Tesla Truck 'Quite Likely,' Says Elon Musk (bgr.com)

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Boy Genius Report: If you think Tesla's plan for world domination begins with the Model S and ends with the Model 3, you're sorely mistaken. While the Model 3 is of course the mass consumer vehicle Elon Musk is betting the company on, the Tesla CEO is certainly open to developing other types of vehicles in the future. During a recent interview in Hong Kong at the StartmeupHK Festival, Musk briefly touched on the potential for Tesla to build an electric truck. "I think it is quite likely we will do a truck in the future," Musk said. "I think it's sort of a logical thing for us to do in the future." While this might appear to be outside of Tesla's wheelhouse at first glance – the Model S is a luxury sedan, after all – the amount of money to be made in trucks is immense. To wit, the three best-selling vehicles in the U.S. in both 2014 and 2015 were all pickup trucks.

Comments

What Type of Truck?

[kaiser423]

Will it be a truck like the Model X is an SUV (aka, not really one -- can't beat it up offroad like you can a 4Runner, Highlander, etc)? If it's a real truck that can go offroad, then that would be great. But that's a big step versus where they are now with the X...

Re:What Type of Truck?

[kheldan]

I had to read a little more carefully (I had the same question) but it does actually say 'pickup truck'.

I'm all for it; I like driving small pickups. What I've wondered all along is why someone hasn't done this already? Seems like a no-brainer to me. You could build the battery packs right under the bed, no problem.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Firethorn]

My answer to that is that offroading is a minority thing for both SUVs and Trucks. Many drive trucks for the towing or cargo capacity, not for off-roading.

On the truck side, if you put a Model-S engine system in, you have plenty of power. One or two of their 'skateboard' power packs. Maybe even make it a hybrid - put a engine-generator in it to help keep the battery topped off.

That could be one hell of a towing truck.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[110010001000]

There are electric pickup trucks available already. But I think what Tesla is referring to is a different kind of truck: delivery trucks, trash trucks, etc. I doubt they are talking about pickups. Most likely the article is wrong.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[myowntrueself]

Will it be a truck like the Model X is an SUV (aka, not really one -- can't beat it up offroad like you can a 4Runner, Highlander, etc)? If it's a real truck that can go offroad, then that would be great. But that's a big step versus where they are now with the X...

Actually I assumed he was talking about actual trucks not gigantic cars with very small back seats and huge open-air trunks.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[GameboyRMH]

Will it be a truck like the Model X is an SUV (aka, not really one -- can't beat it up offroad like you can a 4Runner, Highlander, etc)?

Most SUVs, especially more modern ones, are not very offroad-capable, worst of all crossovers which are just tall station wagons (or in some cases, more like tall hatchbacks). Trucks like the 4Runner and Highlander that come with a taste of offroad capability are the exception, not the rule.

Most gigantic American pickups have a hilariously bad breakover angle as well.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

Vaporware truck. Steam powered.

captcha: fogged

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Radical Moderate]

I agree, the writer just made an assumption that "truck" = "pickup". Pickup buyers are not going to go electric, it's not in their DNA. At least not in the near future. But electric delivery trucks would make a ton of sense. Limited range shouldn't be an issue, and the reduced fuel and maintenance costs would offset the upfront expense. Even the time saved from not refueling would add up.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[110010001000]

Right. I'm pretty sure Musk is talking about things like DELIVERY trucks, not the typical F-150 pickup. He has mentioned this for a couple of years now.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Talderas]

I know of a company with a large fleet of pickup trucks that had placed an order for GMC trucks, four digit quantity, which GMC said the volume was too high for them to fill, by about 700 trucks. That company then went and bought the other 700 from Ford and that was a single year's order. That's the market and the reason why pickup trucks are the best selling vehicles. It's not individuals that are purchasing, it's companies with significant fleets and that's because there's this huge aftermarket for pickup trucks that involve modifying the truck, typically by removing the standard bed body and placing a different body with the cab and chassis and the trucks from each of the manufacturers are just different enough that those bodies are not universal to the truck.

