Electric Truck - Wow!

[Philpug]

Completely agree. When I saw the truck on stage I thought it was a joke. Feels like an early concept not a production vehicle. So much potential and yet so poorly delivered.

When I saw the pics starting to pop up, I also thought it was a joke. It just does not make senst to me...not the idea of an electric truck, but this abomination. You have one chance to make a first impression but this thing is so off the mark that it isn't even funny. That wond you heard, that was a huge sigh of relief coming from Rivian.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

If I'm Ford, I'm not worried about losing market share to that thing.

 

[Wendy]

The pchewn ski mobile is a Kia Niro plug-in hybrid. Electric power for 8.9 KWH battery (about 26 miles), small gas engine for the range. For skiing, about 55 MPG from Portland to Mt Hood. For commuting this summer, about 180 MPG due to short trips mostly electric power. I filled up about once per month in the summer. Odometer pic from summer is showing 775 miles on 3/4 tank of gas at 180 MPG.

Front wheel drive with snow tires all around for winter (occasional chains). Regular tires for summer.

Holds me, my son, all of our gear, and two very tired grandsons.

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thanks for posting this! My husband and I peruse hybrid and electric vehicles for our next purchase, and it’s great to see info from owners with experiences relevant to how we would use them.

Threads like this are amazing for the valuable content that gets contributed.

I am hoping in 4 years the market shifts significantly towards hybrids and electric as infrastructure improves. We won’t be living in PA in 4 years and where we live will determine what our next vehicle will be.

 

[dovski]

so for those looking to a pure electric ski vehicle you still have two options that make senses, especially in those mountain passes, the newer Tesla Model S and Model X. I personally lean towards the Model S because it can take proper roof rack and you can adjust the open on the trunk so you can fit a ski box. FYI the rear trunk on the Model S opens very high for access, If you do not adjust it before opening you could put your skis through the back windshield. Model S has a great AWD platform and tons of storage for those longer trips. I have also put down one of the back seats and laid skis flat in the trunk.

Model X is the best electric SUV on the market. We have friends who drive their cross country every year. It is built on the same platform as the model S. My only gripe is that if cannot take a ski box or roof rack … really do not like getting road dirt on my skis.

The one thing to be aware with an EV is that you do not get the same range in the winter that you do in the summer, so make sure you have lots of juice in the battery before heading up to the mountain passes. The good news is going down is easy and in many cases the regenerative braking will charge your car on the way down.

I have looked at all the EVs in the market and keep on coming back to Tesla, they are hands down years ahead with their cars and the battery technology. This is why I keep on trying to like the Cybertruck but alas that is bridge to far … Sorry Elon you had an ugly baby.

 

[cantunamunch]

The one thing to be aware with an EV is that you do not get the same range in the winter that you do in the summer, so make sure you have lots of juice in the battery before heading up to the mountain passes. The good news is going down is easy and in many cases the regenerative braking will charge your car on the way down.

I have looked at all the EVs in the market and keep on coming back to Tesla, they are hands down years ahead with their cars and the battery technology. This is why I keep on trying to like the Cybertruck but alas that is bridge to far … Sorry Elon you had an ugly baby.

Thus far he's got one further advantage - fastest charging network. It looks like the 2022 Trimotor with 500 mile range can get me to Canada with one hour-long stop including running heaters.

I still want to hear about the Kia hybrid ski trip experience tho.

 

[Bill Talbot]

EV's are slightly less interesting to me than frozen dog poop...
Will never understand people attraction, especially folks who travel far in cold weather.(skiers)

 

[dovski]

Thus far he's got one further advantage - fastest charging network. It looks like the 2022 Trimotor with 500 mile range can get me to Canada with one hour-long stop including running heaters.

I still want to hear about the Kia hybrid ski trip experience tho.

With the Super charging network you can now drive just about anywhere in North America with a Tesla and the newer ones charge about 4x faster than the original. This is a major differentiator for Tesla. In addition you can get a Chademo adapter and tap into the public network of fast chargers in Canada. BC Hydro offers these for free and so do other provinces.

We have taken our 2013 Tesla P85 on many road trips. This used to be a real head turner but not so much anymore as there are lots of Tesla’s on the road now. In addition to free super charging, we also discovered that in big cities a lot of hotels and businesses will offer free valet parking and charging for Tesla’s. This saves us a lot of $$ every trip to Vancouver or Whistler above and beyond not paying for gas.

last but not least these cars have tons of storage and cabin space compared to ICE luxury cars. You can pretty much get the same cargo space in a Model S as you do a mid sized SUV.

