Tesla Pickup Unveil

Saw one in the parking lot at a Braves game the other night. This one looked longer than the previous ones I have seen. Are there different variants - like an 'XL' version? Looked like it would be a pain to deal with in metro parking lots due to it's size - and I drive a '14 Silverado which roughly has the turning radius of an aircraft carrier.
 
CJones said:
Saw one in the parking lot at a Braves game the other night. This one looked longer than the previous ones I have seen. Are there different variants - like an 'XL' version? Looked like it would be a pain to deal with in metro parking lots due to it's size - and I drive a '14 Silverado which roughly has the turning radius of an aircraft carrier.
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It has 4 wheel steering so that’s not one of its issues.
 
CJones said:
Saw one in the parking lot at a Braves game the other night. This one looked longer than the previous ones I have seen. Are there different variants - like an 'XL' version? Looked like it would be a pain to deal with in metro parking lots due to it's size - and I drive a '14 Silverado which roughly has the turning radius of an aircraft carrier.
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Only one size.

The four-wheel steer-by-wire system makes it very maneuverable at low speeds.
 
I saw one live, so to speak, on a recent trip to California. It is ugly.
 
Sorry, I still think it's ugly. Then again, I don't think any ground vehicle has been beautiful since the 1950s, so what do I know? Now THIS is a beautiful car (although white's not my favorite; I loved the turquoise with white interior).
 

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judypilot said:
Now THIS is a beautiful car (although white's not my favorite; I loved the turquoise with white interior).
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Coincidentally, not too long ago we stopped by a classic car showroom near Tampa and this was Karen’s top choice:

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judypilot said:
Sorry, I still think it's ugly. Then again, I don't think any ground vehicle has been beautiful since the 1950s, so what do I know? Now THIS is a beautiful car (although white's not my favorite; I loved the turquoise with white interior).
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Our wedding getaway car:

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judypilot said:
Sorry, I still think it's ugly. Then again, I don't think any ground vehicle has been beautiful since the 1950s, so what do I know? Now THIS is a beautiful car (although white's not my favorite; I loved the turquoise with white interior).
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The problem with cars from the 50s, they are all round and large. Somehow, I do not think I should get a car that resembles me :D

Tim
 
Finally got a view of a Tesla Cybertruck in the wild. A lot of people have been tossing around the term "cognitive test" lately. Seems to me if someone is willing to spend six figures on something that ugly perhaps they should consider such a test ... :deadhorse:
 
Daleandee said:
Finally got a view of a Tesla Cybertruck in the wild. A lot of people have been tossing around the term "cognitive test" lately. Seems to me if someone is willing to spend six figures on something that ugly perhaps they should consider such a test ... :deadhorse:
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Isn't ownership of the truck sufficient evidence that they have failed the test?
 
Meh... It's pretty popular to pile on the "ugliness" of the CyberTruck, but I've also heard a lot of people saying it looks a lot better in person than it does in pictures.

I finally saw one in person - First, late at night leaving the airport, and then a couple days later I saw it parked at the airport. I walked around it for a minute, and then the owner came out of his hangar and we discussed it for a bit. He loves it. And he's 75 and doesn't give a crap what anyone else thinks. :rofl:

I don't find it "attractive" in the traditional sense, but it does look, let's say cooler in person than it does in pictures. I'd love to drive it once because I've heard that drive-by-wire is AMAZING... I also hadn't considered that with the air suspension, the "peak" can be pretty low, just about exactly 6' off the ground when it's set low. But then, it can get a full 16" of ground clearance when it's up high, so that's a useful feature... But it would also help the thing fit in a parking garage.

If nothing else, it's different. Cars haven't changed a whole heck of a lot in the last 30 years. I'm glad someone is trying to break the mold a bit.
 
Reports now that the Cybertruck has just become the best selling electric pickup in the US.

Not me for. I'm not a truck guy. I would like to take one for a drive, though.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Meh... It's pretty popular to pile on the "ugliness" of the CyberTruck, but I've also heard a lot of people saying it looks a lot better in person than it does in pictures.
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Not piling on but confirming that if viewed in person the ugliness is even more pronounced. But it was trying to look like a real truck as it was towing a very small single axle trailer with a lawn tractor on it ... :rofl:
 
Saw one in Jacksonville last week. Bigger than I thought it would be, but it’s what I would imagine if a Pontiac Aztec and a metal trash can had a baby.
 