You're probably right that the pickup truck is probably not what he's talking about. Tesla could trivially break into the consumer market for it but there's the huge support network build around Ford, GMC, Toyota, Chrysler, etc that Tesla simply doesn't have when it comes to aftermarket unless they engineer their vehicles to have the same fittings as, for example, a F150 and consequently can utilize Knapheid service bodies for the F150. When you get into larger trucks, where International is the big player, you'll find that the bodies are more custom in their approach, since International typically only builds a cab and chassis, so that's a bit easier for Tesla to break into.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[kheldan]

electric delivery trucks would make a ton of sense

Yes, I agree, they certainly would. Lower overall operating costs, less pollution, etc.

Pickup buyers are not going to go electric, it's not in their DNA

I'm a pickup truck buyer/owner/driver, and as previously stated, I'd go for one. Similar reasons to the above for a commercial truck: lower overall operating costs, less pollution, less maintenance. Of course in my case the killer would be range. There are many times during the year when I may need to drive 300 miles round trip. If it won't make it then it's a non-starter.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Bob the Super Hamste]

Many drive trucks for the towing or cargo capacity, not for off-roading.

No some drive trucks for their towing or cargo capacity, just like some drive them for off-roading. Most however seem to drive them because the thing that at some point in time in the future they may need to tow or haul something even though they have never hauled or towed anything ever. The other reason seems to be that they have a small dick, I have a friend who seems to suffer from this problem. When I put a hitch on my car (e46 BMW) my neighbors thought I was nuts. My response was you wouldn't have though anything about towing with my Jeep when I had that but my car has more torque and horsepower than that jeep did. Granted the Jeep had a class 3 hitch while my car has a class 1 but then the most I have ever towed was about 1500 lbs so it isn't like that matters. I do however miss the high clearance and real 4 wheel drive with 4-low and posi on both axles that the jeep had but then I am one of the few who owned a SUV/truck and did SUV/truck things with it and mostly drove a car.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Binestar]

There are many times during the year when I may need to drive 300 miles round trip. If it won't make it then it's a non-starter.

I see this often and I'm not sure I understand the reasoning. If you're saving so much money from not buying gas, why can't you just rent a truck/car for those infrequent long trips and still save money overall on an electric?

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Firethorn]

It's because of the up-front costs, the savings are actually fairly minor.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[Bing Tsher E]

It's lots of individuals buying pickup trucks. Maybe you live in a different area than I do, but lots of individually owned trucks are on the road here. Possibly the covenant in your neighborhood doesn't allow trucks in your driveway. Here where I live goats aren't even forbidden.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Firethorn]

You could build the battery packs right under the bed, no problem.

And it'd even fix the winter traction issue. I looked under my truck to kind of figure out how I'd electrify it, and there's plenty of room under there for batteries.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Talderas]

Pickup buyers are not going to go electric, it's not in their DNA.

A pair of questions. Who do you think is responsible for the majority of purchases of pickup trucks? What if I told you that I know a buyer that was buying so many pickup trucks that GM had to tell them that they could only manufacture a portion of the order?

Re:What Type of Truck?

[avandesande]

And they make even less sense than a consumer truck. Do you know what the specs for a typical trash truck(3mpg) are and the battery you would need to run such a platform? How would you charge 15 or 20 of these monsters at night? (if you are lucky enough for battery to last during the day) The up front costs would be astronomical.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Firethorn]

There are many times during the year when I may need to drive 300 miles round trip. If it won't make it then it's a non-starter.

Then we make it a hybrid. With a battery pack capable of hauling the truck itself ~150-200 miles, you add a small engine, possibly just a 4 cylinder. Maybe even just put it in the bed. A nice fuel-efficient 4 cylinder(that you are probably better off renting) would be able to keep the vehicle at modest highway speeds, and even if not, the by the time you exhaust the battery you're probably ready for a stop anyways.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[Bing Tsher E]

What are these "truck things" you speak of? I drive a very stripped (not even air conditioning or power anything in the cab) Ford Ranger with the four cylinder engine. It's certainly not dicksize compensation. It's good for hauling anything I want, and the high clearance and high ride is nice.