I should also mention they are fun to drive, especially when someone in a muscle car tries to beat you off the line at an intersection. My wife does not like it when I do that but 0-60 in the blink of an eye is a lot of fun every now and then.

simply put while there are a lot of EVs coming to market they have a long way to go before they are playing at the same level as Tesla.

 

[pete]

$93,000 is a lot but I saw a nice looking half ton in a local dealers lot so I walked over to check it out - $83,000!!!!! for a half ton!!! Maybe $93,000 isn't so out of line.

new trucks run standard in the $50K and a well trimmed out Ford or GMC hits $70K MSRP. If the Tesla qualifies for Fed write off, if still available it's price is cut by $7K range, so performance wise, not out of the running considering savings on cost per mile.

I've got a 2005 Silverado and if I get 20MPG on the highway, I'm doing well. but I've figured long ago I can have paid for a higher mileage used car getting double or least in the 3x mpg range for what I've burned in fuel. I know I've burned based on mileage some 13000 gals of fuel and with an average over the years in the $3/gal range .. well, if I drove the truck 1/3 the mileage it would relate to around $15K that could be used for another vehicle which includes the gas used.

146,000 orders in 24 hours:

Single motor – 17% of 146,000 = 24,820 orders X $39,900 = $990,318,000

Dual motor – 42% of 146,000 = 61,320 orders X $49,900 = $3,059,868,000

Tri motor – 41% of 140,000 = 59,860 orders X $69,900 = $4,184,214,000

This sums up to $8.23 Billion worth of sales in first 24 hours

good if all fulfilled orders but I even thought about putting $100 down as it's fully refundable and simply give time to see if style changed and/or if I really wanted one given looks, heck, even if not refunded, $100 won't break my bank.

 

[dovski]

EV's are slightly less interesting to me than frozen dog poop...
Will never understand people attraction, especially folks who travel far in cold weather.(skiers)

Agre and disagree as EVs have come a long way. Will not drive my Model S to the ski hill, but it is the original performance RWD and the range is limited in winter. The new ones are AWD and have much greater range so not an issue

 

[pete]

Whether widely adopted or not likely isn't a big concern to Tesla as the truck market in US is pretty big, Ford and GM each do some 1M/year on their lines so even 5% of the market may keep Tesla happy.

Be interesting if they can get their truck line going. One company was promoting their EV for buses and garbage/recycling trucks largely due to regenerative braking to make them cost effective. Even Mack and Volvo are in the fray.

 

[pchewn]

I still want to hear about the Kia hybrid ski trip experience tho.

I have the Kia Niro hybrid and take it skiing all the time. Other than what's posted in #25 above, what do you want to hear about it?

 

[dovski]

Whether widely adopted or not likely isn't a big concern to Tesla as the truck market in US is pretty big, Ford and GM each do some 1M/year on their lines so even 5% of the market may keep Tesla happy.

Be interesting if they can get their truck line going. One company was promoting their EV for buses and garbage/recycling trucks largely due to regenerative braking to make them cost effective. Even Mack and Volvo are in the fray.

Everyone is in the fray right now. Big differentiator is that most traditional companies are trying to electrify existing vehicles whereas Tesla is building electric vehicles from the ground up. The Tesla battery technology is also significantly better than anything else on the market which is another major differentiator.

 

[pete]

understood but too is the infrastructure of support another OEM has over Tesla. Don't get me wrong, Tesla has some spectacular technology and upped the game for everyone but if city or municipality is going to electrify it's fleet, they need to know they can get support for the stuff too.

Not sure how Tesla is today with support for repairs, etc early this year there was a lot of moaning that repairs were stretched for support pretty thin.

Simply being, while I don't think Tesla would, they might benefit from some tech partnership with an established party in the heavier equip category.

Their battery technology partnership with Panasonic may be an example of where this works well for Tesla.

 

[dovski]

understood but too is the infrastructure of support another OEM has over Tesla. Don't get me wrong, Tesla has some spectacular technology and upped the game for everyone but if city or municipality is going to electrify it's fleet, they need to know they can get support for the stuff too.

Not sure how Tesla is today with support for repairs, etc early this year there was a lot of moaning that repairs were stretched for support pretty thin.

Simply being, while I don't think Tesla would, they might benefit from some tech partnership with an established party in the heavier equip category.

Their battery technology partnership with Panasonic may be an example of where this works well for Tesla.

