leesec · 6 years ago

This is how every Tesla presentation goes. It's never been about Steve Jobs level presentation polish, it's always been about the quality of the product.

coddle-hark · 6 years ago

He’s the CEO. It’s his job to represent the company. It’s his job to rehearse the slides.

jccooper · 6 years ago

I'm pretty sure Elon doesn't rehearse these presentations at all. He's had trivially-correctable wrong info on slides before, and had to explain it away during the presentation.

internet_user · 6 years ago

they broke the armour glass on stage, maybe accident? maybe not?

ceocoder · 6 years ago

During the demo of transparent metal glass Elon invited Franz to hit the glass with metal ball and it broke. It wasn’t supposed to because it is extra hardened or something.

shasheene · 6 years ago

Here's the timestamp of the presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwvDOdBHYBw&t=7m22s

oxplot · 6 years ago

You mean Tesla's chief designer Franz von Holzhausen? I'm not so sure. ;)

ctdonath · 6 years ago

Order page eventually went up, and my down payment went thru.

skiman10 · 6 years ago

The rear-view mirror is a display that shows the back camera feed. In the prototype at least.

ganoushoreilly · 6 years ago

So did the ATV!

iamcreasy · 6 years ago

I watched the whole thing. The stream never went private.

nine_k · 6 years ago

Yes, the year must have been of some cyberpunk future, because the look is right from there.

I can't but notice how the "futuristic" car designs from my childhood are now pretty common in mass-produced cars. I suggest the recent sci-fi movie esthetics are going to be common soon enough, and this truck is an example.

delfinom · 6 years ago

Those that drive trucks want it to show masculinity/power. This is just a triangle on wheels/kids toy.

magnusss · 6 years ago

Same here, though the DMC car looked futuristic for its time. This is simply hideous, a meme of itself.

Any idea what the curb weight is?

jodrellblank · 6 years ago

Any chance this is the chassis of SpaceX's inevitable Mars Rover being tested on Earth first?

mullingitover · 6 years ago

The part of the demo that was actually impressive was the part where they took sledgehammers to the body panels and didn't leave dents. I think it'll be fine.

cobookman · 6 years ago

Was thinking the same thing. Sounds expensive to repair. Leading to higher insurance premiums

bryanlarsen · 6 years ago

Unlike a DeLorean, I don't think a few rough weld marks would ruin the aesthetic of the Cybertruck.

fotbr · 6 years ago

I've got a truck (an older Tacoma) and too many hobbies that make it hard to give up, so I'll likely always have a truck.

If Tesla had introduced a factory version of Simone's, I'd be screaming at them to shut up and take my money.

This thing...I'm sorry, I can't get over the styling. I love the numbers, and don't even find the pricing to be too horrible, but there's no away I'll have something that looks like that. Maybe Tesla truck 2.0 will be worth looking at.

_Microft · 6 years ago

Oh yeah, the Pyro (GL?) looked absolutely awesome.

losvedir · 6 years ago

When I lived in rural Missouri, I was shocked at how many of my neighbors and colleagues were shelling out $70k for their pickup trucks.

The price here is not a concern at all. The design.... not so sure about that.

new_realist · 6 years ago

Or practical. That bed is insanely bad.

chrissnell · 6 years ago

This demographic will love the look. Have you seen pickups lately? The Big 3 have been chasing an industrial aesthetic for years. This was a very bold move and I feel very strongly that this will shake up the market.

The specs are a truck lover's dream. Most pickups are driving office dudes like me to our office jobs every day. We hate the gas mileage but we love the look and we want something powerful enough to tow the boat or ATV hauler on the weekends. This truck claims it can do that AND beat a Porsche off the traffic light AND never have to visit a fuel pump again.

na85 · 6 years ago

>In other words you overbought and don't use the diesel or the 3/4 ton frame?

I think you just described 80% of truck owners.

chrissnell · 6 years ago

The trimotor version claims to tow 14000+. A 2019 Ram 2500 tops out at around 19K, but my 2017 is a little less. The 2019 F150 tows about 11K.

