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> Tesla has missed on pricing with new vehicle programs before, and inflation has been exceptionally high in the few years between the original unveiling and pr

> Tesla has missed on pricing with new vehicle programs before, and inflation has been exceptionally high in the few years between the original unveiling and pricing of the Cybertruck in 2019 and its start of production last year. > But when it comes to specs, Tesla has generally delivered on its promises. Not with the Cybertruck. Agree. The miss on range with the Cybertruck is too big to ignore. I can understand the price increases due to inflation or whatever. But the enticing thing was getting 500+ miles on the tri motor version, which would have made it unlike anything else - a magical mix of power, utility, and range to put it to use (or just help with range anxiety). The drop from “500+” to 320 is HUGE. I don’t know if this range extender really makes sense either. Will people really pay 16K more to get 120 miles more while losing 1/3rd of their bed space? To me that seems like a bad deal. Why not just get a Model X at that point? As an alternative I would prefer a PHEV truck that provides 50 miles of range so most trips are fully electric, but with a gas engine available for longer trips. The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger will provide that, with an engine that works as a generator (to power electric motors).

kortilla 2y ago
The drop from 500 to 320 also meant that towing a decent load dropped from like 180 to 80. It became useless for anything but around town towing. > The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger will provide that, with an engine that works as a generator (to power electric motors). I’ve heard so little about this since the announcement I’m really worried it’s going to be killed or pushed out 4 years with the rest of the industry walking back their EV promises.
- Maken 2y ago
  Is anyone actually using Cybertrucks for towing heavy loads? I'm under the impression it's mostly a recreational vehicle.
  - masklinn 2y ago
    There are definitely pictures of people who try, one bloke put a towing crane thing in the bed of theirs: https://i.redd.it/32fsd1elmfvd1.jpeg https://i.redd.it/32fsd1elmfvd1.jpeg
    - ZiiS 2y ago
      I think the stickers are the primary function, the crane is only to increase the liklyhood of someone photographing/sharing.
    - JojoFatsani 2y ago
      Really the primary practical use case for the Cybertruck right now is generating YouTube and TikTok content.
  - kortilla 2y ago
    Not really because of the range issue I mentioned. I wanted it to tow my 9,000lb trailer.
gabesullice 2y ago
It'd be funny to hack the range extender's protocol so you could install a diesel electric generator instead of a battery pack.
- ZiiS 2y ago
  A generator capable of more then 20mph charging would be beyond the towing capacity.
  - tzs 2y ago
    Are you sure? Google tells me a Cybertruck uses around 400 Wh of energy per mile. 20 miles worth of charging then would be 8000 Wh. To generate that much in an hour would take an 8000 W generator. The first 8000 W generator I found [1] is 200 lbs. Here's a 24000 W generator [2] that weighs 455 lbs. The weight of its fuel (propane) would be a little under 17 lbs for each hour's worth. [1] https://www.generac.com/residential-products/portable-generators/8000-portable-generator-electric-start-50st-7676/ https://www.generac.com/residential-products/portable-genera... [2] https://www.generac.com/globalassets/products/residential/standby-generators/spec-sheets/20kw-22kw-24kw_guardian-series_aircooled-gasengine_specsheet.pdf https://www.generac.com/globalassets/products/residential/st...
    - ZiiS 2y ago
      Yes I was exaggerating; the 455lbs 24kW generator would probably be >20mph but not the 8000W one given all the losses.
- pbmonster 2y ago
  Interesting project. I wonder if you could get a useful system without using up the entire bed. In order to get "infinite" range while towing, you'd probably want at least a 100kW ICE in the back. A 100kW diesel generator is a beefy boy, those usually come on a two axle trailer. But maybe you could build something more compact with a performance motorcycle engine... Also, can the cybertruck charge its main battery from the range extender? Or can it drive while the charging port is supplied with current? The entire idea kind of dies if the ICE can't charge the main battery, you really want that to buffer demand.
jillesvangurp 2y ago
The range extender is a bit of an odd product considering both the range added (limited) and the form factor (taking up a lot of space in the back). While the range drop is disappointing, it's still plenty of range. More than enough for normal drivers that aren't anxiety ridden about range. Most people only drive about 12000 miles per year. And rarely over 300 in a single day. And when you do go on a long trip: relax, have a break (you'll need it) and charge up the car and yourself. It's not healthy to be on the road non stop regularly. You can charge the car up plenty over a nice lunch break. If you need a second stop after nine hours of driving or so, you need a break as well. And no, you aren't super human. The product itself seems popular. Tesla now is starting to dominate the truck market. And they only barely started ramping up production. It's going to be interesting to see how they'll do when they reach their production volume targets. It's of course a divisive product with its styling and features. But it's arguably performing well in sales. Despite the currently high price.
- jrflowers 2y ago
  >Tesla now is starting to dominate the truck market. Do you mean “dominate” in some sort of philosophical way unrelated to numbers?
  - consp 2y ago
    That statement is spoken by people who only look at the us second quarter ev pickup truck sales and see the cyber truck at even with all others combined. Forgetting that is a tiny niche market, the time window is favourable for the cybertruck and forget the many of petrol versions.
  - jillesvangurp 2y ago
    https://driveteslacanada.ca/news/tesla-cybertruck-dominates-us-ev-pickup-sales-in-q3-2024/ https://driveteslacanada.ca/news/tesla-cybertruck-dominates-... No, as in it's the #3 EV in the US after the other two Teslas and in front of all other EV trucks combined. Based on the numbers.
    - 2y ago
grecy 2y ago
Photos of the battery show it is half only full of cells, and a lead engineer at Tesla commented as much. I think it likely there will be a much higher range version later, but they’re cell constrained for now so they’re only putting one layer of cells into the pack
- Eggpants 2y ago
  I suspect they are more constrained by cell thermals/cooling otherwise why take the obvious PR hit of providing much less range than promised.

