Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Cybertruck is years behind schedule, so Tesla is launching a $30 beer

fastcompany.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 205 posts

Re: The Cybertruck is years behind schedule, so Tesla is launching a $30 beer

#51

Post by toomuchtodo »

matthewdgreen wrote: post #40
toomuchtodo wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Porsche (~300k units/year) and Range Rover (~90k units/year) are niche brands, Rivian isn't even profitable and a volume manufacturer. Conversely, the Model Y was the US' 6th best selling vehicle last year [1], is currently the 4th best selling vehicle in 2023, and will likely the world's best selling car in 2023 [2] based on demand and supply forecasts. [1] https://insideevs.com/news/629993/tesla-model-y-6th-bestsel…

The Model Y has a very conventional style, so the fact that it sells well would seem to be a point in favor of the GP’s argument. It also sells in many continents, which Cybertruck might not be able to do.

Consider Tesla did not copy existing manufacturers. They built their own markets (S->X->3->Y). People complain online loudly about the touchscreen, quality, but I'll be damned, these units get moved regardless (well on our way to almost 3M/year [1]). For example, Harley can't woo younger riders to the brand because their attempt to acquire them turns off older Harley fans who are slowly dying out. Tesla doesn't have to attract legacy truck owners (Ford, Ram, Chevy), they're targeting young buyers and then locking them into the brand [2]. Buying a car is an emotional purchase [3], they're not going to convert older folks, they're going entrench themselves in youth purchasers as older, sticky auto buyers age out with their legacy preferences.

Cybertruck doesn't have to sell well, it just has to have greater demand than supply globally. Global pickup truck market is ~4M/units annually, so Tesla should do just fine carving out some of that for itself.

[1] https://cleantechnica.com/2023/01/03/tesla-sales-up-40-to-re...

[2] https://electrek.co/2023/02/27/tesla-dominates-brand-loyalty...

[3] https://martecgroup.com/emotional-car-buying-journey/

Re: The Cybertruck is years behind schedule, so Tesla is launching a $30 beer

#52

Post by karaterobot »

slashdev wrote: post #21
jimnotgym wrote: post #17

The cyber truck is such a miss. If they had built a normal truck, but electric, they could have tapped a huge market. Instead they went super niche with the sci fi truck. I hope for Tesla's sake that Tesla have enough fanboys.

The number of cybertruck reservations say otherwise. It’s riskier, yes, but might payoff. I wouldn’t buy a normal truck, but a cybertruck is my dream vehicle. I’d rather own that than anything else, even if money was no object. And I’m far from a Tesla fanboy.

I'm with you that I believe it would sell well if they released it, but I do not accept the number of reservations as being firm proof of that. I don't think it's controversial to say there is a lot of hype around Tesla product announcements, especially that one. Hype can drive reservations without necessarily driving sales. It's something we'd just have to wait and see about.

Re: The Cybertruck is years behind schedule, so Tesla is launching a $30 beer

#53

Post by matthewdgreen »

asynchronous wrote: post #34
jimnotgym wrote: post #17

The cyber truck is such a miss. If they had built a normal truck, but electric, they could have tapped a huge market. Instead they went super niche with the sci fi truck. I hope for Tesla's sake that Tesla have enough fanboys.

Yeah if it didn’t already have a ridiculous number of reservations proving you wrong you might have a point.

The reservations were $99 and refundable, so I don’t think they prove that much.

Re: The Cybertruck is years behind schedule, so Tesla is launching a $30 beer

#54

Post by klyrs »

slashdev wrote: post #30
at-fates-hands wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> I wouldn’t buy a normal truck, but a cybertruck is my dream vehicle. Honest question. What is it that makes it your dream vehicle?

Large, extremely safe, no paint to maintain, no body that gets easily dented, impact resistant glass, electric, high performance, long range, great torque and acceleration, can haul stuff, can fit a family, can be used in a pinch for power, and looks awesome. And maybe the self driving stuff will turn out to be useful too. Too soon to say. Electric vehicles are coming much more slowly where I am and they cost 1.5-2x…

I've owned cars for almost 30 years and I have never once "maintained" my paint. Where do you live that this is a thing?

Re: The Cybertruck is years behind schedule, so Tesla is launching a $30 beer

#55

Post by rkagerer »

slashdev wrote: post #21
jimnotgym wrote: post #17

The cyber truck is such a miss. If they had built a normal truck, but electric, they could have tapped a huge market. Instead they went super niche with the sci fi truck. I hope for Tesla's sake that Tesla have enough fanboys.

The number of cybertruck reservations say otherwise. It’s riskier, yes, but might payoff. I wouldn’t buy a normal truck, but a cybertruck is my dream vehicle. I’d rather own that than anything else, even if money was no object. And I’m far from a Tesla fanboy.