This truck is no Dodge Dakota. This sits between a half-ton and 3/4-ton truck.

2muchcoffeeman · 6 years ago

The vast majority of SUVs and trucks are bought to signal some sort of status or affiliation to a group. Just look at how clean these vehicles are. And some of the brands. Porsche SUV. Mercedes pickup.

The people who actual use these class of vehicles for real have mud splashed over the vehicle and extra cans of petrol. They aren’t going to buy an unproven vehicle that you can’t refuel.

They’ll probably make a killing with the Cybertruck.

lallysingh · 6 years ago

$100 initial deposit is to show wall St demand. That will keep borrowing costs down.

aembleton · 6 years ago

Why would it have a high centre of gravity? Wouldn't the battery pack be most of the mass and live right at the bottom?

ollie87 · 6 years ago

Really weird if you read that post and that was your only take-away.

mulcahey · 6 years ago

The tri motor does 0-60 in <2.9

ken · 6 years ago

> Your wife drives an Audi that can't do better than 0-60 in 6.5 seconds?

Not too surprising. According to [1], the A3 and A4 mostly have 0-60 times worse than 6.5s. You've got to get up to the recent A6's to beat that.

[1]: https://www.zeroto60times.com/vehicle-make/audi-0-60-mph-tim...

gambiting · 6 years ago

>>Your wife drives an Audi that can't do better than 0-60 in 6.5 seconds?

How is that surprising? Unless you go for the really expensive ones with top-spec engines, you're normally looking at 7-8s to 60mph. As an example, the Q3 can be had with 6 different engines, and only the range-topping 45 TFSI breaks the 6.5s barrier at 6.3s to 60mph. All other engines are slower.

A1 can be had with 3 different engines, and the fastest one does 0-60 in 7.7s.

Really, the only Audi where <6.5s to 60mph is "standard" is the A8, with the slowest engine being the 50 TDI that does 0-60 in 5.9s. The second model in line, the A7, starts with a 40TDI that does 0-60 in 8.3 seconds.

randcraw · 6 years ago

At 6000 pounds and a high CoG, this thing is going to handle worse than most ladder frame trucks. And that's bad.

It's also going to have truly awful front and rear visibility. Long windshields are invariably difficult to live with, creating a hothouse interior on any day without clouds. Once you add appendages to make this legal (side mirrors, rear center brake and tail lights, headlights and turn signals) much of the bold charm of the original concept truck (which is all this is) will be lost.

I agree the design is refreshingly bold. But lots of concept cars in the past initially took fans by storm only to fade into the mainstream by the time they shipped. I'll be very impressed if a design this striking can maintain its visual impact all the way through production.

kube-system · 6 years ago

I know several people with campers, horse trailers, car trailers, boats, etc. Most aren’t maxing out their towing capacity, but if you’re driving through any mountains, you’ll want to be well within those limits unless you want a white knuckle experience.

rasz · 6 years ago

Its like asking if people in US really shoot to defend themselves that often?

fullstop · 6 years ago

I have a Silverado diesel truck which I inherited. I don't tow often, but I do use it a lot for landscaping work -- hauling mulch, brick, and lumber in and yard waste out to the recycling center.

michaelt · 6 years ago

Car companies don't limit themselves to selling people a car based on what their life is like now, people have already got something that lets them do the things they currently do.

They can market it based on what their life could be like if they brought the car. Perhaps in vague, emotional terms.

You too could be kayaking/mountain biking/skiing through picturesque countryside with your pretty, athletic friends... if you buy a Brand X SUV. Be confident in any situation. Whatever, wherever, whenever. Adventure starts here. Built tough. Driven by dreams. Past the pavement. Built for city roads and no roads.

wavefunction · 6 years ago

They're definitely a suburban status item in much of the West of the US.

bob1029 · 6 years ago

> Trucks are not suburban status items.

Have you ever been to Texas?

rpmisms · 6 years ago

> suburban status items

I have found the single stupidest thing in this thread.

bob1029 · 6 years ago

500 miles is fairly substantial range. I can see this being useful for a very wide variety of use cases, but obviously not those longer-term multi-day excursions into the wilderness.

