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Comment by giarc | Hacker News Reader

Let's be honest, this truck won't replace Chevy/Ram/Ford trucks on work sites. This truck will primarily be used to haul mountain bikes, soccer equipment and the occasional run to Home Depot.

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those are literally the three things that are a major pain in the neck for me [sedan], and when I saw that tesla was developing a truck, I was like "oh sweet! Now I can hit the trails and haul garden supplies with a greater level of convenience, and without smuggering up the earth as much!"

> without smuggering up the earth as much.

Rental might be a “different” option than buying a newly produced 2.7 metric tons truck?!

You're right of course -- however, I don't really like going off-road in rental vehicles

In case you haven't seen it yet, the Rivian R1T is explicitly targeting that use case.

nice, thanks for the tip!

>those are literally the three things that are a major pain in the neck for me [sedan]

Never been a problem for me with a Honda Fit, at it's a subcompact with a footprint of a VW beetle. The seats fold down almost into the floor, giving me plenty of cargo space.

My friend had a minivan with folding seats, he used to carry his enduro motorcycle in it.

I have a hard time believing anyone living in a city needs a truck for anything except work.

Not everyone who buys trucks uses them as work trucks, but for the people who are looking for work trucks, why wouldn't they use this truck?

It's expensive for starters and the bed is small and odd.

If you're buying a new truck, this is not outside of your price range.

There are many cheaper alternatives for new trucks, some in the low 20's.

This looks more like an SUV alternative than a truck alternative, for either the legitimately eco-conscious (but not eco-conscious enough to buy used) or those looking for certain social signaling.

Base for the major models is just shy of $30k, and average is a hair's breadth from $50k. That's the market.

There's other stuff out there, sure, but what people are actually buying is well north of the Tesla base price.

It's not expensive for a 6 seat truck with a full sized bed though.

You'd need charging stations - an added cost/inconvenience to the ordeal. I don't know if you've been around many job sites and/or locations where they might store the trucks - charging infrastructure isn't there. It's going to vary a lot on the company though - tbh. Work trucks have so many varied uses that it's hard to say. Some people take their trucks home - but then they're not gonna wanna charge at home because then that costs them $$$ and tracking that expenditure might be annoying every night. (Versus filling up whenever you need and saving the receipt or using the company card) This is presuming they can charge at home - which some workers won't be able to.

The other part is that work trucks need good integration with tools and tool storage. You need to be able to add tool storage/access on the sides of the truck. If you can't do that - it's going to eliminate a lot of the market for a work truck. But - of course - that's just ONE type of work truck. (One where a person is getting out and doing manual labor with tools - electricians, plumbers, general handymen, etc.)

Other types of work trucks are basically completely different and require an entirely different bed. And the Tesla here definitely won't work with those. (Think flat bed trucks used for hauling)

I think the idea of this being a work truck is a silly idea. I don't know why anyone is thinking this would even be a remotely good idea considering you can't mount anything to it.

An article with an image of various types of work trucks: https://www.worktruckonline.com/343935/comvoy-launches-as-on...

Just imagine trying to make the Tesla fit those use cases like outlined there...

Tools can be put in either the cab or the bed, and presumably both can be locked. I can see where some people might not like the high side-walls on the bed where you can only really get stuff in and out through the back.

I suppose Tesla could possibly add a tool storage frunk in the front if they thought it was worthwhile and they can spare the room in their design.

Pickup trucks in general are sometimes criticized as not being great work trucks [1], and I generally agree -- I think it's an awkward form factor and would probably rather use a large van for most of the things people use pickups for, but clearly people still buy them and many of them are used as work trucks. Many people also buy them and don't use them as work trucks. Making a pickup truck that people could use for work or for non-work is consistent with Tesla's goal of getting as many electric cars on the road as they can.

[1] https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/04/28/what-does-your-wo...

I think the point I'm making is that a work truck is more about efficiency and ease of use. Having to open a door and sift through a bunch of tool bags or whatever isn't going to be fun, fast, or easy. Same with the bed - I would not want to get into the bed of a truck and go to the very back to get my tools every time. And if I had loaded the bed with something - I'm really gonna be feeling the crunch.

A van can be a good work vehicle as well but I think for a lot of tasks - it's not the right one. Getting in and out of the van is an issue. And if you make it to where you're not getting in and out of the van then you're ultimately not utilizing the space fully. (Unless it opens from all sides I guess - but then you're dealing with doors again unless they fold onto the body all the way)

The article is mostly condemning conspicuous consumption - not really relevant to the points here.

Unless you're hauling bulk building material (plywood, sheetrock, soil, rock, brick, etc) I think a van is likely to be superior on all counts (and if may be superior for non-loose material like plywood and sheetrock still). Anything you can go to the back of a truck for, you can go to the back of a van for, but you can actually have multiple levels of items there if you set it up that way. Anything you would acess over the side of a truck bed should be easily accessed through a side door. A van can also support a small workspace within it, if that benefits your job. Since there's no wind or elements, you can store stuff in open topped containers inside, making access easier while still being secure and secured. You can also get a much larger cargo area in a van that in a work truck of the same size, being it easier to maneuver.

Unless you are top-loading something, there's very few things I can think of that a truck does better than a van. It's certainly possible you have more real world experience than me and can think of some things I'm glossing over though.

> I think it's an awkward form factor and would probably rather use a large van for most of the things people use pickups for

Hell, I've gotten away with using a minivan for things most people would use a pickup for for decades. My dad's 87 Aerostar growing up allowed for the back bench and both middle seats to be entirely removed, and we did that a lot.

I've had a few friends throughout the years that expressed interest in getting a small/medium pickup so they had something to haul stuff "when they needed". Every time I mentioned how a mini-van would probably fit their needs better, they eventually agreed on the merits, but admitted they wouldn't buy one.

The truth is, very few people are entirely rational about their vehicles, and most of us are nowhere near rational. This truck may or may not be useful and used at work sites, where the business may act in a more rational manner, but I think that has little to do with whether individuals buying their own work truck (e.g. professional carpenters, electricians, plumbers, etc that work for companies too small to provide a fleet of trucks so use their own) will make their decisions on a more personal level, at least after their basic needs are met.

It's already quite awkward getting in and out of trucks so this is something of a solved problem. For tools and gear there are already solutions for getting things deep in the bed of the truck.

https://www.extendobed.com/industrial-units/lumber-slip-rack...

> You'd need charging stations

A lot of work trucks drive less than 200 miles per day. Being able to keep them plugged in at night and start every day at 100% charge is likely more convenient than having to stop at a gas station and fuel up for most plumbers/ electricians/ framers.

> The other part is that work trucks need good integration with tools and tool storage.

This is a much bigger issue and it fully depends on use. There are bed sliders which would help a bunch.

Also, lifting things out through the side of the truck bed is very much a thing and it's basically impossible with this design.

> I think the idea of this being a work truck is a silly idea.

For some jobs it would work fine, but for a large chunk of professionals the design is too out there to be useful.

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