It might attract a new segment of the market that wouldn't otherwise buy a truck. e.g. My partner, she has no interest in a normal pickup truck, for some reason I still can't fathom wants one in bright orange.

Re: The Cybertruck is years behind schedule, so Tesla is launching a $30 beer

#56

Post by MH15 »

slashdev wrote: post #30
at-fates-hands wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> I wouldn’t buy a normal truck, but a cybertruck is my dream vehicle. Honest question. What is it that makes it your dream vehicle?

Large, extremely safe, no paint to maintain, no body that gets easily dented, impact resistant glass, electric, high performance, long range, great torque and acceleration, can haul stuff, can fit a family, can be used in a pinch for power, and looks awesome. And maybe the self driving stuff will turn out to be useful too. Too soon to say. Electric vehicles are coming much more slowly where I am and they cost 1.5-2x…

This kind of attitude is why car culture is killing so many and traffic deaths continue to rise.

Re: The Cybertruck is years behind schedule, so Tesla is launching a $30 beer

#57

Post by avar »

nosequel wrote: post #28
jimnotgym wrote: post #17

The cyber truck is such a miss. If they had built a normal truck, but electric, they could have tapped a huge market. Instead they went super niche with the sci fi truck. I hope for Tesla's sake that Tesla have enough fanboys.

As someone who owns a truck (F150) and uses it for truck-like things (wood, rocks, concrete, towing, etc.), I would never be caught dead going to the local lumber yard or landscaping yard in a Cybertruck. The Rivian and Ford at least look like trucks.

Other flaws aside, the "look" seems much more practical than the F150 et al.

It's got large flat surfaces made of stainless steel, you'll be able to weld or bolt modifications (e.g. toolboxes) directly to the body.

Re: The Cybertruck is years behind schedule, so Tesla is launching a $30 beer

#58

Post by bottlepalm »

andrewmcwatters wrote: post #16
bottlepalm wrote: post #12

Not existing? They built an entire factory for it in Texas, is in going through crash testing, qualification, and the truck is regularly seen on test runs around their offices. This just seems like a lazy hit piece with little actual information even though there is a lot out there if you actually follow the development. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvy19pEVs1M

It doesn’t matter. You can’t buy it. This is like reading developers say, “We’re almost done!” and you’ve only now pushed to the test environment. No QA, no UAT, nothing. If it’s not in production, it doesn’t exist.

I see so a vaporware product and a product with immense resources going into it, but not yet released are equal in your eyes.

You remind me of the people who laughed about reusable rockets, starlink, private crew, and every tesla model.

They laugh right up to the point it is released, and then they move the goal posts to the next product.

Re: The Cybertruck is years behind schedule, so Tesla is launching a $30 beer

#59

Post by techsupporter »

smeyer wrote: post #50
slashdev wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Large, extremely safe, no paint to maintain, no body that gets easily dented, impact resistant glass, electric, high performance, long range, great torque and acceleration, can haul stuff, can fit a family, can be used in a pinch for power, and looks awesome. And maybe the self driving stuff will turn out to be useful too. Too soon to say. Electric vehicles are coming much more slowly where I am and they cost 1.5-2x…

>extremely safe Do you care about the safety of others, or only yourself? You listed safety second in your list of positives, but I'm curious if you're considering things like pedestrian safety or just driver/passenger safety.

> I'm curious if you're considering things like pedestrian safety or just driver/passenger safety.

I'm sure some people do hold this view, but I've never met someone who's buying a vehicle and looks into how well it deals with people outside of the vehicle as part of safety considerations. While pictures of lifted trucks and high-bumper vehicles are fairly common posts on Twitter, usually for dunks, people still buy SUVs and crossovers that are known to be unsafe to those outside of them. Often this is disguised as "but I need it to go skiing once a year" or "what if I need to drive the entire soccer team home?"

The mindset of drivers, and especially Tesla's corporate view of it, channels Lord Farquaad. "Some of you [pedestrians] may die and that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

Re: The Cybertruck is years behind schedule, so Tesla is launching a $30 beer

#60

Post by LapsangGuzzler »

DennisP wrote: post #24
jimnotgym wrote: post #17

The cyber truck is such a miss. If they had built a normal truck, but electric, they could have tapped a huge market. Instead they went super niche with the sci fi truck. I hope for Tesla's sake that Tesla have enough fanboys.

They didn't design it that way for giggles. They did it because it's much cheaper to build that way, which helps make up for batteries being so expensive.

Do you have a source for this? I don’t see the cost-savings in a stainless-steel paneled vehicle like this. Not to mention that if does dent, you’ll have a harder time popping it out.

Also since it’s Tesla, you’re gonna have to see a certified repair shop for it. Idk this just feels like an internet rumor, I’d love to read something substantial on how the manufacturing process is cheaper.

Post reply on HN