Is the Cyber Truck a Flop?

[WM75Guy]

The Tesla store in Tyler has a parking lot full of Cybertrucks. Only 2 models show on the Tesla website, the All-Wheel Drive and Cyberbeast. I guess $79,990 is under $80,000. But add in destination and order fees and it is above $80,000.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm in Tyler fairly often and I've never noticed that there is a Tesla Dealership there. I have no idea where it is!!!

I looked it up. I just I never noticed it. I drive by Harbor Freight fairly often, so I should have seen it.

 

[WM75Guy]

Yep, across the loop where the gun store/gun range was several years back. Not a lot of signage. The parking lot in front of the store has Model 3s and Model Ys. I noticed the parking lot on the north side has a row of Cybertrucks, like a dozen or so.

 

[mllud]

They should just stop building surplus and build only ordered vehicles.
But, I know that production lines don't work well like that.
Musk did that sickening little dance when introducing it that was childlike.
It fails being Practical for a work vehicle, period.
It's not a truck!
He could probably sell a small electric truck that wasn't obscene looking and is dependable.
It's a floundering failure

 

[WinterDeere]

It fails being Practical for a work vehicle, period.

I disagree. I think that if it didn't look so stupid, it could be a great vehicle for everything from weekend warriors to general contractors who treat their truck as a rolling office.

By all accounts, the bad weather and light offroad performance are fantastic. It has on-board wifi, power, everything you'd need to work out of a vehicle. Heck, even general handymen could power corded tools from it.

The two biggest problems they have are cosmetics and price

It's not a truck!

It ain't no 3500 HD, but other than one major hiccup on the trailer hitch, it does serve most of the 1/2 ton needs pretty well.

He could probably sell a small electric truck that wasn't obscene looking and is dependable.

The CT looks comically wide, but again... that's cosmetics. It's actually 3" narrower than a RAM 1500. I also don't think a smaller version would be any more or less dependable. I do think a smaller version would serve urban customers better, but debating that is like worrying about the color of the carpet on the Titanic while it's sinking. It's cosmetics that killed this truck.

 

[mikester]

Designed by focus groups to appeal to everyman. End product is desired by no-one.

 

[Oaktree]

I disagree. I think that if it didn't look so stupid, it could be a great vehicle for everything from weekend warriors to general contractors who treat their truck as a rolling office.

By all accounts, the bad weather and light offroad performance are fantastic. It has on-board wifi, power, everything you'd need to work out of a vehicle. Heck, even general handymen could power corded tools from it.

The two biggest problems they have are cosmetics and price

And perhaps the fact that the world wasn't exactly beating down doors for an e-truck to begin with. No one else's are selling very well either.

All the features you mention are available on everyone else's trucks too.

Designed by focus groups to appeal to everyman. End product is desired by no-one.

Nah, this was all Elon. He wanted to make a statement. Well, he did.

 

[WinterDeere]

And perhaps the fact that the world wasn't exactly beating down doors for an e-truck to begin with.

That’s really not clear. After all, wasn’t their Model Y the best selling vehicle in American, prior to Elon’s bungling into politics?

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I said at the time it's a flash in the pan. Not practical.
For years I repaired TVs and lots of people had to be the first on the block to have B&W CRT, color CRT, 40" CRT, front CRT projection, rear CRT projection, DLP, Plasma, LCD, LED, Oled, 4K smart...on & on & on...

 

[WinterDeere]

I have a lot of friends and family with everything from Model S P100Ds down to lowly model 3’s, and they all love them. I’m still the caveman buying the largest-displacement gassers I can find… if there were still an 8-liter sports sedan under $100k, I’d be driving it.

But even I have to admit, these BEV’s are here to stay, until some better tech replaces them. I’ve driven both $120k model S’s and $60k model 3 dual motors, and have to admit their around-town acceleration and performance is staggering.

They may not be practical for someone in Nevada or Wyoming, given the distances… but there aren’t many people in Nevada or Wyoming! For the masses of us on both coasts, they have a lot of advantages, with only a few disadvantages.

While I’ll probably never stray far from big displacement gas guzzlers for my own vehicles, I do suspect both my wife and kids will be in EV’s, with their next vehicle purchases.

 

[DarkBlack]

I said at the time it's a flash in the pan. Not practical.
For years I repaired TVs and lots of people had to be the first on the block to have B&W CRT, color CRT, 40" CRT, front CRT projection, rear CRT projection, DLP, Plasma, LCD, LED, Oled, 4K smart...on & on & on...

You forgot 3D tv’s, and of course Smell-O-vision

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I have a lot of friends and family with everything from Model S P100Ds down to lowly model 3’s, and they all love them. I’m still the caveman buying the largest-displacement gassers I can find… if there were still an 8-liter sports sedan under $100k, I’d be driving it.

But even I have to admit, these BEV’s are here to stay, until some better tech replaces them. I’ve driven both $120k model S’s and $60k model 3 dual motors, and have to admit their around-town acceleration and performance is staggering.