That said, it is a truck, and maybe someone (perhaps even Tesla) will develop a modular LNG/propane/diesel generator unit you can put into the back of the truck for purposes of range extension. I realize this is inefficient, not environmentally friendly, and going in the opposite direction of what the electric car is supposed to do, but its also only applicable in those extreme edge cases where you need to be away from the grid for days or weeks.

losvedir · 6 years ago

Mad Max notwithstanding, you can only store gasoline less than a year, so it's not like the alternative is really any less reliant on civilization.

randcraw · 6 years ago

The G-Wagon is a very high end luxury SUV with a huge profit margin. As such, MB can afford to sell only a handful. But at the advertised price, the Cybertruck offers no such margin. It'll surely will be a money-loser for Tesla which they'll have to sell like F150s for a decade just to break even.

The Cybertruck isn't about profit. It's about making Tesla's name synonymous with shock and awe.

jamesbfb · 6 years ago

To be honest, I reckon the fact that he’s a terrible presenter adds a certain level of charm.

nootropicat · 6 years ago

It somehow looks way, way better in normal use than during the presentation. How weird, it's usually the other way round.

mprev · 6 years ago

Skip to around 15 minutes in unless you like watching terrible smartphone footage of a bunch of people standing around waiting for the truck to turn up.

djstein · 6 years ago

https://youtu.be/BTDztHFa0_Q?t=879

aaronbrethorst · 6 years ago

I hadn’t thought about this looking like the Aztek of Warthogs, but you’re right.

NamTaf · 6 years ago

Does it not being mainstream even matter, though? Because at least here in AU, and I believe in the EU, to even register it as roadworthy it needs to not compromise its collision protection which includes pedestrian collisions.

snow_mac · 6 years ago

Ever seen a train pulled by a ford? I have. Built Ford Tough is TRUE

xvector · 6 years ago

Tesla pedestrian collision warning is dangerously ineffective. It passes some tests with flying colors and completely fails other pedestrian safety tests.

Plays into the inconsistent nature of autopilot.

hef19898 · 6 years ago

As do a lot of other premium-brand cars, nothing special about it anymore.

GhostVII · 6 years ago

Sure, but a manufacturer couldn't sell a car with a solid steel bumper. In the US you have lots of freedom to modify your car after you buy it, but manufacturers have strict regulations.

et2o · 6 years ago

Tesla Model S and 3 in terms of collision safety are the safest cars ever sold in America. There is a giant crumple zone where the engine would be in an ICE vehicle. The Cybertruck will be the same.

notatoad · 6 years ago

I had to look this up because i figured you must be talking out of your ass, there had to be some pedestrian safety standards.

but nope, apparently not. https://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/12/07/while-other-countries...

Tenoke · 6 years ago

So, is this basically illegal in other countries? Does that mean we should expect the Cybertruck to be US-only?

tomcooks · 6 years ago

Never going to pass, those sharp edges and corners would give negative EuroNCAP ratings.

danpalmer · 6 years ago

I guess it’s a good thing that trucks like this aren’t really a thing in the EU.

They exist, but I don’t know anyone who has ever owned or rented one. They’re hard to find, dealerships don’t tend to have them so you’d have to find a specialist importer I reckon.

koffiezet · 6 years ago

Doubt they're even going to try to introduce it on the EU market, there's very little demand for pickup trucks here...

anticensor · 6 years ago

They would promote the Semi pickup instead.

otabdeveloper4 · 6 years ago

> Would Tesla create a second version of the truck for Europe?

I don't think I've ever actually seen what Americans call a 'truck' on a street in Europe.

(Slight exaggeration, but not really.)

