Tesla's electric pickup truck flouts convention with angular design and armored glass

[snoop1130]

Tesla's electric pickup truck flouts convention with angular design and armored glass

By Naomi Tajitsu, Peter Henderson

 

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk stands in front of the company's first electric pickup truck, the Cybertruck, after it was unveiled in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 21, 2019, in this frame grab made from the livestream of the unveiling event. Tesla/Handout via REUTERS.

 

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) on Thursday unveiled its electric pickup truck with a futuristic angular body in gunmetal gray that looked like an armored vehicle, as the California company took aim at the heart of Detroit automakers’ profits.

 

With a starting price of $39,900, the Cyber truck is less expensive than initially flagged but its polarising design could limit sales in a segment symbolic of a rugged, practical American lifestyle.

 

At a launch event in Los Angeles, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said other versions will be priced at $49,900 and $69,900 with the most expensive offering a range of more than 500 miles (800 km). Production is expected to begin around late 2021.

 

“We need sustainable energy now. If we don’t have a pickup truck, we can’t solve it. The top three selling vehicles in America are pickup trucks. To solve sustainable energy, we have to have a pickup truck,” he said.

 

The truck’s hulking sharp geometric body was made from stainless steel, set atop massive tires and had windows made from armored glass.

 

“It will be a niche product at best and poses no threat in the pickup market as we know it today,” wrote Matt DeLorenzo, senior executive editor at automotive research company Kelley Blue Book.

 

Musk claimed the truck’s “ultra-hard” exterior “won’t scratch and dent”. But the armored glass window cracked like a spider web when hit with a metal ball during a demonstration. Musk appeared surprised although he noted the glass had not completely broken.

 

Reactions on Twitter ranged from love to hate.

 

“I just watched tesla release the #cybertruck and honestly? My life feels complete,” wrote @aidan_tenud, while @nateallensnyde wrote “Its nice to see Elon Musk make a cardboard box car he drew in kindergarten,”.

 

Musk earlier tweeted the design was partly influenced by the Lotus Esprit sportscar that doubled as a submarine in the 1970s James Bond film “The Spy Who Loved Me”.

 

The truck marks the first foray by Tesla, whose Model 3 sedan is the world’s top-selling battery electric car, into pickup trucks, a market dominated by Ford Motor Co’s (F.N) F-150, along with models by General Motors Co (GM.N), and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCHA.MI) (FCAU.N).

 

FORD, GM GEAR UP TOO

 

Tesla’s focus on the high-performance end of the market is only natural given the success of Ford’s 450-horsepower F-150 Raptor truck, which launched in 2009 and whose sales have since risen annually, according to Ford spokesman Mike Levine.

 

While Ford does not disclose Raptor sales, Levine said annual demand is well above 19,000 vehicles and the No. 2 U.S. automaker has never had to offer incentives on the model, which costs in the high $60,000 range. Ford also offers the more expensive F-150 Limited, its most powerful and luxurious pickup.

 

Ford and GM are also gearing up to challenge Tesla more directly with new offerings like the Ford Mustang Mach E electric SUV as well as electric pickups.

 

Electric pickups and SUVs could help Ford and GM generate the significant EV sales they will need to meet tougher emission standards and EV mandates in California and other states.

 

The Trump administration is moving to roll back those standards, but electric trucks are a hedge if California prevails.

 

Demand for full-size electric pickup trucks in the near term may not be huge, however.

 

Industry tracking firm IHS Markit estimates the electric truck segment - both full- and mid-sized models - will account for about 75,000 sales in 2026, compared with an expected 3 million light trucks overall. The Tesla truck is not part of that estimate.

 

Ford aims to sell an electric F-series in late 2021, sources familiar with the plans said. It also will offer the Mach E next year as part of its plan to invest $11.5 billion by 2022 to electrify its vehicles.

 

In April, Ford invested $500 million in startup Rivian, which plans to build its own electric pickup beginning in fall 2020.

 

GM plans to build a family of premium electric pickup trucks and SUVs, with the first pickup due to go on sale in the fall of 2021. It plans to invest $8 billion by 2023 to develop electric and self-driving vehicles.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-22

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[Crossy]

Yuk!

[Crossy]

I knew I'd seen it somewhere.

 

 

https://qz.com/quartzy/1335170/critics-named-mad-max-fury-road-the-best-australian-film-of-the-21st-century/

 

[MeePeeMai]

It would appear that the back seat is just for little people.

[OneMoreFarang]

I wonder how many US pickup drivers want to have a pickup which looks like a driving stealth fighter.

 

[ratcatcher]

Electric or not it's one ugly chunk of metal or carbon fibre.

 

[Samuel Smith]

I prefer this artist's render of the truck

 

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-pickup-truck-unveiling-event-date-november/

 

Edited November 22, 2019 by Samuel Smith

[Sunmaster]

Both "tests" were quite embarrassing. The design is...well...I guess it will grow on you (not me).

[billd766]

That must win an award for the ugliest POS ever designed, let alone built.

[dabhand]

Does it navigate corners and bends?

