2 Cybertruck Exoskeleton Bodies Arrive at Giga Texas! * UPDATE * Elon Confirmed

[greggertruck]

The closer we get to production, the more I'm actually thinking they are sticking pretty much exactly with the concept, with a bit of refinement. I don't think they were talking out of their ass. This is their design. I think the size will be very close to original. The shape is pretty much spot on, and the materials will be the same. They've added 4-wheel steering and a Quad option for sure. Driver display likely, and I think their may be a mid-gate or at least a dropping window.

The price is going up, but keep in mind vs competitors that:
1. It doesn't need paint. (5% of cost?)
2. They don't have dealers. (5-10% of cost.)
3. They are using castings front and back. (5% of cost?)
4. Cheaper battery tech. (5-10% of cost?)
5. No marketing (5% of cost.)

That's 25-35% of the vehicle cost, and I'm being fairly conservative there. That means in theory they could match the value of a 100k Hummer for around $65-75k. I wouldn't worry about extra features when they are ditching a whole bunch of stuff that gives no tangible value to the customer. I expect initial Cybertruck models will be a bit pricey as they ramp up and deal with the demand backlog, but it will settle into an affordable to semi-affordable price before too long, and better value than almost any vehicle on the road.

That might be aggressive but it’s not wrong either

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[TheLastStarfighter]

Midgate seals would be a pain to keep clear of debris unlike the door seals where it can be designed to drop large bits, especially considering people will but sand, dirt, gravel etc in the bed. Another reason to not have a midgate at all btw. Lights in the top of the tailgate means you can just drive around with the tailgate open for the same length gain and no fuss around making a midgate work with vault cover, let alone making the midgate wall "flat" so you can actually use it properly as a loading floor. That same midgate crease angle is why a wind down window won't work. It would need a major redesign.

This would be easier and cheaper and you can use it as a step. Better than having a steep ramp too.

If you're one of the rare people who want to fish in your CT, you put the extra effort in to keep debris out. Also keep bagel crumbs and baby wipes out of your door gaps.

I expect midgate lovers to out number CT sailors by 10:1.

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

That might be aggressive but it’s not wrong either

I've heard competing automakers say no dealers saves Tesla 20%. The CT is more basic than my wife with a Pumpkin Spice; a manufacturing dream, even with crazy features.

 

[JBee]

If you're one of the rare people who want to fish in your CT, you put the extra effort in to keep debris out. Also keep bagel crumbs and baby wipes out of your door gaps.

I expect midgate lovers to out number CT sailors by 10:1.

What does the midgate give you that the fold down tailgate and stop doesn't?
Whilst traveling the open midgate will mean you lose 3 seats, the tail gate means your keep all 6 seats, and have all the NVH outside of the cabin.

The only advantage a midgate will give you is access to the bed from the cabin, for example for camp mode, which btw is stationary, but once again it will mean you lose the use of the rear seats as well. I think that is a poor compromise, I'd rather see a fancy load stop on the tailgate instead of a useless ramp that is to steep to walk up. I'm also not sure that the vault cover is 100% waterproof in the current design.

BTW the amphibious mode is a consequence of other design features, but not a feature they specifically changed much of the design for to accommodate. The consequence of sinking is non trivial, so they would not want to increase the risk, let alone add something that increases costs, and other failure points. It's also a structural element of the cabin cell btw, at a minimum to protect occupants of a shifting bed load whilst braking.

 

[greggertruck]

The only advantage a midgate will give you is access to the bed from the cabin, for example for camp mode, which btw is stationary, but once again it will mean you lose the use of the rear seats as well.

Secured longer bed. Far out weighs a truck boat. Tonneau down, tailgate up, opened mid gate. Huge bed. Great storage.

I have a very high end DW drum kit, or TVs for work in my bed, that rolling cover and potential midgate kicks butt.

 

[greggertruck]

I've heard competing automakers say no dealers saves Tesla 20%. The CT is more basic than my wife with a Pumpkin Spice; a manufacturing dream, even with crazy features.

Let’s just say they split those savings with us though.
25% markup on prices announced.Killer truck, good value.

 

[JBee]

Secured longer bed. Far out weighs a truck boat. Tonneau down, tailgate up, opened mid gate. Huge bed. Great storage.

I have a very high end DW drum kit, or TVs for work in my bed, that rolling cover and potential midgate kicks butt.

CT already has a foldup rear seat, so you have another 1.5cbm of volume in the cab for storing your drum kit without a midgate. Easier to load/unload too.

--

Amphibious is a far bigger selling point than extending the bed into the cabin. Think military, where the most common alternative after Humvee is a Land Rover, Mercedes G, Toyota Landcruiser, none of which are amphibious, or small weapons proof out of the box.

Did anyone read my post on how much the midgate wall has to change to make it fold?