TeMPOraL · 6 years ago

Turn all parking spaces into buildings and you can pretend you live in space, except without leaving Earth :).

et2o · 6 years ago

I'm willing to bet this truck is going to outsell the Model 3 and Y combined. Tesla is getting even further and further from the restrictions of ICE vehicle design.

sirodoht · 6 years ago

Here you go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwvDOdBHYBw

leesec · 6 years ago

Lol it's absurd to say the cheers didn't feel genuine. The crowd was insanely hype about this.

oxplot · 6 years ago

Didn't he start by saying the trucks in this category are number 1 sellers and to move everyone to sustainable energy, trucks need to go electric?

atonse · 6 years ago

Agreed. I continue to want Tesla to wildly succeed. I don’t know anything about actual pickup trucks or why people buy them. Which is why I mainly commented on the presentation style.

ehsankia · 6 years ago

Wanting to see him succeed or not aside, I find this far more intriguing and alluring. Apple keynote, especially recent ones, have become so cookiecutter and predictable. The surprise and strangeness factor is what makes Tesla events so irresistible. You truly feel like anything could happen, even the window breaking TWICE.

gimmeThaBeet · 6 years ago

in some orientation? most likely. but not flat, the bed is 6.5' long, so no 4x8s.

newnewpdro · 6 years ago

It's not a work truck.

ctdonath · 6 years ago

Can it haul a "fifth wheel" trailer?

zaroth · 6 years ago

"The Cybertruck is 230.9 inches long and sports a 149.9-inch wheelbase with a 6.5-foot-long, 57-inch-wide bed out back." By comparison, an F-150 has 50.6" between the wheelhouses.

Here's a picture of the bed, just before the ATV drives up to it. Note the wheelhouses don't impinge upon the cargo bed at all.

https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5dd768642c8...

gkoberger · 6 years ago

No, but I think a lot of people group Musk and Jobs together. It's not that one is "better" than the other or anything like that, but rather they're very different people.

ctdonath · 6 years ago

I watched it, I cringed, I still put $100 down on a top-end model, hoping I'll have the cash when it arrives 2+ years hence.

Thing is: though the glass demo failed, we still know this guy comes thru with great stuff - he'll get that problem fixed, and we'll have videos soon of someone literally shooting up the truck with practically no damage (glass included). The man managed to get rockets to land & reuse; fixing the glass will be resolved next week.

I'm not sure if I'm thrilled or dismayed by the exterior design, but it's innovative and futuristic. It pushes the state of the industry forward.

vijaybritto · 6 years ago

6 people stepped out

sneak · 6 years ago

I have a feeling he is used to his staff accidentally shattering extremely expensive things at critical moments on camera by now.

luckydata · 6 years ago

He's not a native English speaker and that has an impact.

SECProto · 6 years ago

That either-or choice isn't fair. I'd guess it's a third - his mind races ahead (or off to the side, or the clouds) when he's doing presentations.

Many people have poor presenting skills. Just few of them get to be CEO and still insist on being the public face of the company

xeromal · 6 years ago

I think he's just nervous like your average spaz out nerd is

ilkkao · 6 years ago

In the end of this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIQ36Kt7UVg he is more relaxed that I have ever seen. I don't think there is any acting in his presentations

kijin · 6 years ago

More mass = less acceleration when the same force is applied, and acceleration is what really kills you. You can't argue with physics.

acidburnNSA · 6 years ago

I think a perception of additional personal safety is definitely a reason people like SUVs.

But you can be super safe while still helping protect your crash partners. You can often improve both your and your crash partner's safety with more crumple zones.

I don't think the patrons of this thing are going to be thinking about this much.

profitnot · 6 years ago

It's more than a belief... the statistics bear it out. "The lowest 2015 death rate by vehicle type is for very large SUVs: 13 deaths per million registered vehicles. The highest is for mini cars: 64 deaths per million registered vehicles." https://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/are-smaller-cars-as-safe-...

andbberger · 6 years ago

That is a poor, poor substitute for passive safety measures...

mrtksn · 6 years ago

That was Boeing's approach for safety on 737 MAX.

davidgay · 6 years ago

Don't forget to adjust those mpg figures by ~13% for the higher energy density (and CO2 emissions) for diesel vs gasoline. So 30mpg diesel is ~ like 26.5 mpg gasoline.

kmlx · 6 years ago

the new defender is back, and looks pretty good: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/new-land-rover-d...

mulcahey · 6 years ago

Doubt it. They have no experience with volume production. (Unless they basically outsource production to Ford.)

servercobra · 6 years ago

I think they're going to be dealing with the slow ramp up that Tesla had for years before hitting mass production. Maybe they will release first, but at a decent volume? I'm skeptical.

