Tesla Thread

[GearsNSuch]

This is a thread to discuss all the most recent developments in the Tesla company and all things Tesla related. 

 

Last year (2019), Tesla sold more cars than it did the previous two years combined. Also, it is now the most valuable car company in American history. Very nice. 

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/01/teslas-stock-just-blew-past-500-for-a-new-record/

https://disrn.com/news/tesla-is-now-the-most-valuable-car-company-in-american-history

https://disrn.com/news/tesla-sold-more-cars-in-2019-than-it-did-the-the-previous-two-years-combined

Edited October 26, 2021 by GearsNSuch

[Wjolcz]

5 minutes ago, GearsNSuch said:

Does Tesla stuff go in the SpaceX Thread?

There's one in space launched by their rocket. So, maybe?

[Xd the great]

2 hours ago, GearsNSuch said:

Does Tesla stuff go in the SpaceX Thread?

Anyways,

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/01/teslas-stock-just-blew-past-500-for-a-new-record/

https://disrn.com/news/tesla-is-now-the-most-valuable-car-company-in-american-history

https://disrn.com/news/tesla-sold-more-cars-in-2019-than-it-did-the-the-previous-two-years-combined

Very nice. 

Might be a nice idea to start a new thread for it, @Vanamonde

So that @GearsNSuch can become the owner of the Tesla thread.

Edited January 14, 2020 by Xd the great

[Vanamonde]

Discussion moved to its own thread. Feel free to edit the title, @GearsNSuch. 

[tater]

Cool. In the Louge there are some CyberTruck threads... I keep meaning to reserve one. My buddy's wife likes it, and she already did (he has a Model 3). She said she's gonna wrap it in pink camo, lol.

[kerbiloid]

"Tesla: The Balls of Steel!"

Spoiler

 

[tater]

6 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

"Tesla: The Balls of Steel!"

Meh, they'll iterate the design before release.

Also, I care more about rocks thrown by all the other pickup trucks. I'd rather see a test where they shoot small (1cm and smaller) rocks at the windshield at highway speeds.

[Guest]

That ball thing was weird. They set up a super controlled demo that was so controlled I was slightly suspicious... and then Elon decides to go off script and the results were pretty funny. 
 

I’m actually digging that truck tho. Not that I would be able to afford one...

[tater]

2 hours ago, Dale Christopher said:

I’m actually digging that truck tho. Not that I would be able to afford one...

I was surprised how reasonable the price is, honestly. The mid level one. It pretty much ticks all the Model 3 boxes (range, speed), PLUS holds more people, and hauls cargo for 50k—the same price as an F150 crew cab, basically (not cheap, mind you, but entirely competitive).

[Guest]

Yer the price was nice! But at the same time I’m poor and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future >_< 

[.50calBMG]

Everyone makes fun of the windows breaking from the ball, and it bothers me. It survived the test before they threw it at the actual truck windows (sure, they got rid of some of the stress by taking the clamps off). Seems to me like they are still stronger than normal, I bet that ball would have gone right through any other car side window. They stopped the ball, and that's the part that actually matters. Besides, it's not like bulletproof windows look pristine after they get shot.

[magnemoe]

On 1/15/2020 at 2:32 AM, tater said:

Cool. In the Louge there are some CyberTruck threads... I keep meaning to reserve one. My buddy's wife likes it, and she already did (he has a Model 3). She said she's gonna wrap it in pink camo, lol.

Note that the production version will be different, it will need side mirrors who is mandatory, also some changes to the lighting.
One thing who comes up is that you can not access the trunk from the sides. 
If you see professional trucks with an hardcover over the trunk they have side hatches in them. Yes its something who is pretty easy to add I think. 

[tater]

56 minutes ago, magnemoe said:

Note that the production version will be different, it will need side mirrors who is mandatory, also some changes to the lighting.

We'll have to see what the mirror solution is. Not sure about the headlights, there are actually 2 real headlight areas, with a bar between them.

Quote

One thing who comes up is that you can not access the trunk from the sides. 

Not an issue (access to the truck bed from the sides).

A Raptor F150 is comparable (4WD, much lower clearance, though):

Still not great from the side. You can throw stuff in, to be sure, but you can do that with the Tesla as well. Or stand on the wheel (I do that on a buddy's truck sometimes).

Note that the Raptor with offroad stuff is more like the high-end Cybertruck cost (north of 70k, right now there are 18 at the local dealer, all are between $71,170-74k), and it only has 11.1 inches clearance (28.2cm), vs the Cybertruck's 16" (40.6 cm). That said, when parked the Cybertruck can drop the suspension lower (my Rover does this).