Larry in TN said:
Reports now that the Cybertruck has just become the best selling electric pickup in the US.
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I believe this. I still need to take a drone shot of them by my house, where they load them on trains. I bet there's 300 there today.
 
Even our Gen Z kiddos think it's ugly as sin.
 
Seen a couple in the wild recently from afar (bout a block away, while moving). Fugly fo sho.
 
FormerHangie said:
It looks to me that a fairly minor accident could be very expensive to repair. How do you fix a large panel of bare metal?
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What I remember from the DeLorean guys from long ago was you either replaced the panel, or fixed it conventionally and painted the car.
 
Daleandee said:
Not piling on but confirming that if viewed in person the ugliness is even more pronounced. But it was trying to look like a real truck as it was towing a very small single axle trailer with a lawn tractor on it ... :rofl:
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Wouldn't it have looked even more ridiculous if it was pulling a ginormous trailer that only had a lawn tractor on it? :dunno:
 
eman1200 said:
Seen a couple in the wild recently from afar (bout a block away, while moving). Fugly fo sho.
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They are "fugtional" (that's one of my urban dictionary contributions, btw)
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Yes. Even the single-pedal driving that can be done in many EVs, a very minor change to the control paradigm, has led to some accidents
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I don't know anything about specific incidents however it strikes me that we will raise a new batch of drivers that never use the brake pedal. My understanding is that "single-pedal driving" does not provide full braking.

Then when it is needed the skill won't be there.

It seems to me that if we are going to do single pedal driving then it needs to provide the full range of braking. However that may have it's own problems, is there an equivalent of taking pressure of both feet? Maybe a strong detent or something?
 
Spring Ford said:
I don't know anything about specific incidents however it strikes me that we will raise a new batch of drivers that never use the brake pedal. My understanding is that "single-pedal driving" does not provide full braking.

Then when it is needed the skill won't be there.

It seems to me that if we are going to do single pedal driving then it needs to provide the full range of braking. However that may have it's own problems, is there an equivalent of taking pressure of both feet? Maybe a strong detent or something?
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The brake still provides full braking. You want to slow, lift the right pedal. You want to slow faster, hit the brake pedal. Anybody that can’t figure that out, ought not be driving anything.
 
Spring Ford said:
My understanding is that "single-pedal driving" does not provide full braking…

It seems to me that if we are going to do single pedal driving then it needs to provide the full range of braking.
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Tesla provides an option to automatically apply the brakes if regen is not fully available. That can happen with a fully charged battery. But it’s still far short of “the full range of braking”, in that it just mimics max regen.

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If I understand what you mean by “the full range of braking” is that lifting one’s foot completely off the accelerator would apply maximum braking. I think that could be dangerous. It’s rare, but I’ve had my right foot slip off the accelerator while stretching, or just having it creep off. Full panic braking in that scenario could easily result in being rear-ended. I think Tesla’s level of regen braking is just about right.
 
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Salty said:
The brake still provides full braking. You want to slow, lift the right pedal. You want to slow faster, hit the brake pedal. Anybody that can’t figure that out, ought not be driving anything.
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I would be willing to bet, it is because you have the muscle memory for it. I highly doubt there have been any studies on the effect of single peddle with regards to safety for younger drivers. Based on having seen how people react with accidents, does not give me much confidence. I hope you know why, people are not taught to drive with the accelerator with the right foot and the brake with the left? (Yes, racing, and specialized defensive driving schools teach it, I am talking for the average driver). People push both pedals when they want to emergency stop. With single pedal, they have no muscle memory to move off the accelerator in an emergency.

Tim
 
tspear said:
I would be willing to bet, it is because you have the muscle memory for it. I highly doubt there have been any studies on the effect of single peddle with regards to safety for younger drivers. Based on having seen how people react with accidents, does not give me much confidence. I hope you know why, people are not taught to drive with the accelerator with the right foot and the brake with the left? (Yes, racing, and specialized defensive driving schools teach it, I am talking for the average driver). People push both pedals when they want to emergency stop. With single pedal, they have no muscle memory to move off the accelerator in an emergency.