Midgate issues:
1) Vault cover rail needs to be split top and bottom, which creates vault sealing problems (currently vault cover sealing is on window sill height, not on floor)
2) Vault cover has to completely roll up into compartment under bed
3) Midgate folds are so that rear seats can recline back, without reducing the bed length to much
4) the bed length is around 6.5ft along the bed floor, and reduces in length as it goes up
5) Folded midgate is not flat so impractical for loading on
6) Folded midgate requires the rear seat to fold into floor space to keep it level with bed
7) Folded midgate requires a load stop to protect occupants
8) Midgate compromises cabin sealing because of bed debris and NVH
9) Midgate compromises waterproofing
10 Vault cover is not 100% water/dust proof
11) Slide or fold down window does not work because of midgate folds, a sliding window could work, but is to small to use to access the back (less than 10" high)
12) Tailgate does the same length and more and is already there - no parts
13) Load stop on tailgate is simple and can double as step (if the tailgate hinge allows)
14) Foldup rear seat gives same if not more storage volume, with much greater height than in the bed, but with easier access through the side doors. (The bed is 15" higher than the cabin floor)
15) Waterline (where the CT mass equals it's displacement) is just on top of the bumper, so it's likely that in boat mode the CT doors will lock to keep them sealed, but open the windows for egress. The tailgate will also be locked closed. Because of the handleless door locks, the same mechanism will pull the doors into the seals, as will the tailgate and frunk lifts.

Of course you could argue that having a folding midgate would make it possible to get out via the bed in boat mode, but then you also need to have a method to steer it from the bed. An no a phone app is not good enough unless you have water FSD.

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

Midgate seals would be a pain to keep clear of debris unlike the door seals where it can be designed to drop large bits, especially considering people will load sand, dirt, gravel etc in the bed. Another reason to not have a midgate at all btw. Lights in the top of the tailgate means you can just drive around with the tailgate open for the same length gain and no fuss around making a midgate work with vault cover, let alone making the midgate wall "flat" so you can actually use it properly as a loading floor. That same midgate crease angle is why a wind down window won't work. It would need a major redesign.

This would be easier and cheaper and you can use it as a step. Better than having a steep ramp too.

You are forgetting that the Silverado will have both a midgate and a fancy tailgate....and Tesla doesn't want anyone with better functional features than they have. This might even extend to the frunk design. I do not know what they will have but I do not expect Lightning or Silverado to outshine the Cybertruck. Eventually we will find out.

 

[JBee]

You are forgetting that the Silverado will have both a midgate and a fancy tailgate....and Tesla doesn't want anyone with better functional features than they have. This might even extend to the frunk design. I do not know what they will have but I do not expect Lightning or Silverado to outshine the Cybertruck. Eventually we will find out.

Sure. CT is way off being comparable in any way already though, just with the bullet proof stainless body or being amphibious alone. But that doesn't change how much the current design would be impacted by including a fold down midgate.

If it was me I'd get rid of the vault cover and replace it with a fixed glass cover that slides over the rear glass roof. Both the vault cover and the rear roof would be covered in solar PV then. Costs 1 piece of glass, and would be 100% water/dust proof, and would allow a midgate without most of the issues, except load debris. You'd also score a gear tunnel like the Rivian. But I don't see it happening atm, without a major redesign.

 

[Throwcomputer]

Here I am thinking we've been done with the stupid mid gate discussion for months... Until It rears its ugly head again. Btw, didn't think any suggested feature could be more annoying than mid gate, until boat mode came around. Now people are just becoming farve talking about how we can't catch him cause his car will sprout some wings and fly away.

"You didn't call it car RamRod!"

"Oh I forgot"

"But I wrote it down!"

Can't wait to find out what this truck will actually be. #tiredofhypotheses

 

[Tinker71]

The CT has wheel guards that extend beyond the body. I have never seen a CT in person so I don’t know how far they stick out, and it seemed from looking at pics that the wheel may extend beyond the covers. The steering angle of the 4WS is certainly a valid point but so far the angles I have seen have been very small and maybe not an issue. I would not be surprised to find the CT bed 60” wide.

I wonder if they might limit the RWS to ~10 degrees on the street when the suspension is low and increase it to say 20 degrees with the suspension raised? The RWS could also be limited by speed.

 

[Tinker71]

Back to the thread, I wonder if these are just regular steel jigs to fit out the interior and class. Any activity is good activity. Tesla has a plan. We will probably just need to keep guessing until it is released or someone does a tear down.

 

[Tinker71]

Back to the thread, I wonder if these are just regular steel jigs to fit out the interior and class. Any activity is good activity. Tesla has a plan. We will probably just need to keep guessing until it is released or someone does a tear down.

At this stage what good would a body only prototype in stainless steel be if it wasn't "as manufactured"? I would be really excited if they actually folded these on a machine similar to production.

Still exciting that maybe the Fremont team is moving to Texas and moving their stuff.

 

[JBee]

What exactly did EM confirm about these packages? Nothing that I can tell.

They are still 4ft to short and 1.5ft not wide enough. Prove me wrong please.

 

[hridge2020]

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