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Just thinking out loud:

I wonder if people are underestimating how much the design was driven by the fact it was fun to make something that looked like it was from Blade Runner.

Maybe the whole thing started out as “Let’s make something shit cool like a blade runner cop car” and then the idea that it would bring down production costs, look different, etc, developed after they designed something that they really liked.

Elon seems to be quite motivated by having fun, one of the things I like about him.

I feel like the design process went like:

Elon: wow, stainless steel is an underrated material, it solved my starship rocket design problems. and it's cheap!

January 2019 (https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a25953663/elo...)

Elon: what if I used stainless steel for cars?

Elon: well there was the delorean, and blade runner...

Elon: you've got 6 months team.

(note there was no need for a dialogue partner)

> I think they are targeting people who do not care for environmental issues and who still think that electric vehicles are something for beaus and weaklings. If they can't be convinced to transition to EVs for ecological reasons, give them another reason because it doesn't matter why they drive EVs, just that they do

This actually opened my eyes, I haven't thought about it that way

Exactly. Nothing has changed at Tesla: their plan has never been to release model after model that cannibalize their business in the the electric-car-driver milieu; they aim to eat the classic demographics, one by one. For this niche, they broke out of their box and embraced a different aesthetic. Striving for that meant there was a lot they couldn't reuse--even the strength of their brand--but it's the most important niche by a longshot. It gets its own box.

If this is indeed their thinking then cybertruck is a terrible name in my opinion. It's far too nerdy for the anti-environmentalism manly man who cares about wimpiness.

Cybertruck isn't nerdy, cyber-anything always sounds wrong to me.

Do nerds call the web cyperspace?

When anybody calls anything cyber-whatever it used to be a red flag that they were probably clueless. Unfortunately cyber security has become a de facto term in industrial control networks.

Only seen it used in a useful way when discussing legal matters.

That said, at least around here military seems to have adopted it which might give the name a boost with parts of the truck buying demographic?

“... no matter what your pickup currently looks like, it will appear wimpy next to it.”

I have to disagree. That is your opinion not a fact. I think it looks like someone who just started out at whittling tried to make a Delorean and used the result as the design for the “truck”. Personally, I think the tesla “truck” looks wimpy. I’m really disappointed by it.

Here's another user who thinks it looks awesome.

Most people I've heard however thinks it looks weird.

Importantly however none of those others I talked to ever owned a pickup truck or even talked about wanting one... :-)

I’m not sure how your anecdote is important.

You could have no friends, and only talk to the crazy guy that hangs out by the liquor store.

You could work at a senior center so most the people you talk to aren’t allowed to drive, but hate new fangled technology.

Or...

You could have a horrible sample size of anecdotal evidence (which is horrible evidence itself) to draw any reasonable conclusion.

:-)

I agree, any existing truck of comparable size (aside from actual working trucks with wheels bigger that whole F350), looks wimpy next to tesla's truck. Like an office cowboy with $500 tastefully torn jeans and designer fleece shirt next to a coal miner at the end of his shift.

That’s good for you? But it doesn’t matter. The comment I was replying to implied that its/your view was a fact.

By replying with my point of view I’m proving that is not a fact.

By replying with your point of view... I actually don’t know why you replied. Why did you?

I tried to arrive at a stricter definition of whimpiness by throwing another analogy into the mix.

Of course matter of taste is entirely subjective, but that shouldn't stop us from making fun of it when warranted. Or even when not, such unimportant distinctions shouldn't be taken seriously.

And thus PR strategy may work. To give this truck's toughness credibility, they need to "leak" a few videos how this electric truck easily outperforms military Hummers in Utah mountains. In addition to that, they can shoot this truck with ak47 and say that thanks to its steel frame, none of the bullets went thru, while the supposedly tough Hummers and died pickups look like a cardboard target now. After this, the cybertrucks toughness will be undisputable.

It can resist low powered 9mm bullets. It won't even come close to resisting a rifle round. So minimally more protection than any other vehicle.

Maybe. BMW's new armored car is rated at Vehicle Resistance 6, which means it can withstand fire from an AK-47 among other things (such as lightly thrown metal balls):

https://www.bmw.com/en/innovation/armored-car-bulletproof-ca...

Mercedes does an armored car rated at VR10:

https://www.motor1.com/news/61225/mercedes-maybach-s600-guar...

So let's see what the Cybertruck's VR rating is in a couple of years.

When I'm thinking of armored vehicles I'm thinking of at least 7mm steel to protect against machine guns and even that is paper thin! I got taken down too many times in War Thunder...

What would framing it as a "leak" do for Tesla, vs just doing those videos/tests as a branded marketing stunt? I'm not sure what the obfuscation gets Tesla. Like, oh no, we didn't intend you guys to see our truck being awesome?

In case they had to change something at a late stage.

If the videos were official they'd catch more negative press for it.

> it's even a declaration of war.

Yeah, it is a declaration of war against pedestrians. Thankfully this thing will never catch on here in Europe and I'll continue being safe while crossing the street.

> Yeah, it is a declaration of war against pedestrians. Thankfully this thing will never catch on here in Europe and I'll continue being safe while crossing the street.

Speed is what kills, not a slightly harder body.

Even the lightest car has enough mass that it's going to really hurt pedestrians if it hits one at speed.

And if any car - even this one - hits someone at 5 mph, it's not going to do that much damage.

There's a huge difference between hitting a pedestrian with a small hatchback at city speeds (which, in my congested city, means between 15 and 25 kph) and hitting it with a vehicle like this.

why? the difference in mass between a small hatchback and a human is still an order of magnitude larger than the difference between the same car and a cybertruck. they are both so much heavier than the pedestrian that they should transfer about the same energy into the poor fellow.

