Excellent Tesla Cybertruck review - Jason Cammisa

[E9Wayne]

Well, about 180 degrees removed from our beloved Coupes, there is finally the Cybertruck to understand and ponder...4 years ago when I first saw this I thought it was a joke and that it was a mad interpretation of form over function. And I don't care much for Elon's recent political forays much either. But this new Tesla has quite a lot going for it and the engineering is quite break through underneath that stainless shell. Informative and funny review of the Cybertruck from one of my two favorite auto journalists - the other is Dan Neil from the WSJ.

 

[scottevest]

I completely agree. I really hate the way it looks but the engineering is amazing.

 

[boonies]

I agree as well re. Elon..enough said on that front.

I will definitely watch the video, but as a Tesla Model S owner I must say that the cyber truck is just.., well...fugly..

 

[E9Wayne]

I agree as well re. Elon..enough said on that front.

I will definitely watch the video, but as a Tesla Model S owner I must say that the cyber truck is just.., well...fugly..

When I drove my first Model S in 2012 after its debut (I was a product planner at Audi at the time) I was amazed at the sheer acceleration, near silence and lack of vibration, but also taken aback at the build quality, fit and finish and general steering and handling feel which I felt was lacking; to be fair, Tesla has improved the build quality a lot since then. The software was also brilliant and how the car would reinvent itself every so often when the engineers had better audio/navigation or even door handle retraction...the Cyber truck sounds like it will ride and handle a lot better with 4 wheel steering and that interest application of steering by wire...

 

[Stevehose]

I have nothing against the Cyber truck and think the tech is cool but I predict it will flop. What happens to battery life once you actually use it to tow or haul heavy loads? Cost of repair when you hit that fence post on the farm? It will be a fashion accessory for the drive-thru at Starbucks but no use for people who earn a living or recreate with their truck. They can't give away F-150 Lightnings. My $.02.

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

It will be a fashion accessory for the drive-thru at Starbucks ...

Aren't those the folks that are buying the current pickup truck offerings?

If cars and trucks were bought only based on their utility, we'd all be driving 4 year old Toyotas. The Cybertruck isn't for me but the buzz it's creating is exactly what Tesla had in mind.

 

[Stevehose]

Aren't those the folks that are buying the current pickup truck offerings?

Agree, but not enough of them to actually make producing the trucks profitable.

 

[Mike Goble]

Aren't those the folks that are buying the current pickup truck offerings?

If cars and trucks were bought only based on their utility, we'd all be driving 4 year old Toyotas. The Cybertruck isn't for me but the buzz it's creating is exactly what Tesla had in mind.

Tesla needs to add a smoke generator to the truck, the electric equivalent of rolling coal...

 

[boonies]

When I drove my first Model S in 2012 after its debut (I was a product planner at Audi at the time) I was amazed at the sheer acceleration, near silence and lack of vibration, but also taken aback at the build quality, fit and finish and general steering and handling feel which I felt was lacking; to be fair, Tesla has improved the build quality a lot since then. The software was also brilliant and how the car would reinvent itself every so often when the engineers had better audio/navigation or even door handle retraction...the Cyber truck sounds like it will ride and handle a lot better with 4 wheel steering and that interest application of steering by wire...

Totally agree on the build quality. Ours is a 2018 and I am sure it is better than the 2012 models, but we have owned a bunch of Audi's over the years and I still have a 2018 Q7. The Q7 is a much nicer than the Tesla from a fit and finish perspective.

Also, I use the Q7 to tow the coupe and other cars and equipment around when needed and it is a very comfortable tow rig and range is the least of my worries.

The Tesla is a rocket ship though...and my wife loves never having to go to the gas station (although I always used to gas up her cars over the years).

 

[rsporsche]

this is from a Facebook post that @Mario L. forwarded ... i have no way of verifying the claims or accuracy of the post. but it is thought provoking.

This is a Tesla model Y battery. It takes up all of the space under the passenger compartment of the car.
To manufacture it you need:
--12 tons of rock for Lithium (can also be
extracted from sea water)
-- 5 tons of cobalt minerals (Most cobalt is made
as a byproduct of the processing of copper
and nickel ores. It is the most difficult material
to obtain for a battery and the most
expensive.)
-- 3 tons nickel ore
-- 12 tons of copper ore

You must move 250 tons of soil to obtain:
-- 26.5 pounds of Lithium
-- 30 pounds of nickel
-- 48.5 pounds of manganese
-- 15 pounds of cobalt

To manufacture the battery also requires:
-- 441 pounds of aluminum, steel and/or plastic
-- 112 pounds of graphite

The Caterpillar 994A is used for the earth moving to obtain the essential minerals. It consumes 264 gallons of diesel in 12 hours.
Finally you get a “zero emissions” car.

Presently, the bulk of the necessary minerals for manufacturing the batteries come from China or Africa. Much of the labor for getting the minerals in Africa is done by children! If we buy electric cars, it's China who profits most!

BTW, this 2021 Tesla Model Y OEM battery (the cheapest Tesla battery) is currently for sale on the Internet for $4,999 not including shipping or installation. The battery weighs 1,000 pounds (you can imagine the shipping cost). The cost of Tesla batteries is:
Model 3 -- $14,000+ (Car MSRP $38,990)
Model Y -- $5,000–$5,500 (Car MSRP $47,740)
Model S -- $13,000–$20,000 (Car MSRP $74,990)
Model X -- $13,000+ (Car MSRP $79,990)

It takes SEVEN years for an electric car to reach net-zero CO2. The life expectancy of the batteries is 10 years (average). Only in the last three years do you begin to reduce your carbon footprint. Then the batteries have to be replaced and you lose all the gains you made in those three years.