A large % of people rarely use the bed, and when I use a friend's PU, I might throw stuff in over the side (trimmed tree/bushes/etc from the yard), I don't removed it from the side, but from in the bed. The Cybertruck also has built in storage in the bed sides (and a frunk).

Quote

If you see professional trucks with an hardcover over the trunk they have side hatches in them. Yes its something who is pretty easy to add I think. 

One, side storage is standard, two, this truck is for regular people. The vast majority of PU owners in the US rarely if ever use the bed for something that requires a PU bed.

Also, note the image above. The car is at full offroad height (looks cooler). The suspension can drop those wheels all the way into the wells, substantially lowering the height.

Edited January 18, 2020 by tater

[magnemoe]

24 minutes ago, tater said:

We'll have to see what the mirror solution is. Not sure about the headlights, there are actually 2 real headlight areas, with a bar between them.

Not an issue (access to the truck bed from the sides).

A Raptor F150 is comparable (4WD, much lower clearance, though):

Still not great from the side. You can throw stuff in, to be sure, but you can do that with the Tesla as well. Or stand on the wheel (I do that on a buddy's truck sometimes).

Note that the Raptor with offroad stuff is more like the high-end Cybertruck cost (north of 70k, right now there are 18 at the local dealer, all are between $71,170-74k), and it only has 11.1 inches clearance (28.2cm), vs the Cybertruck's 16" (40.6 cm). That said, when parked the Cybertruck can drop the suspension lower (my Rover does this).

A large % of people rarely use the bed, and when I use a friend's PU, I might throw stuff in over the side (trimmed tree/bushes/etc from the yard), I don't removed it from the side, but from in the bed. The Cybertruck also has built in storage in the bed sides (and a frunk).

One, side storage is standard, two, this truck is for regular people. The vast majority of PU owners in the US rarely if ever use the bed for something that requires a PU bed.

Also, note the image above. The car is at full offroad height (looks cooler). The suspension can drop those wheels all the way into the wells, substantially lowering the height.

See the issue with F150 yes, the Toyota's most common in Europe is lower and its pretty common to have stuff stored on the sides some even have kinds of two decks like an friend of mine. 
Lots of comments in some other forums, yes in the US trucks are far more popular than in Europe there they are mostly work cars for craftsman or farmers. 

One thing I found fun was then driving in Florida was all the motorhomes towing an compact car on an tiny trolley lifting two wheels off the ground. Yes it makes some sense you want an car then parked and driving around in something buss sized is annoying. 
However not seen anything like it, know some luxury motorhomes has an garage for an tiny car but that eat up a lot of space. 

[kerbiloid]

https://www.gishgallop.com/breaking-elon-musk-vows-to-create-decepticon-army/

Spoiler

 

[tater]

2 hours ago, magnemoe said:

See the issue with F150 yes, the Toyota's most common in Europe is lower and its pretty common to have stuff stored on the sides some even have kinds of two decks like an friend of mine. 
Lots of comments in some other forums, yes in the US trucks are far more popular than in Europe there they are mostly work cars for craftsman or farmers. 

One thing I found fun was then driving in Florida was all the motorhomes towing an compact car on an tiny trolley lifting two wheels off the ground. Yes it makes some sense you want an car then parked and driving around in something buss sized is annoying. 
However not seen anything like it, know some luxury motorhomes has an garage for an tiny car but that eat up a lot of space. 

Yeah, US car preferences lean heavily towards much, much larger vehicles than in Europe. I know plenty of people who use them for work (a few friends of mine are contractors (building houses, condos, etc)). One has a huge locking tool box in the back of his truck, but it is much more easily accessible from inside the bed than from the sides (his truck is a huge Toyota). The other day after to talking to a friend about this same subject (Cybertruck) I counted the first 100 pickups I saw driving in the morning, and most all of them were shorter bed (6.5 feet or shorter), and "crew cabs" (4 doors). Many were pristine looking (not used for work). I know once out of town, the trucks in rural NM are certainly "used" more as trucks. Heck, just hauling groceries from a real town a few hours into the middle of nowhere is useful hauling.

For me the math is that the mid level one is pretty much exactly the same price as the mid level Model 3. In return for the same $49,990, with Cybertruck you get an extra seat, vastly more capability to move stuff, and non-trivial off road performance (I take my SUV to trailheads to go hiking that would be pretty rough, or impossible in a sedan that was short of a rally car).

[mikegarrison]

5 hours ago, tater said:

(I take my SUV to trailheads to go hiking that would be pretty rough, or impossible in a sedan that was short of a rally car)

I used to drive my CRX up some pretty rough forest roads. (Carefully, not quickly, mind you.) High clearance helps, but often isn't as essential as people think.