Because when a hatchback hits you chances are that you’d get thrown on its hood or windscreen, while when a truck hits you chances are you’d be thrown behind its weels. The first scenario gives you bigger chances of survival as a pedestrian. It’s not a question about mass, it’s about the shape of the car. Of course, this whole scenario applies to speeds generally met in cities/towns (maximum 30-40 kph).

> And if any car - even this one - hits someone at 5 mph, it's not going to do that much damage.

About 2% of auto or light truck vs. pedestrian collisions under 10mph produce severe injuries, and at all speeds light trucks are more dangerous than autos, so I think you are overgeneralizing here.

5mph != <10mph

> and at all speeds light trucks are more dangerous than autos,

Citation needed.

There is a big difference between someone rolling over the hood of your sedan and hitting them with a huge "wall" of a pickup truck.

I agree. The edges look awfully dangerous for anything that's not another Cybertruck. I'm sure they are planning to build and sell them as often as possible but I wouldn't underestimate the butt-kicking idea that I mentioned. I think at least part of the goal is to make other companies produce electric pickups too.

Hearing a lot made of this pedestrian problem. Are trucks more likely to hit pedestrians? I was not aware of big vehicles being more dangerous. Personally, I don’t want to get hit by any motorized metal no matter the size.

Not necessarily, but hitting your body and especially your head on a sharp edge is much more dangerous than a flat or curved surface. Compare hitting your head on the edge (or even corner!) of a table vs. hitting it on the bottom of the table.

Big vehicles are more dangerous, obviously. They have more mass, so they hit people with more force.

https://www.curbed.com/2018/9/27/17909270/pedestrian-deaths-...

IIRC there is a regulation in the US that ensures the front of a car is designed so that a pedestrian is thrown over the car instead of under it. It is one reason so many new cars look alike.

Does a truck have any such requirements for pedestrian safety ? Is the highest part of the Cyber truck's front end any lower than a F-150 for example ? That could make for a safer design.

> Is the highest part of the Cyber truck's front end any lower than a F-150 for example ?

They look like they're the same height, although it's a bit difficult to compare. The top of the F150's grill does look a bit more curved; not sure how much of a difference that makes.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1198751258384818176

How is a Ford F150 safer for a pedestrian?

Because they're absent from most of Europe, because of their huge cylinder-volume the tax-related costs are pretty big in many European countries (there's only 2 F150s that I know of in the 2-million European capital I live in). This being an EV car will probably have close to no taxes attached to it so chances are some EV-enthusiasts will buy this instead of a Model 3 or Model S.

Is that really a problem? Most of the pedestrian fear of trucks in europe is likely just fear of the unknown.

I've had cars slightly touch me while I was crossing the street, but because they were generally small cars they were only touching my feet. Not at all a pleasant feeling but survivable. A truck, well, it would go straight for the belly/chest, a lot more vulnerable area.

There’s a much bigger problem if cars are touching you while you are walking than a big flat front end.

It's really a problem.

Fear of large cars is justified in Europe and anywhere else because they kill more pedestrians[1].

1. https://www.curbed.com/2018/9/27/17909270/pedestrian-deaths-...

I live in Europe (Ireland) and F150s, Rangers, and other pickups are very common as work vehicles here. There's also a lot of 4x4s like Land Cruisers and Defenders with bull bars, which are presumably less safe for pedestrians.

Tesla has always had somethings for those who do not care about environmental issues: looks (Tesla cars don't look like vacuum cleaners of the past), performance (fastest 0-100 of any sedan), technology (remote control, some self driving, OTA updates). In fact, the only way to appeal to general public is through these things. Environmental issues are just too hard to grasp in every day life, especially since their supposed effect are long into the future.

> since their supposed effect are long into the future.

And in the near future. And in the present. and in the recent past.

> It is a design you can't ignore, it looks metal af and no matter what your pickup currently looks like, it will appear wimpy next to it.

With my brother we also speculate that this is the PERFECT car to personalize: Must be a blast to custom paint it.

Also:

If you have one, you will be (probably) the ONLY with it in the block. This alone will be a factor for some..

> If you have one, you will be (probably) the ONLY with it in the block.

Humvee market

True, the nice flat surfaces will be great for graffiti. Don't park it outside.

I think this vehicle is for the police eventually. This market is just the transition point.

Search for 'dubai cybertruck' and you'll already find reports of police forces ordering them. A long range, high-acceleration + high-speed utility vehicle that's marketed as very robust/bulletproof? Definitely.

I suspect that it should be cheaper to make as well... very few curves make for easy to make panels. Not a lot of investment needed to manufacture these things.

When curves are made on a computer, and CNC cut into a steel press that can make a door in 8 seconds, they turn out very cheap. In fact, curves are much stronger than flat panels for the same weight/cost, which is a big reason for exterior curves in some cars which are also structural.

From that perspective, I think the flat angular design used is for style only, and has no engineering basis.

Yep. The lack of curves will also make it near impossible to blend any dent/paint repair that it might need down the road.

I don't understand why people keep speculating about this when it's already been covered by the press and Elon himself:

https://www.motortrend.com/news/tesla-cybertruck-electric-pi...

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1198700591465156608

The design of the body panels still requires a hydraulic press to form the parts. The only money that can be saved is with cheaper dies but that only matters for low production volumes. Breaking a stamping press sounds like incompetence to me. They have near infinite scalability. Just build a bigger one.

I think they are targeting people who do not care for environmental issues and who still think that electric vehicles are something for beaus and weaklings

How is that different from people who want to loudly signal their environmental virtue while ignoring externalities such as the electric power probably coming from coal, the extraction and manufacturing processes for batteries, etc? This is a competitor to an electric humvee - an unnecessarily large vehicle is wasted energy no matter where that energy originated