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Tesla Cybertruck Pricing and Specs

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Re: Tesla Cybertruck Pricing and Specs

#221
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the kind of math you use Tsiolkovsky rocket equation for. Best would be to do the EV equivalent of asparagus staging - you have all trucks providing acceleration, but trucks 1 and 2 are also being recharged by truck 3. You then jettison it once its battery runs dry, leaving you with trucks 1 and 2, the latter also charging the former. Again, drop truck 2 as it runs out of juice. This lets you get rid of excess…

Serious question: do any rocket launch schemes actually use asparagus staging? I vaguely remember hearing it adds too much complexity for a real world launch. Great in KSP though.

Falcon Heavy was supposed to, in early designs, but they abandoned this idea due to the complexity involved - fuel would need to be pumped, which means complex flow dynamics + extra hardware that could fail (and catastrophically so).

Outside of KSP and some rocketry books, I haven't seen it.

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Pricing and Specs

#222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just you. Anyone who uses a truck a lot will have a 150+ --- How many programmers do you see with MacBook Airs

I'd bet good money the average Ford Ranger/Maverick hauls more than the average F-150 today > How many programmers do you see with MacBook Airs The people working on some of the most complex projects of our times rely on compute that isn't available in a laptop, so they're perfectly fine taking an Air. I personally used an M1 Air for a couple of years.

I'd take that bet. The Ranger isn't manufactured anymore (edit: yes it is; can't recall having seen one though) and I've never seen a Maverick used commercially. I don't think I've even seen one that didn't look freshly washed.

I mean, this isn't even hard to figure out: the F-150 is the best selling vehicle (not truck, but vehicle) in the U.S. for what, a decade or more?

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Pricing and Specs

#223

> Prices assume IRA Federal Tax Credits up to $7,500 for Rear-Wheel Drive and All-Wheel Drive and est. gas savings of $3,600 over 3 years. This seems like a new low in scammy marketing. I can't wait for everything to have wildly undermarked prices with small asterisks saying it's when you subtract all the ways it will save you money in the long term.

If you switch the site to Australia[0] you'll notice they don't do this - it's because by consumer law they're not allowed to, and you have to quote the "drive away price"

You can't even deduct the various gov rebates or tax exemptions; only mention that you _may_ qualify.

They have a smaller and lower contrast "after cost savings" at the bottom of the page - but the price on the site is the price, as it damn well should be.

[0] https://www.tesla.com/en_au/model3/design#overview

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Pricing and Specs

#224
post #120

Faster quarter mile drag speed than a Porsche 911 _while also towing a 911_ That's incredible marketing. https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1730331223992472029

I am a car enthusiast (although not one who could afford either a 911 nor a Cybertruck) but respectfully, who cares about quarter mile times? Most car people I know want a car with some poke, but care much more about how it handles twisties (and how much fun it is doing so). And I'd bet my bottom dollar the 911 would beat the refrigerator-looking truck all day long.

Most people don't need 16gb of ram, or a pickup bed, or more than one bathroom, or...

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Pricing and Specs

#225

> Prices assume ... est. gas savings of $3,600 over 3 years. Seems shady

They're kinda all shady.

"Our car is only 15k!*"

* Except no manufacturer sells the base model. Plus they'll add their own add-ons like anti-rust that has no scientific basis. Also doesn't include the shipping cost. Also AC tax isn't included despite literally all cars having AC

The only manufacturer website I've seen that isn't super shady and actually includes shipping costs by default is Subaru for some reason.

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Pricing and Specs

#226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Everyone I know doing construction/trade work tends to drive much smaller pickups. Smaller than an F150? Maybe it's because I live in the Bay Area where there's more money being thrown around but trucks of that size and larger seem to be common for trade workers.

Here in Switzerland, you sometimes see e.g. a Piaggio Ape: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaggio_Ape And a number of construction jobs in our house were performed by a gentleman who arrived with a Vespa unless he specifically had to transport something sizeable.

Oh certainly. Trucks inside the USA are their own kind of culture (which I do not feel great about).

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Pricing and Specs

#227
post #78

The cheapest F150 Lightning (available today not in 2025) is $50k (vs $60k for Cybertruck), same 250 mile range but AWD standard , and is a regular pickup truck compatible with standard accessories and parts for doing actual pickup truck work. Of course, most of the buyers of either the Cybertruck or the F150 Lightning probably aren't getting much dirt under their fingernails. Everyone I know doing construction/trade…

The Rivian is probably their real competition based on price, specs, and trim.

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Pricing and Specs

#228
post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd vote for updated bmw i3 as well. that thing was under appreciated.

Everyone made fun of me for having one, but it was the perfect city car. Great turning radius & it fit basically anywhere. And the plastic body meant that if someone opened their door into you, it just bounced off instead of leaving a dent. It's a shame they never made any significant improvements on the range. After degradation, the range on the i3 ends up pretty abysmal. The REx was a fun idea too and even let me t…

yeah, I wonder where it would be if they'd continue to put development money on the drivetrain and battery tech. It just seemed they left the concept behind despite growing sales numbers, and moved towards 6000 lb SUV EVs...

Re: Tesla Cybertruck Pricing and Specs

#230

> Prices assume IRA Federal Tax Credits up to $7,500 for Rear-Wheel Drive and All-Wheel Drive and est. gas savings of $3,600 over 3 years. This seems like a new low in scammy marketing. I can't wait for everything to have wildly undermarked prices with small asterisks saying it's when you subtract all the ways it will save you money in the long term.

The tax credit is guaranteed as long as you made less than 300k this year or last year (150k if not married), and it is now given directly at time of purchase instead of later when you file. Seems OK to include. The gas savings is much more speculative.

Do people making less than 150k buy 100k cars? I don't have a good sense for how Americans budget their vehicle purchases.
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