7 ms·
Designers say only way to fix Tesla Cybertruck is to start over
- chrisfosterelli 3y agoThis article seems to consist solely of quotes from another article, which itself is based entirely on an email exchange with another reporter, thrown in with some jokes at Musk's expense. Musk is an odd one but I find the people obsessed with making everything about how much of a failure they think he is even weirder.
- HlessClaudesman 3y agoAll those hard surfaces and sharp angles, looks dangerous to other road users. Have safety studies been done on this design vs. pedestrians? Just because Elon Musk is enthusiastic about something doesn't make it a good idea.
- mattlondon 3y agoIsn't it already the case in the US that trucks and large SUVs etc don't count as cars, so don't have to follow any crash safety rules? I.e. they technically classed as agricultural vehicles or something, so like you wouldn't expect a combine harvester to be particularly nice to pedestrians or other road users either, these large vehicles are treated the same in the eyes of the law?
- gottorf 3y agoThe usual line is 10,000lbs GVWR, which is met only by three-quarter-ton and heavier pickups (think F-250, Silverado 2500 HD, etc.), among vehicles that people actually drive on public roads. That lets manufacturers skip having an MPG estimate, and some FMVSS regulations don't apply to trucks of that size, though it's certainly not a free-for-all once that line is crossed.
- hathchip 3y agoCan't see ISIS adopting this truck any time soon.
- financypants 3y agoWhy are “dead straight panels” not advantageous in manufacturing or functionality? Are curved panels easier to deal with?
- mattlondon 3y agoGetting all of those dead straight lines to line up perfectly and not look awful is the challenge I think. The eye is quite good at spotting straight lines, so a tiny difference will be obvious immediately. On a more "normally" shaped car there are curves and sweeps and things that change radius and direction as they move down the car, and other straight things like window sills etc are broken up by door pillars etc) so it is harder for the eye to ntice when things are 2mm out front-to-back.
- Geisterde 3y agoAn allegedly leaked email from musk described it as important that the straight panels are ruthlessly dimensionally accurate because imperfections are easier to spot. Real? Who knows.
- csours 3y agoFlat metal panels are subject to oil-canning, among other problems. Any distortion may cause ripples to show up. It can also cause a vibration due to airflow sometimes. Making the panels out of thicker metal help both of these problems, but also increase weight. Using a curved panel gives you a little margin to move small problems to the top or bottom of the panel. A curve next to a curve doesn't give a strong visual cue for lateral offset, but a sharp angle next to a sharp angle does. This is also why a very slight orange peel texture in paint is not always a bad thing.
- drcongo 3y agoMe, 3 months ago: "The Cybertruck is unlikely to be sold in any market." - wasn't popular with the Muskbros. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35914808 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35914808
- 4b11b4 3y agoThis article stinks of...
- ericfrazier 3y agoThere are so many electric trucks out there that look like real trucks. Why would anyone buy the cybertruck?
- orev 3y agoTo make a statement. When the Prius came out it was clearly designed to be very unique so people knew it was a new type of vehicle (hybrid). If you wanted to make sure everyone knew you were being environmental, you got a Prius because it was obvious. The uniqueness was a driving force in getting the concept of hybrids to be more accepted, since at the time the whole concept of any type of electric vehicle was completely foreign, and seeing these unique things on the road actually helped them to be accepted.
- jfengel 3y ago"Real trucks" look the way they do because that's what is easy to do with the manufacturing techniques they use. The "Cybertruck" is manufactured differently and so you'd expect it to look different. Time will tell whether it can do the job, assuming we ever see one. But there's no reason to think that only current trucks can ever do that job.
- coldtea 3y agoBut we're getting to Mars soon, don't worry... /s
- valine 3y agoThis is cringy. I’m no fan of Musk but SpaceX is making consistent progress on their fully reusable rocket. There’s plenty of reasons to criticize Musk without pretending SpaceX is a failure.
- mcv 3y agoAre they? The Falcon is great, but I'm not quite as convinced about Starship.
- Firaxus 3y agoStarship development is making steady progress; most of the slowness is due to adhering to the timelines of regulatory bodies like the FAA. And I think it’s good they go slowly, building the most powerful rocket thus far in our history is dangerous work. But their approach of rapid prototyping and testing to failure seems to be working, and produces pretty fantastic visuals for us to watch. Just look at the last static fire test completed a couple days ago.
- coding123 3y agoIt should look more like a truck first of all. Second it should have truck-like capabilities: Camper NO, Fifth Wheel NO, Travel Trailer YES. Most Normal trucks can do the other 2. It's not a truck.
- jqpabc123 3y agoForm over function --- the unescapable badge of inexperience.