kortilla 2y ago

The drop from 500 to 320 also meant that towing a decent load dropped from like 180 to 80. It became useless for anything but around town towing. > The 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger will provide that, with an engine that works as a generator (to power electric motors). I’ve heard so little about this since the announcement I’m really worried it’s going to be killed or pushed out 4 years with the rest of the industry walking back their EV promises.

Maken 2y ago
Is anyone actually using Cybertrucks for towing heavy loads? I'm under the impression it's mostly a recreational vehicle.
- masklinn 2y ago
  There are definitely pictures of people who try, one bloke put a towing crane thing in the bed of theirs: https://i.redd.it/32fsd1elmfvd1.jpeg https://i.redd.it/32fsd1elmfvd1.jpeg
  - ZiiS 2y ago
    I think the stickers are the primary function, the crane is only to increase the liklyhood of someone photographing/sharing.
  - JojoFatsani 2y ago
    Really the primary practical use case for the Cybertruck right now is generating YouTube and TikTok content.
- kortilla 2y ago
  Not really because of the range issue I mentioned. I wanted it to tow my 9,000lb trailer.

gabesullice 2y ago

It'd be funny to hack the range extender's protocol so you could install a diesel electric generator instead of a battery pack.

ZiiS 2y ago
A generator capable of more then 20mph charging would be beyond the towing capacity.
- tzs 2y ago
  Are you sure? Google tells me a Cybertruck uses around 400 Wh of energy per mile. 20 miles worth of charging then would be 8000 Wh. To generate that much in an hour would take an 8000 W generator. The first 8000 W generator I found [1] is 200 lbs. Here's a 24000 W generator [2] that weighs 455 lbs. The weight of its fuel (propane) would be a little under 17 lbs for each hour's worth. [1] https://www.generac.com/residential-products/portable-generators/8000-portable-generator-electric-start-50st-7676/ https://www.generac.com/residential-products/portable-genera... [2] https://www.generac.com/globalassets/products/residential/standby-generators/spec-sheets/20kw-22kw-24kw_guardian-series_aircooled-gasengine_specsheet.pdf https://www.generac.com/globalassets/products/residential/st...
  - ZiiS 2y ago
    Yes I was exaggerating; the 455lbs 24kW generator would probably be >20mph but not the 8000W one given all the losses.
pbmonster 2y ago
Interesting project. I wonder if you could get a useful system without using up the entire bed. In order to get "infinite" range while towing, you'd probably want at least a 100kW ICE in the back. A 100kW diesel generator is a beefy boy, those usually come on a two axle trailer. But maybe you could build something more compact with a performance motorcycle engine... Also, can the cybertruck charge its main battery from the range extender? Or can it drive while the charging port is supplied with current? The entire idea kind of dies if the ICE can't charge the main battery, you really want that to buffer demand.

jillesvangurp 2y ago

The range extender is a bit of an odd product considering both the range added (limited) and the form factor (taking up a lot of space in the back). While the range drop is disappointing, it's still plenty of range. More than enough for normal drivers that aren't anxiety ridden about range. Most people only drive about 12000 miles per year. And rarely over 300 in a single day. And when you do go on a long trip: relax, have a break (you'll need it) and charge up the car and yourself. It's not healthy to be on the road non stop regularly. You can charge the car up plenty over a nice lunch break. If you need a second stop after nine hours of driving or so, you need a break as well. And no, you aren't super human. The product itself seems popular. Tesla now is starting to dominate the truck market. And they only barely started ramping up production. It's going to be interesting to see how they'll do when they reach their production volume targets. It's of course a divisive product with its styling and features. But it's arguably performing well in sales. Despite the currently high price.

jrflowers 2y ago
>Tesla now is starting to dominate the truck market. Do you mean “dominate” in some sort of philosophical way unrelated to numbers?
- consp 2y ago
  That statement is spoken by people who only look at the us second quarter ev pickup truck sales and see the cyber truck at even with all others combined. Forgetting that is a tiny niche market, the time window is favourable for the cybertruck and forget the many of petrol versions.
- jillesvangurp 2y ago
  https://driveteslacanada.ca/news/tesla-cybertruck-dominates-us-ev-pickup-sales-in-q3-2024/ https://driveteslacanada.ca/news/tesla-cybertruck-dominates-... No, as in it's the #3 EV in the US after the other two Teslas and in front of all other EV trucks combined. Based on the numbers.
  - 2y ago

grecy 2y ago

Photos of the battery show it is half only full of cells, and a lead engineer at Tesla commented as much. I think it likely there will be a much higher range version later, but they’re cell constrained for now so they’re only putting one layer of cells into the pack

Eggpants 2y ago
I suspect they are more constrained by cell thermals/cooling otherwise why take the obvious PR hit of providing much less range than promised.