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Tesla Cybertruck Loses to Model X in Towing Range Test – Again
- CarVac 2y agoThe Kammback tail of the Model X looks clearly better for aerodynamics when towing than the wider and lower Cybertruck's tailgate.
- jfim 2y agoRealistically, it's a difference of about 15 miles of effective range between the vehicles.
- spacedcowboy 2y agoWhich, given the 20% larger battery on the "truck", is quite a difference.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- metadat 2y agoThe "truck" weighs around 20% more (CT @ 6,000 lbs vs X @ 5000 lbs), so the larger battery pack effect is nullified and cancels out.
- jodleif 2y agoIt’s more likely about aerodynamics (unless you’re going uphill with no regen, or doing a lot of stop/start)
- Tostino 2y agoThat's not how these calculations work at all. Weight (if it doesn't change the size or shape) really only has an effect on rolling resistance, which is a small portion of overall losses. The extra weight should make a marginal difference in efficiency. Just expect more tire wear.
- ssl-3 2y agoThat seems to be a rather simplified view, as if stemming from the world of frictionless pulleys and rope that does not stretch. These are self-propelled electric vehicles that have regenerative braking. Regen is miles ahead of just dumping momentum as heat [as conventional brakes must] but it can never be 100% efficient -- and it may not even be able to begin to try to capture 100% of that momentum in the first place, depending on the particular braking circumstance. These characteristics weigh heavily on how such vehicles perform in the real world, especially when the terrain is not flat. (And in this test, the terrain was not flat.)
- Tostino 2y agoIt is a pretty simplified view. I wrote an electric vehicle power / efficiency / range estimation program back in college when I was very into building electric bikes. (More advanced version of the ebikes.ca calculator for an example). There were a whole lot of parameters that went into actually estimating the performance, but the general rule of thumb was rolling resistance is pretty much worth ignoring (for efficiency) until you have spent time optimizing aero and drivetrain losses. It was pretty damn close to real world measurements. I'm going to use rules of thumb rather than exactly calculating things for a colloquial conversation online.
- aziaziazi 2y agoDoesn’t weight have a massive effect on power needed for acceleration ? To go from A to B You need to get up to speed but also acceleration for regulating your speed after taking a turn, crossing a traffic light, passing someone over…
- seadan83 2y agoIf we ignore air resistance, then weight and time are the only variables needed to determine the power needed for a given acceleration. Force is related to mass through "F=ma", and power is effectively force over time. Though, neglecting air resistance is a huge deal. A cyclist traveling over 20mph is spending something like 90% of their energy at that point overcoming air resistance. For objects travelling faster, it's a square low of how much more power is needed. Air resistance is a very huge effect. With that said, if travel is dominated by accelerating and decelerating (eg: urban or mountainous environments), then yeah - weight is a huge big deal.
- rvnx 2y agoIs that a good thing to have a very heavy car ?
- lm28469 2y agoYes, it decrease range, increase road wear, increase tire/brake pollution, decrease road safety I can't think of a single negative thing
- blitzar 2y agoBigger and heavier cars are more expensive, thus they are worth more and they must be better.
- rvnx 2y agoOk, I get it, there is more metal, so the scrap value is higher. Makes sense.
- superb_dev 2y agoAnd it has a much higher tow capacity
- JumpCrisscross 2y agoCan the Cybertruck tow more mass? (Don't know car terms. Sorry.)
- m463 2y agothat's what I wondered. I was wondering if the cybertruck could tow trailers the model X could not. EDIT: Cybertruck (all three versions) Maximum Towing Capacity. 11,000 lb Model X has two capacities: 275/45R20 tires + Class III hitch = 5000 lb 285/35R22 tires + Class II hitch = 3500 lb
- wmeredith 2y agoThe cyber truck can tow more than twice the payload. My Jeep can probably tow a couple jet skis further than my friend’s Ford F35O can tow his 26’ gooseneck RV. Who cares?
- LeafItAlone 2y ago> Who cares? If all you are ever going to tow is a couple of jet skis, then your jeep would be the better vehicle (if evaluating solely on towing distance). If you own a trailer like this one and are deciding if you need the Cybertruck to tow it, you have the data. Knowing capabilities and data helps make better choices.
- FireBeyond 2y agoAgreed. An Audi station wagon can (and commonly is seen) tow a horse trailer comfortably. It's mentality. In the US, I've seen attitudes of "well, I move my horse twice a year from a summer to a winter pasture" which apparently equates to "... so of course I need an F-350 Superduty DRW ("dually")."
- __m 2y agoMusk: "We dug our own grave with cybertruck" [0] [0] https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/10/elon-musk-talks-tesla-we-dug-our-own-grave-with-the-cybertruck/ https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/10/elon-musk-talks-tesla-w...
- AutoDunkGPT 2y agothat could mean anything, really
- qarl 2y agoI think it means they made some big mistakes.
- throwthrowuknow 2y agoComparison on efficiency is silly. People don’t buy full ton trucks with duallies because they get better gas mileage.
- everdrive 2y agoNot when range is a concern -- efficiency directly speaks to range, and it's towing range which is the primary weakness of EV trucks. If you just wanted to haul heavy loads in the bed, I wouldn't necessarily think that an F-150 Lightning or Cyber Truck are all that inferior. (just too expensive)
- netule 2y agoYeah, they do. When towing a couple horses across state lines I don’t want to subject those poor animals to stopping every 90-100 miles for an hour to charge. I don’t even want to subject myself to that.
- SkyPuncher 2y agoFuel efficiency is absolutely a concern with regards to operating costs. The people that really need to haul things absolutely care about how expensive it is to run a vehicle.
- wcarron 2y agoI have never seen a person with a dualie who actually hauled things. They're cosplay items. Fuel efficiency is a negative for that market segment.
- grepfru_it 2y agoTell us you live in the suburbs without telling us you live in the suburbs (come visit some country folk, or work with construction crews on a regular basis to change that opinion)
- wcarron 2y ago
- vel0city 2y agoWhat's the range of a Model X towing 10,000lbs? A mile before you break something? A Prius might have massively more towing range than an F-350, assuming you're towing a tiny trailer.
- LegitShady 2y ago0 km, its twice the best tow rating of a model X and you'd likely lose your warranty if you tried to tow something that heavy.
- SkyPuncher 2y agoFor highway driving, in most places, aerodynamic drag is far more important than weight. I get nearly the same gas mileage towing a 1.5k kb ATV trailer as my dad gets pulling a 7.5k trailer. The frontal area of both trailers is roughly the same. They both need about 150 horse power to tow at 70 mph.