Tesla Pickup Truck?
Read an article on Bloomberg that discussed Tesla's plans to unveil a pickup. This interested me because I think the US pickup market is one of the toughest to crack. A lot of truck guys seem to be traditionalists, and I'm not sure how they would feel about an electric pickup. There will definitely be some interest, but I'm not sure if it will even come close to the big 3.
Tesla Inc.’s plans to pad its lineup of electric vehicles are taking shape, with Elon Musk sketching out a timeline for the arrival of a semi truck, pickup and sports car.
Musk had telegraphed Tesla’s future products several times before, most notably in last summer’s “Master Plan, Part Deux.” With the Model 3 already aimed at catapulting Tesla from niche player to higher-volume automaker, the manifesto went a step further, with Musk laying out a vision to “cover the major forms of terrestrial transport.”
Will Tesla be able to crack the US track market?
Reference:
[Tesla Pickup](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-13/musk-sketches-out-ti…)
good god I would love it being a truck guy. As long as its big, functioning and can tow..why not have that option.
I would buy it. As long as they didn't try to style it as a SUV/truck hybrid like the Honda Ridgeline or Chevy Avalanche.
I would be interested to see the change in mileage you get out of a single charge if you were towing something vs not.
I'm interested to see how big it is, the mid size and smaller pickups do not sell well. It would be interesting to see a tesla the size of an F250 or Silverado 2500
Hate to sound like Dennis Leary right now, but you know the F150 has been the number one selling vehicle in the US since like forever right? and that the ford F150 , Chevy silverado series and dodge ram series were the number one through three selling automobiles in the US last year.
Mid size and smaller pickups meaning Chevy Colorado, Toyota Tacoma, Dodge Durange etc. F150, Silverado and Ram are all full size.
What I meant was that it might be a bad idea for Tesla to try and create a pickup that is not a direct competitor to the F150 series. Trucks smaller than the F150 sell terribly in America, Mercedes probably won't even bring their pickup here. Looking at the Model X, it looks like it is geared more towards the Range Rover Sport, Porsche Cayenne buyer than the Escalade. It makes sense for Tesla to compete with the F150, that being said, Tesla seems to like offering different power trims, and will most likely end up with a truck that has trims that also directly competes with Ford's top end "performance" trucks, like the 250 and 350.
It's not traditionalism, it is a matter of practicality. An electric pickup truck would be a tough sell because of working conditions, trucks that are used for work and not just to compensate for a tiny penis wouldn't work as an EV. Although to be fair, no one buying a Tesla truck is doing so for field work. At most they might pull a boat behind it, and if they have to do that the lake better be damn close to where they currently are.
I am in the process of building a late 80's Japanese mini truck. Doing an engine swap and putting in RB26 and an all wheel drive system. Should put about 550 to 600 hp down to the wheels when it is all said and done.
I figured most people on here would accept it, but thinking back on all of my friends with trucks, theres no way they would consider a tesla. A lot of guys are hardcore diesel fans.
Why do you think an electric pickup truck is impractical?
Do you know how battery technology in vehicles works? Say you could get something as heavy as a truck to get a 100 mile range with a battery 1) it would be huge and heavy 2) you use a truck to tow things with thus adding more weight to the vehicle. Batteries are only efficient if they are used in a narrow operating range. Take a Tesla to a drag strip and run it a couple times across a quarter mile and see how much of the battery is depleted. Buddy of mine did that, the battery dropped around 10% per run.
Ooh that sounds interesting. What make and model mini truck?
Nissan 720, its quite a bitch because I have to cut the firewall and make a complete set of custom motor mounts etc.
You realize for torque and pulling power an electric would kick the fuck out of diesel?
Only issue is the battery life and recharging time and availability etc.
I'm more looking forward to the possibility of a wrangler pickup.
underrated
I think that if electric vehicle manufacturers would just build normal cars (i.e. cars that don't look like spaceships), they would sell more. Why not just make a fully electric Honda Accord or Ford F-150?
This. I'm baffled how the traditional manufacturers refuse to make a "normal" looking electric car. Why automatically repulse a great deal of your potential audience?
I Googled this a while back, and the best answer I got was that electric vehicles owners want a vehicle that looks different and one that lets others know that it's an electrical vehicle (i.e. they want to stand out). I understand that, but if you told some soccer mom that you could cut her Suburban's MPG to zero or some sales guy that you could get his Accord's MPG to zero, I cannot imagine anyone being opposed to that.