The sheepfuckers (what does a farmer keep a "Ram" on the farm for except to service the ewes?) are of course a very different thing.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Mr D from 63]

You can't think of any reasons? Here are a few;

Because renting is expensive. Because renting is very inconvenient, particularly if you have no rental places nearby (as I do). Because rental places don't always have the car you need when you need it. Because sometimes I need to leave on short notice. Because I like to drive my own vehicle, which I am comfortable with, I know how it handles, I bought it because I want to drive it. Because I already have all my stuff in my vehicle and I don't want to move transfer it twice just to go on a trip. Because my vehicle is sitting in my driveway and i can load it up at my convenience, I can start a day before my trip if necessary and I can leave stuff in it upon my return. Because I'd have to sign a contract and be responsible for a vehicle that is not mine. Because if I scrape a fender I have a complete bureaucratic and expensive mess on my hands rather than being able to handle it all myself.

Now, any, many, or few might apply to any given person. I really don't care if they do or don't.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Firethorn]

Most however seem to drive them because the thing that at some point in time in the future they may need to tow or haul something even though they have never hauled or towed anything ever.

Going by my family, our aging population might be part of the issue. Modern cars are generally built very low to the ground for various reasons. They may be good for normal people. But my grandfather has spinal damage - he can't get into or out of standard modern cars. He HAS to have a van, truck, or SUV that he climbs into, not moving down into. Mom has developed arthritis like symptoms(the medical explanation went over my head), and she can no longer climb out of a car seat - I even have to help here climb out of a movie theater seat. Without assistance she'd essentially have to fall out of the vehicle and then get up. Or drive a SUV where she sits higher. I'm not sure about dad, it might simply be with him that when he bought the truck it was as a second vehicle where the bed was useful, and our family's tendencies to drive a vehicle until it doesn't work anymore(even if we buy new), so he's not trading out of it anytime soon. Of course, an S-10 isn't exactly a penis-replacement truck either.

Take my family experiences, combine with a US population that's getting older, and the 'SUV/Truck' craze might amount to the regulations making such vehicles a little cheaper for their size, combined with that said vehicles, being built higher, are simply easier to get into and out of than modern low-slung cars.

4 wheel drive can be satisfied with Subaru and such.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

a) at my billing rate, an hour to go pick up the rental and another hour to drop it off is dumb, as is the time to move everything from my work truck to the rental and back. That's more than $300 per trip before any cost of the rental. Additionally, it gets holy shit cold here. One of my coworkers has a leaf, and in spite of what the talking head say, he is very tight on range when it gets below zero. Yes, this is Colorado, that happens, routinely.

Electric delivery vehicles probably make sense. Electric pickups for people who don't drive out of the city probably make sense (residential construction and the like). Electric pickups for people who use their truck as an oversized sedan daily commuter thing probably a good idea. However, you can't just run up to Cheyenne to inspect something with them.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

He has a caricature of what he thinks a pickup truck owner is. It may be prejudice, but it isn't bad because he is enlightened and intelligent. You know not like the kinds of people who buy pickup trucks...

Re:What Type of Truck?

[netsavior]

Pickup buyers are not going to go electric, it's not in their DNA.

Well, right up until someone points out that if you put a generator in the back of the truck then you can legally run that truck on red diesel even after you run out of battery... that'll change some tunes pretty quick.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

Interesting. I wonder how difficult it would be to design something like an APU that you could add on. You show up at the Tesla shop, they drop a small 3 or 4 cylinder engine into a slot on the bed of the truck, hook up the electrical harness, and voila instant hybrid. They could even make it a rental.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Mr D from 63]

Pickup buyers are not going to go electric, it's not in their DNA.

I see the mistake of trying to generalize the entire pickup market as one group. There are many groups. There are those who need pickups for their work. There are those who use primarily for recreation, sporting activities (transporting bikes/kayaks/camping etc). There are those (like me) who have an old pickup but its not the primary driver, to handle a number of things such as hauling, camping, etc (if you don't drive it much, efficiency is less important). There are those who are simply truck enthusiasts, of whom some like bigger powerful trucks, some like luxury trucks and simply like the feel of driving a truck. There are some who found a small pickup to be more economical than a car and handy as well.

Most of those folks might very well buy and electric truck if it could suit their usage patterns and was economical. I'd buy one if it met my needs and budget.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

No some drive trucks for their towing or cargo capacity, just like some drive them for off-roading. Most however seem to drive them because the thing that at some point in time in the future they may need to tow or haul something even though they have never hauled or towed anything ever.