Then again Tesla is well known for missing deadlines too!

p1mrx · 6 years ago

> gonzo ball

What do those words mean? Google Image Search isn't helping.

et2o · 6 years ago

F150s have been getting more and more like this, this is exactly what they want.

jenkinstrigger · 6 years ago

ok sure, but what if they paint it red?

whysohardtoc · 6 years ago

Flat panel is what trucks have needed to go back to. Get a bad dent or the garbage is rusting out? Cut it out and weld some sheet on top. No need buy an entire door or go to a body shop.

tim333 · 6 years ago

They are doing that well with Starship. I guess this fits the theme.

In fact it's made with the same steel alloy. I think I want to buy one now.

cjsawyer · 6 years ago

It looks like a videogame incorrectly rendering a “low level of detail” model when the player is too close.

TeMPOraL · 6 years ago

Yup. You need to apply only very little imagination here - this is just a paint job away from designs used in half of the sci-fi series of the last 20 years.

puranjay · 6 years ago

I hated it at first. But the more I look at it, the more I like it. It's crazy and totally memeable, like a cross between Guy Fieri, Cosmo Kramer, and Jeff Goldblum.

I bet they'll get a ton of sales from people buying it ironically. Which, when you think about it, is why many people buy trucks in the first place - very few are buying it for utility.

ehsankia · 6 years ago

my assumption was that people who ride this kind of car want to stand out in the first place. Most pick up trucks and other kind of trucks all look pretty weird like the slideshow at the start. Square cars, weird dimensions, etc. I think they're appealing to the right demographic here

fyfy18 · 6 years ago

In the Middle East the Land Cruiser V8 is king. It's not because of looks (although IMO they don't look bad), but what it can do.

Can you use this to overtake someone on the hard shoulder (half covered in sand) and go bumming around sand dunes? That's what Tesla have got to do to win there.

newnewpdro · 6 years ago

Apparently you've never heard of rolling coal or proud boys

sl1ck731 · 6 years ago

I'd love a nimble truck personally. I drive a sporty car but need a utility vehicle so often that buying something I like to drive becomes a regret.

ctdonath · 6 years ago

Days after the Jeep Gladiator (a Wrangler pickup) was available, I saw several in the suburbs. This is Tesla territory, so come 2022 there will be a bunch of Cybertrucks taking the kids to school.

leggomylibro · 6 years ago

How many rural areas have you been to? I see small houses with a half-dozen pickups sitting around all the time when I get more than 100 miles or so out of a major city. And places like ranches, farms, and orchards seem to operate small fleets of them.

Of course, they usually span the past few decades of makes/models, but there are plenty of towns where the trucks outnumber the people.

I think one big issue will be that a lot of people are like 50 miles from the nearest major highway or town, which makes the range a bigger issue for daily use.

dba7dba · 6 years ago

when the Fukushima disaster happened in 2011 and the surrounding areas became no-go zone, gasoline cars were stuck because no gas tankers were coming in to refill the gas stations.

But electric cars were charging from local solar powered recharging stations just fine.

dzhiurgis · 6 years ago

UTE, the symbol of bogan is sleek? These are a joke for anyone but complete degenerates.

gexla · 6 years ago

That's not a pick-up. ;)

That's a car with a bed, like an El Camino.

xvector · 6 years ago

That truck you link looks horrible. I cannot fathom how some designer thought that looked good. It’s like they worked halfway on the design and then pushed straight to production.

Then again some people feel the same way about the Tesla truck. Personally I think the Cybertruck looks incredible.

losvedir · 6 years ago

God I'm laughing so hard at those pictures. That is the vehicle equivalent of a mullet, business in front and party in the back.

jmspring · 6 years ago

Rural doesn't imply the individual owns land. Rural does imply long distances, modest incomes, etc. I certainly wouldn't want to charge an electric vehicle @ $0.14/KWH and I don't have the option for solar.