 

[Mike Goble]

How does the 32 tons needed in the upper list reach the 250 tons of the bottom list?

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

i have no way of verifying the claims or accuracy of the post.

I think that could be said for about 90% of Facebook posts

 

[Dan Wood]

A friend told me about a Tesla delivery that went to neighbor's house shortly after their first deliveries. The car was delivered by a truck and trailer. Then a few days later the rest of the parts were delivered and installed.
They must be better by now but I know I will never buy a Tesla.

 

[lip277]

This 'truck' is not really a truck... IMO.

To me, the design is more like the El Camino/Ranchero (or to our Australian friends - Utes). That is - a car with a big trunk
Tow a big trailer hundreds of miles... load a bunch of manure (or other 'messy' bulk material) in the bed and see how that works. I don't think so well.
Also - I saw a review that showed the Cybertruck getting stuck in pretty mundane 'off road' conditions. Kind of disappointing IMO.

The 'exoskeleton' design is interesting. Would like to see how that type of design and structure would work if it had to pass the 'bumper tests' that passenger cars have to do - not to mention the Euro pedestrian safety requirements.

I just drove my (oh my!) 20 year old F250 down to California and back pulling my 28 foot, 10 thousand pound enclosed car trailer (loaded both ways).
Three full days of driving - 1,600 miles over four decent mountain passes (two passes each way).
For me - that is what a truck is for.
But I know not everyone uses their trucks as 'gasp' trucks!!! LOL - I am likely in the great minority that actually does... That's ok.

I remember back when we had 3/4 and full ton trucks in the 1970's and 1980's (for our family business).
Back then - to get that capability (tow and payload) - you really had to make some compromises.
Those trucks were noisey and had a rough ride, no amenities, got SUPER lousy fuel mileage and so on. Our 1973 F350 was so stiffly sprung that I used to joke that you needed to wear a 'kidney belt' to attempt to be comfortable driving it. My dad used to put 2 or 3 full drums of motor oil or hydraulic fluid in the back just to mellow out the ride some...
These days - parents drive their kids to soccer practice in their $100k fully optioned F250 and treat it like a family car - because that is how they have been engineered. While trucks today can run rings around the comparable trucks of 30/40 years ago in terms of power, capacity and towing - they can do so in full comfort pretending that they are the family sedan.
So, that is how they are marketed now....
The vast majority never pull a trailer or really go off-road. The market now is totally different (for 'trucks') than when I grew up.
So - in that vein - I guess the Cybertruck kind of fits the market from that aspect (kind of like the Honda Ridgeline.... I guess)

Back to the Cybertruck....
I do like certain design aspects of it though. Will be interesting to see where the design goes from where it is now.

 

[JMinPDX]

Oh boy. The technology is really amazing. Hopefully they’ll transfer it to a more conventional application like a Model 3 or Y.
I suspect demand will be high and early ones sold will be flipped for higher prices like Rivians were.
Cammisa misses the point when he talks about pedestrian safety standards. Sure no one wants to get run over by any of today’s pickup trucks.
But the Tesla goes 0-60 in under 3 seconds. Where was the demand for that type of acceleration? The vast majority of people who buy it will not be trained to handle that kind of power. With those sharp body corners it’s basically a 6000 pound dull knife that goes 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, very quietly.

Still, I’d love to drive one.

On another note. A neighbor had a fender bender in his Model 3. Authorized local Tesla body shop had a 9 month wait. He drove down to o the SF Bay Area where the wait was 2 weeks, his daughter, lives in SF, drove it back for thanksgiving.

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

I suspect demand will be high and early ones sold will be flipped for higher prices like Rivians were.

This is in the purchase agreement...

 

[E9Wayne]

wow guys, I never intended to ignite a debate here on EVs versus fossil fuels cars...those that don't like/support EVs do promote some facts and figures that are not entirely correct anymore. And who wonders about the carbon footprint of oil production to produce a gallon of gasoline, or to put food on your table or the cement and steel in our buildings...modern battery cell production is reducing its carbon footprint a lot and the batteries in Teslas and most other things have lived lots longer than anticipated with a respectable state of charge; and afterwards they can be recycled at nearly 98% for lithium ion/NMC batteries. This conversation was meant to start some appreciation for technical achievement and I think some is deserved here. But that's my view and I don't intend to surpress thoughts of others...

 

[jmackro]

It takes SEVEN years for an electric car to reach net-zero CO2. The life expectancy of the batteries is 10 years (average). Only in the last three years do you begin to reduce your carbon footprint. Then the batteries have to be replaced and you lose all the gains you made in those three years.

Yea, but your carbon footprint isn't issue. What matters is the world-wide carbon footprint.

The Saudi's, Russians, Chevron, etc. are not going to pump less oil after 2030 (or whenever), when people in my home state will only be able to buy electric vehicles. The price of crude oil may go down due to reduced demand from affluent buyers, but gasoline will still be refined and sold. Who will now buy it? Less developed countries! People who couldn't previously afford cars will now enjoy greater mobility, but largely with inexpensive vehicles that lack the sophisticated emissions controls common in the West. This may promote equity, but it doesn't result in any less CO2 emissions.

 

[tferrer]

I don't care if the thing could teleport me to another dimension. It's hideous and I will never support Elon...

 

[rsporsche]

i am NOT against EVs. i just don't think they are there yet - especially the fast recharging network that facilitates long distance travel. all of the manufacturers are focusing on making huge EVs. i wish Audi would make the TT as an EV ... or Porsche with a Boxster or Cayman - a wonderful little EV to drive around town or 200 mile trips. that would make sense to me and i would buy one for my daily driver.

right there with you Tyson ... not a supporter of Elon either. @jmackro, i didn't write, fact check or endorse the FB post ... i just posted it here for conversation purposes.