Is the Cyber Truck a Flop?

[Renze]

But my belief is that Musk does not see EVs as the "hinge pin" of his empire.

I think he actually sees his charging infrastructure as the hinge pin of his empire. Once makers of real cars get the hang of EV i dont think Tesla can keep up. But he set the standard for charging stations. I think Shell, Esso and Exxon will be his real competitors in the future... just a hunch..

 

[ultrarunner]

My first job as a grad was in a tool and die union shop…

The first five years came with one week paid vacation annually and 5 paid holidays.

My friends in Europe said unbelievable!!!

The lowest apprentice in Austria has 43 paid days off plus pay is on a 14 months schedule… 2 extra month in August for vacation and 1 extra month at Christmas.

Lots of other benefits too… and women full retirement age less than a man.

If I would have ended up stuck there it would not have been a difficult transition… biggest adjustment for me was keeping up with all the holidays because stores closed and same for Sunday and no long Saturday hours… no last minute run to the hardware store for me…
Hosted many exchange students from Germany Austria and even Swiss .

Too the very last one they wouldn’t have traded their time in America but all were eager to return home when they wanted to start a family…

Tesla is not unusual there but no reports of the Tesla truck so far.

 

[Renze]

I couldn’t find any mention of CyberTrucks in that post.

Elon IS accused of bringing the H'tler salute though...
Leftist activists are projecting texts on Teslas German headquarter:

"Heil Tesla": Controversial Image Of Elon Musk Displayed On Tesla Factory In Germany

The display, created by activist groups Led By Donkeys and the Centre for Political Beauty, has drawn public attention and is under investigation by local police.

www.ndtv.com

Elon has said in an interview with Mrs Weidel, chairwoman of the AfD (Alternatives for Germany) that Germans should stop feeling eternal guilt over a war that ended 79 years and speak up (when illegal migrants are ravaging the country and murdering people.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/world/europe/musk-germany-afd-auschwitz.html

Germans mourn the 5 killed and 200 injured in the apparent attack on a Christmas market

The death toll in attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany rose to 5 and more than 200 injured.

apnews.com

The Germans have had enough to be mauled because something bad happened 80 years ago.. And off course, a party that finally says what people think, will attract some faulty characters as well. In America nobody is shocked when you want to evict illegal immigrants, especially the criminal ones. But in Germany, the left still mentions the war whenever you criticize their potential voting pets.

 

[Renze]

Lots of other benefits too… and women full retirement age less than a man.

Yeah, and if you are willing to register as a female for a couple of years, you can retire early

Streit um Pension: Wiener will mit 62 als Frau in Ruhestand

Ein Wiener ließ 2023 sein Geschlecht von männlich auf weib...

www-5min-at.translate.goog

… biggest adjustment for me was keeping up with all the holidays because stores closed and same for Sunday and no long Saturday hours… no last minute run to the hardware store for me…

Germans the same. Day of unification, labour day... though we celebrate remembrance day and liberation day only once every 5 years as a national day off.

 

[ultrarunner]

I remember driving from
Munich to Salzburg on a weekday and trucks as far as I could see backed up for miles and miles but the fast lane of the autobahn had passenger cars not stopped and an occasional big rig too.

Turns out it was a holiday and on holidays commercial freight not allowed but a few such as milk and some perishable farm products are exempt… was not expecting this on what I thought was a normal weekday.

Next time I visit friends that own Teslas said I should make an autobahn run with them…

 

[Renze]

Next time I visit friends that own Teslas said I should make an autobahn run with them…

There used to be a gentlemans agreement that manufacturers would limit their cars max speed at 250kmh. Nowadays its 180kmh. Off course they said its because of the environment, but it happened at the same time as engine downsizing... i think they're just covering their arses

In Germany the freeway really means freeway. I once had to duck into the right lane to make way for three matt black Mercedes estates that past us with 250+ kmh (i was doing 190 with my 90hp turbodiesel.)
When i tried to hook behind them, my turbo hose ripped lengthwise from hose clamp to hose clamp...

Oh, and German GM subsidiary Opel tried putting a 5.7 small block in their top model. Opels approval criterium was that it should survive 6 hours of Autobahn with wide open throttle, like German executives did at that time. It did not, so the project was cancelled because it was not "Vollgasfest" or "full throttle proof"

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/concept/1999-opel-concept-would-have-been-ultimate-dad-car

Dont you love the fact that the Germans have a special word for it ?