- toomuchtodo 3y agoPeople are buying status symbols. Sell to them if they choose to. https://www.thedrive.com/news/26907/you-dont-need-a-full-size-pickup-truck-you-need-a-cowboy-costume https://www.thedrive.com/news/26907/you-dont-need-a-full-siz...
- jqpabc123 3y ago[flagged]
- sidewndr46 3y agoif you look back at the development of the Honda Ridgeline, the 1st gen had this weird bed structure where it was sloped. Structurally and aerodynamically this is great. From a functional standpoint it makes it difficult if not impossible to load and unload from the sides of the bed. They 2nd generation uses a more traditional bed design. I suspect the cybertruck will wind up with a similar makeover
- ahahahahah 3y ago> I suspect the cybertruck will wind up with a similar makeover They haven't been able to redesign or even facelift the 11 year old Model S. You may be right, but it'll be a while.
- bryanlarsen 3y agoI'm over 6 feet tall with unnaturally long arms, and I find it hard to load and unload a 2021 Silverado from the sides since trucks are so much higher today than they used to be.
- h2odragon 3y agoIs it better than a LUV? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_LUV https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_LUV Awful little vehicles. Used to burst into flames overnight an unattended without even the excuse of charging a battery. Always figured that they were self-immolating from shame.
- laweijfmvo 3y agoIt wouldn't be that hard. They already have great power trains. Just make it look like a normal truck.
- neom 3y agoWasn't one of the big issues with the DeLorean that steel on the body is seriously difficult to deal with when it's damaged? The guy from the LegitStreetCars youtube channel just bought one and he mentioned that if there is dents and dings it's really really hard to correct them, so when you're looking for a barn find DeLorean one of the most important things is the body is in good shape. Seems like similar issues would be present in the cybertruck? Edit: Quick google search turned up this article: https://www.autoblog.com/2019/11/22/tesla-cybertruck-stainless-steel-body/ https://www.autoblog.com/2019/11/22/tesla-cybertruck-stainle... (Pretty interesting watch if you're into cars re: DeLorean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCcrVF8sR8k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCcrVF8sR8k)
- matthewaveryusa 3y agoThere's damage and there's damage. If the cybertruck advents a culture of dents and dings being ok on vehicles that's a net positive. Perfection is not only a fools errand, but a burden. It makes the barrier of entry to enjoyment that much higher. Let your bumper get bumped, it's all better that way anyways.
- porkbeer 3y agoSadly, It does the opposite. Dings and uneven grain in stainless drives people crazy. Think how many kitchen sinks have been replaced by a similar one because it 'looks old'. A look at the delorean market confirms that.
- Gibbon1 3y agoI joke that the scratches, dents, and rust spots on my old vans are 'patina'. I think that its okay with work vehicles because up until recently no one bought them because they're wow pretty. Compare a dented truck with a Lexus with body damage. The Cyber truck is probably a lot more like a Lexus than a pickup truck.
- shalmanese 3y ago
- justrealist 3y agoDesigners push for a redesign? Next thing you know, you'll tell me that dentists like to find cavities. Or that scorpions like to sting frogs.
- dangus 3y agoI think the headline makes this sound more dramatic of a problem than it really is. The real question is whether any of the imperfections will stop buyers. I personally don’t think it will. The kind of person who wants a Cybertruck has their mind made up. People buy rustic chic gear all the time. I also think that it wouldn’t be that hard for Tesla to make a non-stainless version in the future. Maybe I’m naive about the manufacturing process but I don’t think that would constitute “starting over.” Or you can just get a vinyl wrap, which barely costs more than a typical paint upgrade.
- doctorpangloss 3y agohmm, do you think a lucrative vehicle is like a lucrative video game, which recoups all its costs in the first week? Or do you think it's like the other kind of lucrative video game, that was made very cheaply and is continuously delivered very slowly over time, usually for free, monetizing a very small number of very strange people? A flawed vehicle is neither of these. It is really expensive to make, and must recoup its costs over a very long period of time, where the 100,000th buyer will have all the wisdom from the previous 99,999 buyers.
- dangus 3y agoI think that customers very regularly buy flawed vehicles. Some of the most consistently popular SUVs and trucks are have had pretty low build quality for long stretches. Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler… It’s not like the biggest selling trucks are known for build quality. It’s Ford, GM, and Dodge we are talking about here. Hell, Tesla’s existing lineup’s build quality is a running joke, that hasn’t stopped them from selling a lot of vehicles. The article is bringing up a legitimate issue but I just don’t think it will matter for sales. The cyberbro demographic cares about panel gaps as much as the typical Escalade buyer. The electric truck market in this price range is basically just the F-150, and while we don’t know the Cybertruck’s price, I think it’s going to launch in a way that is very cognizant of the street price of the F-150 and well below the Rivian R1T.