I have a Toyota Tacoma. I expect it will go well into the multi-hundred miles (typical for Tacomas), I have 4 jerry cans filled for when exploring off-road or for times like "oh hey, the power is out, the pump in a rural town doesn't have power".

gexla · 6 years ago

My bit about rural truck owners was more about demographic than power source. I have lived much of my life in rural areas of Idaho and Montana. The looks of this thing is NO problem. People will love it. But as a big life change, going electric is a big leap when throwing down that 50K for the family truck. I guess we'll see.

gexla · 6 years ago

Right. People will spend 50K on a truck because it's a major part of their livelihood and then the gas will be a big burden. This could help a lot in those cases.

cycrutchfield · 6 years ago

A Ford F150 looks blobby and and archaic. The Tesla truck looks like a fucking stealth fighter. How more masculine can you get?

gexla · 6 years ago

I'm assuming by "upvotes" you're referring to positive reactions to the design as opposed to the HN voting buttons.

The design, of course, is subjective. We'll be seeing professional commentary which may sway our opinion. I would be interested to see if there were design constraints which weighed heavily in the final design.

There's a prism of ugly and this truck fits in the region which I can live with. I have mostly found Ford designs to be ugly (1995 for example.) I also feel that truck designs have mostly been similar. If I find X year Ford to be ugly, then it's relative to the same year of Chevy. There's also utility ugly and the sort of ugly which attempts to be artistic but which fails into something I would be embarrassed to drive (curves and paint schemes which aren't meant to be functional and just look bad.)

The Tesla Cybertruck has the feel of minimalist utility. It's also bold and different. Unlike the Rivian, it's not trying to be anything like the current state of the art of trucks. I think it will have a lot of appeal for being different and for having crazy specs. It's ugly, but I want one.

I have been seeing good comments pointing out problems. For example, it doesn't seem to be accommodating to accessories. Maybe this is something which will get worked out before it hits production.

History will judge this thing better than we can. Regardless of our opinion, it will be interesting to see if the design sticks.

look_lookatme · 6 years ago

Anything about trucks in HN (or the internet really) will devolve into complaint fests about American trucks and, their size, their faux masculinity, how they are sub-par vehicles, etc. In that environment any sort of perceived challenge to the big 4 (Toyota Tundra included because it's the most American truck you can imagine, horrifying gas mileage, huge as hell) and any kind complaining about trucks is encouraged.

I don't really mind, it doesn't affect me one way or another, but I do find the consistency in these threads curious. Sometimes I chalk it up to probably far more European commenters than I would have guessed, but also it's just the demo of HN or people that spend too much time arguing about things on the internet (see the comment section of Jalopnik). You could easily turn loose a markov chain based comment generator on one of these threads and rise to the top.

WhompingWindows · 6 years ago

This is basically cultural conditioning and selection bias. You've already owned a truck, you think they look great, you think they're masculine, you compare it to a sledgehammer. It seems marketing has worked very effectively on you.

mav3rick · 6 years ago

Literally all trucks look the same. Where is the innovation ? Don't show me a concept car.

nedsma · 6 years ago

Sadly, that's not the case. Car companies are just trying to catch up with whatever seems to sell at the moment. And if there's a new model, it is usually related to a some "successful model" from the past or an existing model is given a crossover look. And even these new cars have too many issues.

ryacko · 6 years ago

It is tax detectable to donate directly to a public government, if you feel uncomfortable about it.

Ididntdothis · 6 years ago

Much smaller. We need smaller cars.

ff317 · 6 years ago

I had a short-bed diesel for 5 years or so, and put it to plenty of use. Yes, it's not ideal for common dimensions of lumber (but you can just pop the tailgate down and put some little red flags on stuff), but it will still haul tons of random things (for me: large trash dump runs, car engines on stands, a set of 16 car tires, several 55 gallon drums, a full bucketload of topsoil, a pallet of landscaping rock, etc). IMHO, a short-bed truck is still a truck.

jasongill · 6 years ago

6.5' is a short bed, though - it's the same length as most short-bed full-size 1/2 or 3/4 ton pickups.