They may not be practical for someone in Nevada or Wyoming, given the distances… but there aren’t many people in Nevada or Wyoming! For the masses of us on both coasts, they have a lot of advantages, with only a few disadvantages.

While I’ll probably never stray far from big displacement gas guzzlers for my own vehicles, I do suspect both my wife and kids will be in EV’s, with their next vehicle purchases.

Electric cars have been around for well over a century. Back then appealed mostly to women because they had problems cranking a gas engine.
Then the Tesla/EV phenomenon took off as justification of the green new deal and lowering pollution. It's buying audience primarily people believing it will save Earth while getting 100+ m.p.g. equivalent.
Make it fast, clean, fewer parts while "turning heads" & to impress. (Not my words but others I've heard).
It's a false narrative and there is no free lunch.
Imagine how electricity is generated and the power grid must be upgraded to keep up with increased demand. Acres of deforestation for wind turbines and solar panels. Larger transformers and wire, etc.
There's a happy medium. I use my collection of DeWalt battery tools every day.
A good trade off for speed would be increased range. An inexpensive EV car for everyday redundant commute to work or store trips makes sense.
I can envision a day when first major interstates then all the way down to secondary roads will have imbeded coils for inductive charging as you drive. The EV having a 50 mile range would be sufficient for driveways.
After that probably anti-gravity propulsion so roads wouldn't even be needed.
I try to imagine what my Mother must have thought as a kid growing up in Philadelphia seeing Autogyros.

 

[KennyG]

An interesting aspect of the electric cars is that the performance doesn't come with a loss of efficiency. A big electric motor has essentially the same efficiency as a small one. Of course if you use that capability the economy decreases, but having it isn't the same compromise you have with an internal combustion engine.

 

[Blue Mule]

Cybertruck flopped because there are only a small niche segment of people willing to pay that much money for something that ugly. It takes just the right person, and those persons already got one.

EV trucks in general are growing on me though. I leased a Ford F-150 Lightning Flash back at the end of summer and I've driven it everywhere. I've been on dates with the wife in it. We've been on a long trip to the lake. We've hauled her entire art show setup to Louisville with it. I've towed all my trailers with it. I've hauled plywood home from Lowe's with it. It has totally replaced my prior diesel truck and it's been amazing at 99% of what my prior trucks did for me. It's really grown on me a lot.

This winter when the wind chill is below zero and the wind is howling I won't be standing around at a diesel pump freezing my nuts off waiting for the truck to fill up. It's nice to just pull into my residential garage, hook up the truck, spend $14 bucks, and get a full "tank" again.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

The problem is if enough people switch to EVs with all the power upgrades necessary it won't cost $14 for a 'tank of gas' anymore.
There's no free lunch.

 

[Oaktree]

That’s really not clear. After all, wasn’t their Model Y the best selling vehicle in American, prior to Elon’s bungling into politics?

Not that I'm aware of, but we're talking trucks, not sedans.
There's a certain market segment that's open to something new and different, but they're not typically the same ones who buy trucks. Most truck owners I know are looking for first and foremost a practical vehicle, something the CT isn't.
I'll be the first to admit I can't tell the difference between the various models of Tesla sedans (or else all the ones I've seen are the same model). They're not all that common in my area.

 

[WinterDeere]

Cybertruck flopped because there are only a small niche segment of people willing to pay that much money for something that ugly.

Lol.. couldn’t have said it better, myself!

Anyone who thinks Tesla’s aren’t selling due to poor performance has their head in the sand. Ugly, yes. Too expensive, yes. Range limited, on the scale of a Wyoming driver, yes. But most of the other arguments I hear against them just sound like people grabbing at straws, trying to justify an unwarranted bias.

 

[deezler]

The problem is if enough people switch to EVs with all the power upgrades necessary it won't cost $14 for a 'tank of gas' anymore.
There's no free lunch.

Or even before then, once all the AI data centers come online. Electricity prices in Virginia (highest concentration of existing/new data centers) are already set to double.

And while EV charging at home may be affordable, try charging your Hummer EV or Silverado EV to full at a public pay-charger - it costs close to $100 in many areas. IE, the same as filling up with gasoline.

 

[eolesen]

CT was a fad, not necessarily a flop.

I can get a really nice truck for under $80K... but I use mine to tow trailers. CT has never been an option because of that.

 

[Blue Mule]

The problem is if enough people switch to EVs with all the power upgrades necessary it won't cost $14 for a 'tank of gas' anymore.
There's no free lunch.

LONG way from that happening, but if we're playing hypotheticals here.... the price of gasoline would fall sharply if everybody switched the EVs. So then I'd just go back to a gasoline truck

Until then, I'm going to ride this wave. $14 bucks for a fillup. $80 less per month for insurance. $0 in maintenance. 775 lb/ft of torque in a 1/2 ton truck. It's actually really really nice. Wife loves all the extra storage space in the "frunk".

This weekend I caught a GM electric pickup towing a skid steer. I had once considered those, but GM is a company I usually avoid.