Instead of using the Chevy V8 that would blow up at Autobahn speeds, they teamed up with Lotus which highly modified the Opel 3.0 cam in head engine, bored it out to 3.6 liter, reinforced the block, made a billet crank, slapped two turbos on it.

Lots of them were stolen by bank robbers because these had room to pack the loot and could still outrun police helicopters.

Lotus Carlton - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[ultrarunner]

There used to be a gentlemans agreement that manufacturers would limit their cars max speed at 250kmh. Nowadays its 180kmh.

In Germany the freeway really means freeway. I once had to duck into the right lane to make way for three matt black Mercedes estates that past us with 250+ kmh (i was doing 190 with my 90hp turbodiesel.)
When i tried to hook behind them, my turbo hose ripped lengthwise from hose clamp to hose clamp...

Oh, and German GM subsidiary Opel tried putting a 5.7 small block in their top model. Opels approval criterium was that it should survive 6 hours of Autobahn with wide open throttle, like German executives did at that time. It did not, so the project was cancelled because it was not "Vollgasfest" or "full throttle proof"

Dont you love the fact that the Germans have a special word for it ?

I’ve heard that phrase a lot but most of my friends did not owned anything performance oriented and it took full gas to jump on the freeway and not get killed…

I’ve wondered how Tesla navigates all the tax and license issues being electric?

I’ve heard it has changed from the time I worked there where insurance was based on horsepower and license on engine displacement.

One thing I liked is up to 3 cars could be registered with the same plate paying only for the most expensive one and the other smaller would basically be free as an owner could only drive one at a time with a single pair of plates…

230kmh was the GM fastest I drove on the autobahn to snap a picture… about 143 mph in a 6 cylinder SEL Mercedes rental.

There must be performance driving tales with Tesla?

Back when GM debuted the EV1 and Toyota and Nissan were in development my German friends ruled out Electric saying not suitable for cold harsh winters pushing through fresh snow.

 

[WinterDeere]

Last I checked with neighbor that builds Tesla is Tesla is a non union shop and the only one of the majors building in the USA

I usually don't let politics influence my purchasing decisions, but have to admit that hearing Tesla is a non-union shop would be enough to sway my purchasing decision toward them, if other factors were on-par with a union-built vehicle.

 

[Renze]

I usually don't let politics influence my purchasing decisions, but have to admit that hearing Tesla is a non-union shop would be enough to sway my purchasing decision toward them, if other factors were on-par with a union-built vehicle.

Interesting... You guys think Europe is more socialist than you because we dont let employers control our retirement savings...
But "Union job" ive heard that many times over the years, but does anyone care to explain what it means ?

Here, if youre a member of a union, you can get legal assist in a conflict with an employer, or advice. Thats why here in Holland, mostly old people or Commies are members.

The inflation correction on wages negotiated between unions and employers are declared binding to all employers who work under these conditions eventually, so i must admit that i am profiting from someone elses negotiating effort without contributing (how Communist i am !!)

 

[WinterDeere]

Interesting... You guys think Europe is more socialist than you because we dont let employers control our retirement savings...
But "Union job" ive heard that many times over the years, but does anyone care to explain what it means ?

Here, if youre a member of a union, you can get legal assist in a conflict with an employer, or advice. Thats why here in Holland, mostly old people or Commies are members.

The inflation correction on wages negotiated between unions and employers are declared binding to all employers who work under these conditions eventually, so i must admit that i am profiting from someone elses effort (how Communist i am !!)

Knowing you like the deep dives on history, you could probably find some interesting stuff to watch on YouTube, on this subject. But to boil down a century into two or three sentences, American workers had very few legal protections in the early years of the industrial revolution. Mechanization replaced a lot of skilled jobs work with unskilled work, and employers had free reign to treat employees rather badly.

So, they began to unionize, either by individual factories or companies, or in some cases by industry. Employers retaliated, but eventually the unions became strong enough to get laws passed for their protection. It was mostly all a very good thing.

But as the power of the unions continued to grow in the post-war years, many began to feel they were reaching too far, breaking the merit system that would typically promote the best work and performance, and instead fostering a system of laziness and protecting bad employees. Then it all got wrapped up in our party politics...