It's only a "long bed" when you compare it to midsize trucks like the Tacoma or Ridgeline, which is what this vehicle really is more akin to (especially the first generation Ridgeline, as you can't replace the bed on the Cybertruck or the old Ridgeline as it was a part of the unibody - not good when you accidentally overload or bend up the bed, unfortunately).

Curious to see what the production version ends up like, but I don't know if this is really going to be taken seriously by people who need a "real" truck, at least in the current form. It's more of a weekend warrior vehicle right now, I'd say

el_benhameen · 6 years ago

The big chunk of lithium that powers a Tesla will burn just fine. I think it’s a valid point.

sonofhans · 6 years ago

That’s what this guy thought, too, just a few weeks ago. The URL tells the tale: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/23/man-died-...

Teslas burn just fine, in fact much more unpredictably than ICE cars.

tushar-r · 6 years ago

Tesla's catch fire as well - [pdf warning] https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/downloads/2016_Mod...

Battery fires are worse than gasoline fires from what I've read: (2016) - https://jalopnik.com/tesla-model-s-batteries-violently-explo... (2017) - https://jalopnik.com/tesla-model-s-torched-in-weird-supercha...

catalogia · 6 years ago

Conceivably, the fire could be another car burning. If you have two disabled cars next to each other after a collision and one of them is on fire, people in the car next to it could be cooked if they don't get out.

There are many valid reasons first responders might have to remove people from cars quickly.

mattlondon · 6 years ago

The person(s) you hit, or that hits you, may be driving a petrol vehicle.

ehnto · 6 years ago

It's not like you can't get your own bullet proof glass installed. It seems pretty silly on a consumer vehicle meant for suburbia.

matt4077 · 6 years ago

That sounds like exactly the sort of statistical analysis people tend to get spectacularly wrong. I'd be surprised if more than a single-digit number of people get shot while driving even in the US. For Europe, you probably need to express it in years/incident if you want to use integers.

Meanwhile, more than a million people die in crashes each year, and some 40 million or so are injured. Putting any, even small, additional obstacle in the way of help is bound to be a losing proposition.

This would essentially be a re-hash of the seatbelt debate, where many people were somehow convinced they could escape any accident by quickly jumping out before impact. That attitude lead to seatbelt laws, which were the single most important factor in reducing fatalities per mile traveled by a factor of 10 or so since the peak.

While I'm tempted to invoke some Darwinian principle, the damage wouldn't be limited to those making that decisions, but also their passenger, the next owners, etc, and possibly pedestrian victims of collisions.

In any case, I doubt it's actually forbidden right now. There are, after all, bulletproof cars. They just tend to be expensive enough to mostly discourage people motivated by Hollywood macho fantasies.

bildung · 6 years ago

Most of these types of vehicle will be owned by a suburbian parent driving his/her kids to some variant of organized recreational events. The rest is just marketing.

samdunham · 6 years ago

One of the bullet points was that it seats six. Pretty sure this'll be rolling through suburbia delivering tots to Montessori schools.

ehnto · 6 years ago

Pretty high? You need only be unconcious to end up dying in a burning car because no one could extract you. Cars also deform in weird and chaotic ways in a real world accident, who knows what will be the final piece between you and safety. People sometimes exit via their rear windows because the front of the cabin is crushed and the glass there broke, but the doors and windshield frames were also crushed so you can't exit. Cars are pretty good at absorbing the impact so your body can tolerate it non-fatally, but you may still end up broken, trapped or simply unconcious.

tgsovlerkhgsel · 6 years ago

Doors unable to open + fire is all it takes.

manigandham · 6 years ago

You can flip your question around and say what are the chances that you need stronger windows than the rest of the vehicles on the road?

mlyle · 6 years ago

Model X doors are pretty mechanically exotic and the normal way they're opened requires electric power. E.g. the prying done at 15 minutes into the video is not at all how you'd force a normal car door.

godelski · 6 years ago

> A key point is protection from attackers.

