Pickup Reveal . . . 8PM (ish) pacific - Musk time.

Rear window is decidedly incompatible with gun not-a-flamethrower rack

 

Anybody know if you can fit a 4x8 sheet into one of those things?
Interesting that Ford is an investor AND a competitor.

Fun times ahead for the pickup truck set, but I'm thinking that I'll stick with my 11 year old gasser for now, and get in on the Android version.

I was looking just yesterday, and the cheapest base, full size pickemuptruck in the nation is $30,000 - so there's room in the market FOR sure for a $40,000 e-Truck if they do not underguestimate range anxiety.
After all...in flyover country it is not at all uncommon to see a 4x4 with an aux fuel tank.

 

who knows? i'll take a 50 willys with a tesla drive

 

Curious if this will do anything to the stock? It's all about confidence?

 

Man, they should have called this thing the Model Q

 

I'm still trying to get my head around: dragstrip performance and armored car specs, to deliver plywood?

 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the design inspiration.

 

too obvious.

i'd love to be a fly on the wall in the mccoalrollers chat room

 

down 20 points

 

What, the bomb?

 

otoh, at least it doesn't have fish gills, a cow pusher or stormtrooper face

 

Or look like Predator.

 

This is exactly the case.
I wish Musk had talked more about this at the event.
MotorTrend digs into this a bit more.

The strength of the vehicle comes from the exoskeleton rather than the frame.
The look is definitely not for mass market.
IF it is more capable and durable I see it’s market as being businesses who have PU trucks often at construction sites and other areas where durability and functionality trump looks.
Possibly to survivalists/mad max fans.

But that is ONLY if it can deliver on its specs. Color me skeptical until I see the reviews of production vehicles.

 

At the beginning of video they flash an image of a stealth fighter plane, for maybe a second.

 

two minutes in, i never saw it. subliminal?

 

ford water cooler talk must be hilarious

 

why not just make a normal looking electric pick up with whatever features you think the most people would find advantageous?

 

From what I heard, the guy that threw the ball is Musk's right hand man. I wouldn't bet on a long career at Tesla for the guy that prepped the glass, though.

 

Come on.
This is Musk and this is Tesla.
This is a automaker, that describes their vehicles and speeds with terms like "Ridiculous" "Ludicrous" and "Plaid".

Would anyone expect Tesla to wheel out a Truck that looked like a Dodge or Ford F-150?

Sure this product isn't for everyone. And you know what? I bet Musk and Tesla don't care.

What probably hasn't gone unnoticed by Tesla is that Pick-Up trucks have become expensive.
I'd bet that at less than $40,000 that product will appeal to a lot of potential buyers. It will appeal BECAUSE it is unique.

The presentation.
Well it was rough.
It reminded my of the OJ trial. Don't have OJ try on the gloves, unless you're sure they are going to fit him. Otherwise it just looks bad and the whole thing back-fires.
Similarly, don't throw things at your "Metal Glass" unless you are sure they aren't going to fracture and then just sit there for the rest of the presentation looking very broken.
This should of been easily tested and known before you end up at the reveal, looking bad.
Fail.

I just watched the edited 14 minute clip. So maybe I missed it. But the other thing?
There's nearly no reveal or talk about the interior.
A lot of pride about nearly indestructible exoskeletons...which are great in a Zombie apocalypse, or if your neighbor just hates you and attacks your truck with a sledgehammer. But unless you're going all Mad Max, or going for another reboot of The A-Team, I don't see it as a great selling feature.
And when they go to sell these?
People are going to get in them and sit. The interior is really important. Was odd that (at least in the short clip I watched ) very little was said about the interior or the technology provided from the inside of the vehicle.

But really, I don't discount it because of it's extreme look.
In fact, I think that maybe sells them. People that buy them, are going to want to turn heads. And that will turn heads.

I think this isn't a vehicle you buy for the "right" reasons. You buy this for the wrong reasons.
You might end up at Home Depot throwing fertilizer bags in the back, but probably not.
You buy this to turn heads, startle your neighbors, and have something most if not all your friends and relatives do not have.
You want to go on a road trip and pull into the rest stop and be the show? That's your vehicle.
I think it could sell.

PS.
The whole presentation did have weird "Teen Age" vibe. It was like an adolescent was revealing the "Really Cool" truck they designed by doodling on lined paper in class.
Maybe the veil between myself and "Youth Culture" has grown too wide. But Elon Musk isn't that much younger than me. It also had a strong "Mid-Life Crisis" feel.