Let’s start by saying CleanTechnica has all the time been an enormous supporter of Elon Musk and Tesla. Our opinions might need been dented a bit recently by Elon’s love affair with Twitter and the large drop within the worth of its shares, however nobody can deny that the Unimaginable Mister Musk has virtually singlehandedly sparked the worldwide transition to electrical automobiles. Sure, BMW and Nissan have been there originally of the fashionable EV period, however Tesla was what everybody was speaking about. Now that the EV market has matured a bit, everyone seems to be ready for the subsequent large factor from Tesla — the Cybertruck.
Many within the business are starting to wonder if the Cybertruck may be a bridge too far for Musk and Tesla. Elon has a fascination with science fiction movies and has overtly admitted the Cybertruck, with its edgy wedge form, was partially impressed by the imaginary automobiles featured in such classics as Blade Runner and Complete Recall. He has borrowed two phrases from the Mel Brooks send-up of Star Wars referred to as House Balls — Ludicrous and Plaid. Most Plaid mode will supposedly seem within the upcoming Tesla Roadster 2 scheduled to seem someday this decade.
Writing within the New York Times (which has not all the time been an enormous Elon fan) this week, automotive journalist Jack Ewing says, “It might be very in contrast to Mr. Musk, Tesla’s chief govt, to construct a pickup that regarded something just like the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, or Ram 1500 pickup — three of the very best promoting automobiles in america. With its angular stainless-steel physique, the Cybertruck is an try and redefine the pickup in the identical approach that Tesla upended the standard knowledge of the auto business by proving that battery powered automobiles could possibly be sensible and worthwhile.”
Cybertruck Delays
The Cybertruck is so not on time that some auto specialists surprise if it has turn out to be one other instance of Mr. Musk’s penchant for pushing technological boundaries to the brink of catastrophe, Ewing writes. In 2018, his willpower to construct a extremely automated meeting line for the Mannequin three sedan led to “manufacturing hell” and almost killed the corporate earlier than he opted for extra commonplace manufacturing practices. This time it’s the usage of stainless-steel for the Cybertruck’s physique that has business specialists shaking their heads. Chrome steel resists corrosion and doesn’t have to be painted, eliminating a manufacturing price and the necessity for environmentally poisonous chemical coatings. However additionally it is costly and tough to form and weld. Chrome steel is often heavier than the metal utilized in most different automobiles, decreasing driving vary.
“Musk is an instance of how the fetishization of tech start-ups and their leaders can finally lead these leaders to creating dangerous choices,” Patrick McQuown, govt director of entrepreneurship at Towson College in Maryland, mentioned in an e mail to Ewing. “To me, the insistence on stainless-steel is a manifestation of his perception that he has some distinctive understanding of the market and that the market will purchase no matter he presents as a result of it comes from the thoughts of Elon Musk.”
“Tesla thinks they will remedy any downside and don’t should study from anybody else,” mentioned Raj Rajkumar, a professor of engineering at Carnegie Mellon College, “after which they get caught in a nook. The primary mover benefit that Tesla might have leveraged has fully gone away. It’s a large alternative misplaced.”
The Cybertruck Breaks The Mildew
Tesla’s Franz von Holzhausen hitting the Cybertruck with a sledgehammer on the unveil. Picture courtesy of Tesla.
Clearly, McQuown and Rajkumar should not large admirers of Elon, however is his critique legitimate? Ford, Basic Motors, and Ram are all piling into the electrical pickup area with automobiles which are almost indistinguishable from their typical cousins. Pickup vehicles are a cultural icon in America and anybody who dares alter the expectations of truck consumers is taking an enormous threat — one thing Elon has by no means been shy about doing. However messing with icons can come again to chew you. Jeep discovered that lesson when it put sq. headlights right into a Wrangler a few years in the past. Would a Harley Davidson that doesn’t make that particular potato-potato sound from a V-Twin engine nonetheless have the identical fascination?
Pickup truck designs in America at the moment are virtually a caricature of the style. All of them attempt to look tall, aggressive, cumbersome, and highly effective. Against this, the Cybertruck is extra like a ballerina than a weight lifter. Will the Cybertruck actually attraction to conventional truck consumers or will it create a wholly new market phase that approach the unique Dodge Caravan did? The variety of pre-orders for the Cybertruck signifies there might be loads of consumers ready in line when full production starts in 2024.
Many of the grumbling from business stalwarts appears to middle on Tesla’s resolution to make it and not using a conventional body, utilizing a chrome steel shell as an alternative. Stainless prices greater than the metal utilized in most cars as a result of it incorporates chromium and sometimes different components, like nickel and molybdenum, which are in excessive demand. Stainless, with its tendency to spring again to its authentic form, means it can’t be stamped into fenders and different elements as simply because the extra pliable metal utilized by most automakers. That may impact its crashworthiness as stainless-steel has very totally different traits than stamped metal, which could be shaped into crumple zones that soak up a lot of the drive of a collision to guard the occupants inside.
Jack Ewing says there are indications the Cybertruck will use a chrome steel formulation that’s the identical as or just like the one utilized by SpaceX, since Charles Kuehmann, vice chairman of supplies engineering at SpaceX, holds the identical title at Tesla. Beforehand he was a co-founder of QuesTek, a supplies design agency, and was a part of a design staff at Apple. His fame as a pioneer in the usage of new supplies provides some engineering specialists confidence that Tesla has developed an alloy that can overcome the challenges of stainless-steel.
The specialists Ewing spoke with mentioned the massive, flat stainless-steel panels for the Cybertruck will in all probability be minimize with lasers after which welded collectively. Our personal sources say a large 9,000 ton casting machine to be used in making the Cybertruck has simply arrived on the Austin Gigafactory.
“Broadly the idea might make sense,” mentioned Kip Findley, a professor of metallurgical and supplies engineering on the Colorado College of Mines who has finished analysis on superior metal for automobiles. “That is pushing metal growth ahead and making individuals take into consideration metal otherwise, which is nice. However there are some open questions,” he says, together with how house owners will restore physique harm if it happens. Chrome steel dents much less simply than the metal sometimes utilized in typical cars, however as soon as broken it’s tougher to restore.
The Takeaway
Elon is on report as saying he doesn’t a lot care whether or not the Cybertruck is a gross sales success. Whether it is rejected by {the marketplace}, Tesla will simply design a extra conventional truck and transfer on. There are already stories {that a} smaller model of the Cybertruck is feasible for world markets the place such giant automobiles should not notably standard. However a redesign would take years to perform and would in all probability not be sort to the corporate’s inventory worth. Musk could not care a lot about cash, however thousands and thousands of Tesla shareholders definitely do.
Elon Musk can by no means be accused of failing to assume outdoors the field. In truth, his penchant for considering approach outdoors the field is one in all his most adorable — and maddening — traits. There may be an previous expression that goes like this: Dwell by the sword; die by the sword. Will Musk pull another rabbit out of the hat to astound his supporters and confound his skeptics? “We’ll see,” mentioned the Zen grasp.