That brings up another issue. It's pretty easy to just carry extra fuel, or even to bring fuel to a car in a remote location that has run out of it. Not so easy to carry extra electrical charge. I suppose that when there are a significant number of electric vehicles being operated away from the grid, there might be a market for portable rechargers of some kind. Meanwhile, I guess one could always bring up a fuel-powered generator. I wonder how long it would take to run a portable generator that gave a decent amount of charge to an electric vehicle. Hybrids do this routinely.

[mikegarrison]

10 hours ago, .50calBMG said:

Everyone makes fun of the windows breaking from the ball, and it bothers me. It survived the test before they threw it at the actual truck windows (sure, they got rid of some of the stress by taking the clamps off). Seems to me like they are still stronger than normal, I bet that ball would have gone right through any other car side window. They stopped the ball, and that's the part that actually matters. Besides, it's not like bulletproof windows look pristine after they get shot.

I wonder if the whole thing was staged. Maybe they wanted that happen, to get more publicity.

[tater]

41 minutes ago, mikegarrison said:

I used to drive my CRX up some pretty rough forest roads. (Carefully, not quickly, mind you.) High clearance helps, but often isn't as essential as people think.

That brings up another issue. It's pretty easy to just carry extra fuel, or even to bring fuel to a car in a remote location that has run out of it. Not so easy to carry extra electrical charge. I suppose that when there are a significant number of electric vehicles being operated away from the grid, there might be a market for portable rechargers of some kind. Meanwhile, I guess one could always bring up a fuel-powered generator. I wonder how long it would take to run a portable generator that gave a decent amount of charge to an electric vehicle. Hybrids do this routinely.

Where I go in NM and CO, fuel is not a huge problem. I usually tank up not that far from where we leave pavement (not an option probably with electric). I used to take my Accord, then my Saab (900 hatchback era) on pretty sketchy roads---but trailheads in CO are often roads where my buddy would be out walking in front, telling me where to put my wheels. One time I tried with me Saab in the Crestones, and simply left it off the side of the road, then we walked an extra 8 miles.

[mikegarrison]

Yes, exactly. You know it's a bad road when you have to get out of the car and carefully plan exactly how you are going to drive.

[kerbiloid]

2 hours ago, mikegarrison said:

I wonder how long it would take to run a portable generator that gave a decent amount of charge to an electric vehicle.

Aren't all battle tanks the electric cars powered with a fuel generator?

Edited January 19, 2020 by kerbiloid

[wumpus]

On 1/19/2020 at 1:25 AM, kerbiloid said:

Aren't all battle tanks the electric cars powered with a fuel generator?

Apparently not yet (2019 link).  https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a28985236/future-tanks-powered-electricity/

Trains commonly are, and I'd guess that it would make even more sense for something like the M1Abrams to replace the transmission (from a turbine) with a generator and motor.  For diesels it all depends on just how strong your transmission/clutch is (can it knock over trees?).  Tanks aren't designed all that often, but I'd guess any designed now (depending on just how clean the paper) would be hybrids.

[Just Jim]

Saw this coming

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/ap-online/2020/01/19/no-astrovans-for-spacex-crews-riding-to-rockets-in-teslas?cid=share_clip

Edited January 20, 2020 by Just Jim

[tater]

58 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

Saw this coming

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/ap-online/2020/01/19/no-astrovans-for-spacex-crews-riding-to-rockets-in-teslas?cid=share_clip

The ride to a crew version of New Glenn in the future will be less plush:

 

[magnemoe]

5 hours ago, wumpus said:

Apparently not yet (2019 link).  https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a28985236/future-tanks-powered-electricity/

Trains commonly are, and I'd guess that it would make even more sense for something like the M1Abrams to replace the transmission (from a turbine) with a generator and motor.  For diesels it all depends on just how strong your transmission/clutch is (can it knock over trees?).  Tanks aren't designed all that often, but I'd guess any designed now (depending on just how clean the paper) would be hybrids.

Hybrid make a lot of sense for military vehicles.  they spend most of their time parked but outside of trucks many are used while parked. 
Self propelled artillery is the obvious one as they drive to an location and then have to wait for artillery support requests or commands. However lots of other vehicles function as command centers or weapon platforms.
Now add that fuel cost at an forward base is very high up to having to fly it in with helicopters. 
Final hat trick is how silent electric vehicles are, an hybrid stryker with an 105 mm turret sounds like an gankers dream, strykers are already popular because they are much less nosy than  tracked vehicles.