Tim
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Just out of curiosity, have you driven a Tesla and used regen braking? Or are your concerns based on what you imagine it might be like?
 
tspear said:
I would be willing to bet, it is because you have the muscle memory for it. I highly doubt there have been any studies on the effect of single peddle with regards to safety for younger drivers. Based on having seen how people react with accidents, does not give me much confidence. I hope you know why, people are not taught to drive with the accelerator with the right foot and the brake with the left? (Yes, racing, and specialized defensive driving schools teach it, I am talking for the average driver). People push both pedals when they want to emergency stop. With single pedal, they have no muscle memory to move off the accelerator in an emergency.

Tim
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It works exactly like how a gas car works, with the exception that you slow faster when you lift the “accelerator” pedal. What is there to get confused about?

There’s also the automated system that emergency brakes for you based on data from the cameras and lidar. That system will also steer to avoid a collision. I’ve never allowed it to do it for me, but I’d bet it works well enough to more than compensate for the problem you are imagining.
 
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Salty said:
It works exactly like how a gas car works, with the exception that you slow faster when you lift the “accelerator” pedal.
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A good analogy would be driving around in 1st or second gear in a gas car.
 
has anyone ever engaged the clutch.... when driving an automatic?

fortunately, no one was behind us when "my friend" did that...
 
Bit of a “mea culpa”*…

In normal driving, one very rarely needs to use the brake pedal at all. I think one may develop an aversion to actually using the brake pedal to stop. At least I have.

In our hit-and-run from a couple years ago posted previously, I think that aversion led to me allowing our Tesla to coast just beyond the stop line for the intersection.


So, I can see how a bad habit can develop.

*In this particular case, I think our car’s position just beyond the stop line minimized damage from the collision. Dumb luck, but if we had been holding before the stop line, the impact would have been to our left front corner, not a sideswipe of the left rear door, potentially causing a lot more damage, and possibly injury, from a frontal impact. In any case, if you followed that thread, the side cameras footage gave is the offender’s tag, and he was subsequently charged and convicted of leaving the scene.
 
On a Tesla, the one-pedal braking is a nice, conservative, comfortable deceleration. With more spirited driving the brake pedal would be used regularly. You also have to use the brake pedal when putting the car in gear and putting it back into Park, so you won't forget where it is.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Just out of curiosity, have you driven a Tesla and used regen braking? Or are your concerns based on what you imagine it might be like?
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Yes, Both brothers have Teslas (An X and Y model). Parents have a Mach-E, older brother has previously had Leafs and Bolts dating back to 2011. For us, it has always been about ditching the gas station. I rented a BMW M50 EV for three weeks in Tahoe this year, and I have rented multiple other EVs for one or two days on short trips.
I still detest single pedal. I also still believe, it is an accident waiting to happen.

Tim
 
Salty said:
It works exactly like how a gas car works, with the exception that you slow faster when you lift the “accelerator” pedal. What is there to get confused about?

There’s also the automated system that emergency brakes for you based on data from the cameras and lidar. That system will also steer to avoid a collision. I’ve never allowed it to do it for me, but I’d bet it works well enough to more than compensate for the problem you are imagining.
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No it does not work the same. You let off the gas pedal and the engine still provides minimal additional force allowing you to effectively coast significantly further, and the car will never stop until it runs out of gas or goes up a steep enough hill. With single pedal, the car is actively deaccelerating the car when you release the accelerator pedal and will bring the car to a stop. This allows the driver in normal situations to never need to touch the brake pedal.

This effectively means the driver has no muscle memory in an emergency situation to press the brake.

Therefore, you are looking at emergency brake assist to compensate for a user experience failure. e.g. you are trying to use technology address a problem that technology has created. This is just bad design.

Tim
 
I don’t like single pedal. There’s the argument that VW uses that in most cases, coasting with light regen will put more charge in the batt over hard regen. I’m no engineer so I can’t dispute that claim. I just prefer to coast and it’s better for preventing brake corrosion. Of course one pedal saves on pads and rotors though.
 
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