Edited November 22, 2019 by dabhand

[Scot123]

Ah another carbon footprint for a vehicle that no doubt equals 5 or more conventional vehicles which uses electricity obtained by even larger carbon footprints which neve will reach zero carbon. How stupid people are and the same smug people preaching this flying around in their private jets saying at cocktail parties all about their electric vehicles they do not use. 

[PremiumLane]

damn, that is ugly

[MeePeeMai]

It looks like something that a few drunk rednecks slapped together in their garage (red neck dune buggy).

[klauskunkel]

It's designed for the Rapper Market and Drive-by-Gangsters

[lust]

I think it’s kinda cool I guess.

 

I like this though.

 

[rwill]

they could have used that for the cave rescue

[30la]

Who needs a joke like that?

[canuckamuck]

Here is the conception.

The father is one of last surviving aztecs.

Edited November 23, 2019 by canuckamuck

[canopy]

The reaction of most people seems to be not liking the look; fair enough and that is a big question if bread and butter truck drivers from the red states in America will even buy something that looks like that. I prefer the look to the cookie cutter trucks from everyone else that bore me to death. The other predictable reaction is having a laugh at the window breaking, but also predictable is absolutely no one is talking about the previous test that proved their glass is tougher than pickup glass. That is a welcome feature in a country where rocks often break windshields. The specs of the truck blew me away beginning to end. They completely rethought what the pickup is, not just slapped an electric motor in just another basic, boring truck. Love how the tailgate can tilt down and telescope into a loading ramp, the adjustable gas suspension for a comfortable ride when you aren't hauling (so nice on Thailand's bumpy roads), the ding proof stainless steel body will be heaven at parking lots, the bed that closes into a locked rain proof vault & other storage areas, seats up to 6, just full of brand new ideas and this is version 1! It's going to be a tough act to follow for any truck after seeing that.

 

BUT being realistic it will be another 3 years before any sort of general availability in the US, maybe more as Tesla dates tend to be unrealistic. And then how many years after that to get to Thailand, if ever? And then the government regulators are sure to quadruple the price with tariffs for some moronic reason or another like not wanting to hurt thai factories churning out the boring vigos we are all supposed to buy instead.

 

[canuckamuck]

Well I did post the meme about the looks, but truthfully, I think this thing is way cool, and I would get one if I lived over there.

[worgeordie]

It looks like something a sheet metal worker would

knock up in his spare time,if he did not have an english wheel.

regards worgeordie

[transam]

I think the blokes crackers...????

[Krataiboy]

 its polarising design

 

Practical, I would have thought, rather than polarising. The way the world is going we may all soon need armour plating. 

[Burma Bill]

 

From various international news media outlets, this is the latest during a test of its so-called armored glass windows, which went horribly wrong during a public demonstration when rocks were thrown at it - loss of face for Elon Musk!

 

[transam]

Think he has been trawling through British Leylands archives....????

 

 

 

[Tayaout]

I like it and Tesla accept Bitcoin payment. 

[canopy]

27 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

this is the latest during a test of its so-called armored glass windows, which went horribly wrong during a public demonstration when rocks were thrown at it

I enjoyed Elon's reaction: "Oh my f****** god!". But some speculate it was planned to pump up the publicity it would get, who knows. But no, rocks were not thrown at it. It was a big steel ball bearing. And what did you think of the part where they tested the toughness of the new tesla glass versus ordinary pickup truck glass where the tesla glass was rock solid and the regular truck glass shattered in no time? Or the bulletproof steel? Pretty impressive overall for a pickup right? And as Elon noted, even the steel ball didn't go through the window. He also said there is still room for improvement. I think there will be a followup to this. How about round 2 at the next show? Sounds fun.

 

Edited November 23, 2019 by canopy

[rwill]

3 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

From various international news media outlets, this is the latest during a test of its so-called armored glass windows, which went horribly wrong during a public demonstration when rocks were thrown at it - loss of face for Elon Musk!

 

That is still better than his SpaceX rocket blowing up recently.

[canopy]

That's a good lead into another unique attribute of this pickup.  Unlike others Tesla has a cold rolled stainless steel exoskeleton, the same used on Tesla rockets. And unlike others pickups, it does not have a frame. Think of the old days bi-planes were made of wood frames with canvas wrapped around it. Modern planes the aluminum skin of the fuselage/wing IS the frame. This is stronger and lighter. People who rode in the cyber truck said it resulted in more spaciousness even though from the outside it is the same size as others.

 

 

And as we saw, it's so tough it takes 9mm bullets and sledge hammers don't dent it. While Tesla leveraged technology from the aerospace industry, all the other pickups are still out there building old fashioned frames. I don't know why no other auto maker has innovated the pickup in the last 100 years. Tesla has completely rethought everything from the ground up. It makes all the others seem so utterly boring for being the same old thing with different badges. I am thinking how could I ever be happy with a normal pickup after seeing what a pickup could/should really be like? I almost wish I hadn't seen it.

 

Edited November 24, 2019 by canopy

[Langsuan Man]

It is a "pickup"  but just try and find an image or picture of the truck bed

 

Don't know about anyone else but the only real reason to purchase a pickup is so that you can use it to pickup things, something that is a real mystery with what we have see so far