Who is going to be attacking you? Seriously. Even with all this crazy stuff going on we live in one of the most peaceful times is history. Especially in the West, which is where most of these are going to sell (few people that live in these violent places could afford this. Except maybe the authoritarian regimes themselves).

Personally I'd rather get the extra miles that a lighter vehicle offers than knowing that I can shoot my truck with a pistol. If you feel like you need this kind of protection then I feel sorry that you live in such unjustified fear.

exikyut · 6 years ago

Ok, how/where do I acquire one of these in <insert entropic stereotypicality here> disaster situation?

INTPenis · 6 years ago

The actual video (not related to me)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdaDdZHBOZA

mattrp · 6 years ago

I’m hoping for Jeremy clarkson to take a whack at “killing a Tesla” a la the infamous hilux that wouldn’t die:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xnWKz7Cthkk

spyder · 6 years ago

I'm not sure the lightly thrown ball can break the polymer layer. Just because the glass layer shatters it doesn't mean you can go trough it.

Hope they don't use something like this 3M polymer layer, because it means you will be trapped for 2 more minutes even if you have the tools to go trough the polymer.

https://youtu.be/cZy4DJHM_fs?t=34

dgzl · 6 years ago

I still can't tell how much of that was planned.

tempestn · 6 years ago

Some cars are replacing side mirrors with cameras now to help with drag and cabin buffeting. It's legal in Europe but not yet in the US.

m463 · 6 years ago

And you definitely can't tow without side mirrors.

sdan · 6 years ago

I heard that Tesla is bypassing that on the Roadster with removable side mirrors which you can install cameras there instead. Not sure on the specifics, but something along those lines (although I'm not sure about the legality and please don't quote me on this).

elisharobinson · 6 years ago

sure and if it breaks down a tesla should do just fine toeing it.

bonestamp2 · 6 years ago

Yes, good catch. A driver's side mirror is required, passenger's side is optional (but recommended). But, there is some lobbying going on right now to allow cameras in place of mirrors (GM specifically is trying to get the new Corvette C8 rear view camera approved, which I'm guessing won't happen for launch in early 2020).

stetrain · 6 years ago

There are cars going on sale in the EU market (Audi E-tron, Honda E) with cameras replacing the side view mirrors. Presumably at some point these will also be allowed in the US.

Scoundreller · 6 years ago

I can’t wait to see one with a gunrack.

duderific · 6 years ago

I'm wondering what they're thinking...right now.

waiseristy · 6 years ago

I love the idea of a perfect meme vehicle. Almost bosozoku like. But I'm guessing it won't do well in the market

godelski · 6 years ago

It would be cool to have if we were always in the smoke ridden neon illuminated world of Blade Runner. But outside of that I think it is pretty fugly.

varjag · 6 years ago

Goofy? Having driven through rural America this summer, the thing will fall right in.

2muchcoffeeman · 6 years ago

How old are you? This Reminds of what we thought the future would look like in the 80s.

I’d totally buy a reasonably priced car with this aesthetic.

waiseristy · 6 years ago

The fact that you hate modern truck design means you are not representative of 99% of truck buyers. Have you noticed the Honda Ridgeline has completely fell in line with other manufactures styling because of I presume market pressure?

gexla · 6 years ago

I'm tired of curvy trucks anyways. Maybe it's a good time to go back to something more straight. I also like that the exterior can take such a beating. It doesn't make sense that a tough pick-up can get so easily dinged and scratched. I would MUCH rather have that durable shell.

sincerely · 6 years ago

>It looks like the attempt of a “futuristic” vehicle in an early 90’s low polygon video game.

In a world where every manufacturer makes cars that look basically the same as every other car in the world, I'm fucking stoked on this.

NickNameNick · 6 years ago

It seems to me that most of the engineering is in the 'skateboard', There's no reason they can't sell the same chassis with two different bodies. - The cybertruck for people who want that. - A more conventional body for anyone else.