may well hit a number of lifestyle truck qualifications on paper in terms of bed capacity/weight rating, towing capacity, etc. But it's also missing numerous key features such as easy side-access to the bed and compatibility with common truck accessories that will work on pretty much every other lifestyle truck. Sure, it can tow, go grab a load of mulch, and likely offroad like other trucks. But as it currently stands there's not a lot of path towards the commercial vehicles that the lifestyle truck is drawn from. Love them or hate them, full-size trucks have evolved steadily over the past ~century towards their present form for good reasons that suit the needs of commercial users. And this appeal is something that lifestyle trucks lean on heavily in their marketing even if most of them will never haul horse trailers nor sport a ladder rack in their life.
Thus, while it is very likely that Tesla will release a truck called the Cybertruck, I suspect the final product will undergo some changes.
- Crash safety : The present design looks like it will annihilate anything it comes into contact with - other cars, pedestrians, its own occupants. I suspect an actual release will incorporate something along the lines of crumple zones and some cowcatcher-like elements so as not to strike pedestrians flat or with hard angles. It's possible to maintain the faceted look; they'll just have to throw more polygons at the design.
- Body profile : While there's no need to amalgamate all the best features of the various full-size trucks on the market into something indistinguishable, there are still changes that could be made to nod towards the commercial use that lifestyle trucks borrow their profiles from: easier side access to the bed, flat bed rails (or the option to readily convert to flat bed rails), a flat roof. Something unique to EV drivetrains that Tesla could do is move the cab forward since the "frunk" isn't a critical feature and there's no need to dictate so much volume to engine bay - this could make the bed longer and/or create more volume for the cab.
And while Tesla is clearly aiming this at the lifestyle truck segment, I see some potential in the commercial market. Some huge percentage of the work trucks I see in the DFW area pretty clearly drive no more than 100 miles a day only partially burdened with materials; I suspect this is common throughout the country. The ability to provide power to small/medium tools seems like a good feature - heck there's a mobile dog groomer that I see occasionally in my neighborhood whose generator can be heard for blocks.
EDIT: I should add that while the article I linked cites "lifestyle trucks" as the emerging mid-size concept - ala the new Ford Ranger, Chevy Colorado, and the Jeep Gladiator - here in DFW the 1500-class quad-cab truck has been the daily driver of choice for a large segment of the population for going on two decades. A 1500-class truck won't be seen hauling a gooseneck trailer but they do consistently switch-hit as lighter-duty work trucks, especially by the time they're 15+ years old on their 3rd+ owner, and are sporting ladder racks, serious towing packages, well-used toolboxes, and a random collection of dents and scratches the owner would never consider fixing.
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