It is actually the existing infrastructure that works against most car companies as it is not optimized for EVs. Where Tesla has the real advantage is in the fact that everything they do down to the most basic components they make are optimized for EVs. Existing car companies need to standardize parts and platforms across existing infrastructure. So combine Tesla’s EV first infrastructure, with their advanced battery technology and their super charging network and you have both a significant competitive advantage and user experience differentiator that no other car company or EV company can match.

also my experience has been that Tesla service is amazing. They will actually send a mobile service unit to you and service your vehicle while you work. They also always provide loaners if they need your car for longer and their warranty covers everything including brake pads and windshield wipers.

last but not least the buying experience with Tesla puts traditional dealerships to shame. No games, no upswell, no nonsense and you can do it all online.

 

[cantunamunch]

I have the Kia Niro hybrid and take it skiing all the time. Other than what's posted in #25 above, what do you want to hear about it?

Loaded behaviour in traffic? Uphill grade performance? Stability in crosswinds? Understeer on downhills and how much does it change with loading? Packed snow climbing grip and how does that change with loading? If you can compare to other vehicles , CRV , Cherokee, Odyssey, CX-5, that would be handy; Ive driven the Sorento too but only twice.

The battery pack looks heavy enough to affect all those things, and you're the only person I know of with ski trip experience in it.

 

[crgildart]

I'm open to an EV for local and regional needs. I'm not "in" as a road trip vehicle until charging stations are as prevalent as fuel stations. The option of combining a topping off of the tank with every bio break is way more preferable than having to add an additional stop not able to shift the plan when the bio needs arrive when the next charging station isn't for another 100 miles.

 

[dovski]

I'm open to an EV for local and regional needs. I'm not "in" as a road trip vehicle until charging stations are as prevalent as fuel stations. The option of combining a topping off of the tank with every bio break is way more preferable than having to add an additional stop not able to shift the plan when the bio needs arrive when the next charging station isn't for another 100 miles.

This is where Tesla’s super charging network is a major difference. When you go on a Tesla road trip the GPS actually plans short stops at super chargers along the way so you top off as you go. Typical charging stop is 20 minutes and the kids usually take a potty break or grab a bite. Combine that with destination charging and there really are no worries. Just follow the ABC rule, “always be charging”. The cars are now pushing a 400 mile range and the super charging network is expanding to secondary routes and smaller population areas so now more than ever there really are not any barriers to traveling cross country or to Canada or Mexico with a Tesla

 

[crgildart]

This is where Tesla’s super charging network is a major difference. When you go on a Tesla road trip the GPS actually plans short stops at super chargers along the way so you top off as you go. Typical charging stop is 20 minutes and the kids usually take a potty break or grab a bite. Combine that with destination charging and there really are no worries. Just follow the ABC rule, “always be charging”. The cars are now pushing a 400 mile range and the super charging network is expanding to secondary routes and smaller population areas so now more than ever there really are not any barriers to traveling cross country or to Canada or Mexico with a Tesla

There are still plenty of desolate, isolated areas through Appalachia where even regular gas stations are few and far between, no major interstate options to get from point A to point B. Some of the places we ski involve routes like that. We can drive over an hour between cell towers. Even in areas where there is a charging station, are there back up options? There's almost always another gas station nearby. What if the one charging station there is out of order?

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Does that truck even have a bed? OK, it does, 5.5 ft, but it looks to me like it will be terrible at doing truck things. If Elon Muck doesn't think that looking like a truck matters, he should check out how successful the Honda Ridgeline has been. It should probably be one of the most successful trucks out there (for people that want a truck-lite), but nobody wants to drive a weird looking uni-body truck, and compared to the Cybertruck, the Ridgeline looks like John Wayne.

 

[dovski]

There are still plenty of desolate, isolated areas through Appalachia where even regular gas stations are few and far between, no major interstate options to get from point A to point B. Some of the places we ski involve routes like that. We can drive over an hour between cell towers. Even in areas where there is a charging station, are there back up options? There's almost always another gas station nearby. What if the one charging station there is out of order?

Where there is electricity there is always a backup the only question is how efficient is it. I have driven in rural BC to places where you’re over an hour from the nearest gas station and left the car plugged in drip charging for 48 hours while we ski because the EV charger where we were staying broke down. That said your point is fair, not having the EV charger was stressful. We figured it out and didn’t have any issues but was not ideal. With the enhanced range of the new Tesla’s I think this is much less of an issue but it will take getting used to