It's a low margin market, no reason to cannibalize other products, and actually now they start to do it (see Mercedes B250E), I think later with the development of techology and growing market trend for electro cars "oldschool" manufacturers will roll out even more electrocars. Also the question that really intrigues me is Tesla's pioneer advantage that valuable? Seems like everybody assumes that Tesla will be the only one in the market with electrocars, but I don't see any reasons why major players wont enter after Tesla does all of the gruntwork.
My understanding is the "switching costs" are extremely high. Apparently the "platforms" that the traditional automakers use as the basis for 1 or more vehicles in their production lines aren't designed for electric vehicle architecture, and they cost many millions of dollars to produce.
Agreed.
Maybe, but the real constraint is having aerodynamic, lightweight vehicles. Accords and F150s are not really either of those things (Accord is somewhat aerodynamic). Electric cars have to be an optimal weight and have a low amount of drag so the battery can go 200 miles or more.
People who own and enjoy Teslas are not the same people who own and enjoy Trucks... I'm sorry but I do not see some rancher buying a Tesla truck instead of a Chevy/ Ford... most people who are saying this is a good idea likely live on the east coast (spoiler alert: that isn't the audience for trucks) and have no idea what people who actually buy/ use trucks want.
I would assume the cost savings of an electric truck would be much greater than the current savings with the smaller vehicles. If it does the same thing as a gas/diesel truck then I can totally see Tesla making some quality sales in the market
cost savings? These aren't the days of $4-$6/ gallon gas. Many states are getting gas for $2 or less right now. Additionally, if the price point of a Tesla truck is $100k+ many ranchers are just going to spend the $40-$50k on a standard work truck....
Need to be more forward thinking...they aren't developing a short term strategy. This is like saying when Telsa first had its tiny roadster that no one wanted that. Sure, but that was merely the required first step to get where they wanted to go. The first iteration of the trunk might not have all the mass usage/appeal but I'm sure that is the eventual goal with constant tech advancements.
I actually think a pick-up truck is backward thinking. Tesla has already bought in to the concept of autonomous cars and most people understand that the future design--interior and exterior--of autonomous cars will be radically different than present (no steering wheel, large cabin). If that's the case, building a pick-up truck for mass distribution seems fairly backward looking.
Dude even today Tesla doesn't have a viable business model without government subsidies and tax credits....
I think it would be interesting to have one. But I know that people tow their boats, ATV's etc well outside of 300 miles. In terms of doing work around a farm it could be very useful assuming it has plow and towing capabilities - also assuming that towing does not impact the range. Also, I think they would need to move their price point down into the work truck range if they want that audience.
Doubtful.
Need to think about where pickups are most heavily used and the purpose for doing so. Then, contrast that against real science on batteries -- battery life is far shorter in hot climates.
You'd fill the entire bed of the truck with batteries to get the 1) power you'd need to replace a gas-powered truck for practicality purposes; 2) to have sufficient life in the more agricultural/oil based areas where you find a high truck:car ratio; and 3) culturally in those areas, dualies and glasspaks are still in fairly high demand. Dualies on a tesla might sound a little...um, about that...
Perhaps they could crack the Truck market here in Massachusetts or out in Hippieville on the Left Coast. This Midwestern boy will take his truck and feed it real octane.
As long as the engine roars, he'll buy it.
Is everyone ignoring the amount of energy required to tow 3+ tons of weight? The batteries in the truck would have to be insanely large which would drive the cost of the truck up significantly. In other words, this would be a luxury truck, not a work truck where people buy the cheapest possible vehicle to get the job done.
You're going to see so many of these in Ikea parking lots..
I sincerely doubt the market would work out towards their favor if they went this route. People I have known who had TESLA got rid of their vehicles ASAP as soon as they could to get a gas-powered vehicle.
Huh? I see Teslas all the live-long day.
Too curvy, looks faggoty.
And now?
Now good. Maybe too good. I like. But I no buy, because I haz Model S already.
The original design looked like a trailer wedged into the asshole of a Tata Nano.
I thought the auto manufacturers were subsidized not to produce fuel efficient cars by the oil lobby. Or is this a liberal myth?
I've always wondered why the detroit manufacturers never got on board with a hybrid 3/4 or 1 ton work truck- not a Ford F150 for hauling your boat to the lake on the weekend. Electric motors generate 100% torque at the start- and that's where you need it when starting to move from a stop or losing power at the crest of a hill when hauling. I don't think you would need that big of a battery just to get the thing rolling then let the engine kick in. This is coming from a guy that has spent time hauling a 3/4 ton 4 speed manual with a 24' gooseneck full of livestock. FYI, it's hard on the clutch and inevitably some douchebag will pull up too close to your trailer rear and not understand why you start rolling backwards from a stop on an incline.
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