Thats funny. I live in a suburb, in an apartment. I am single with no kids. I guess you would assume I would never need to tow or haul anything.

I can tell you that I have moved myself a number of times using only my explorer. I can fit an amazing amount of stuff in the thing, and I can tow a lot behind it. I have also helped friends and neighbors move houses, helped pick up bulky items, moved lawnmowers and other yard equipment, and had it filled to the brim with old workstations.servers/printers. Hell at the girlfriends family's farm I one time helped use it to herd the escaped cattle back into their pens. I would hate to do that in an accord. Short of a tractor it was the only four wheel drive available at that moment, and it was better then letting them wander onto the US hwy.

Sure its not always full or even often full, but I do use the extra capacity, and it is beneficial to me. I also got it for a song when the gas hit 4 dollars a gallon.

Howsabout you quit trying to judge other people... mmm kay?

Re:What Type of Truck?

[castionsosa]

There might be a market for a one ton truck that is all electric, even with limited range. Just because the truck can have a built in heavy inverter put in, so a farm/work crew can go out and do some welding, pull out some sawhorses and cut some planks down to repair a fence, run an air compressor that isn't PTO based, or many other activities.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

The start/stop drive cycle of a garbage truck makes them ideal for electrification, if only to save on brake servicing costs.

Wrightspeed (early Tesla collaborator) is working on them.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[cayenne8]

All I"m interested in is them bringing out another Roadster type Tesla....performance 2-seater, hopefully in the price range of a Vette.

THAT is something I'd definitely be in the market for....why won't they do this again as the 'flagship' car to use to see their other more boring/pedestrian looking cars....?

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

If I had 20 garbage trucks, I would call up the electric company and have them install a service that is properly rated. A business loan allows one to amortize the installation costs, and generally the utilities only charge a nominal fee for the upgrade to cover their costs, their main interest in in having your business buy more electricity.

Each charging station would have a 100-amp service to it (20*100 = 2000-amp). And it would take about 8-10 hours to charge (assuming an overly conservative estimate of a 500 kWh pack, with regenerative braking it can be done with as little as two 2*85kWh packs). A 10 hour change time may sound like a lot, but consider that a garbage truck usually operates on a schedule with 10 hour shifts, you have 14 hours a day where most of the fleet is idle in the lot.

For other types of businesses, like a delivery truck business, things get more complicated because there can be two shifts in a day and you'd need to have some of the trucks rotated throughout the day if you can't bring them back up to full charge in less than a shift. This would mean some duplication of equipment is necessary to stay operating.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[LunaticTippy]

Those people are already running their trucks on red diesel.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[jellomizer]

It isn't in the DNA for truck drivers who don't need a truck but just want it for the status.
However business who use trucks, if they find that Tesla, can maintain the power they need, for the time they need it, they may switch over to save fuel cost.

The challenge for a pickup truck you will need to expect that it will be operating 10-12 hours a day, doing heavy work. That would be akin to an electric car with 800 mile range on a single charge.

Yes a pickup will run out of gas during the day. However you can fill up in around 5 minutes, electric takes longer.
Solve those problems and you should be fine.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Ichijo]

my grandfather has spinal damage - he can't get into or out of standard modern cars. He HAS to have a van, truck, or SUV that he climbs into, not moving down into.

That makes him a good candidate for a personal mobility device such as a Segway. If only we still built neighborhoods like the one he grew up in, where you didn't have to drive to the grocery store just to buy a gallon of milk, then a Segway would make more sense.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

Will the rental have a shitty time domain brake controller, or worse, none at all? Will it come with a 5k tow bar? A fifth wheel hitch? Is the auxiliary power wired and of proper gauge? I also need comfy backseats for my family, who will come along. We will need somewhere to connect or satellite radio, please. Those long drives can get boring. Can I use 4wd while hauling? Oh, it comes with 4wd, right? And lockers. Because camping out in the middle of nowhere kind of sucks when you get stuck. They're okay when I bring it back with mud caked all over, yes?

As you can see, I tow occasionally and need my rental to do that well. Because that's why I bought a pickup truck. Of course, 48 weeks of the year it hauls groceries because I own it and might as well use it (ie financial sense). It also makes sense to use it that way environmentally when you consider the impact of building another vehicle.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

Pickups are not simply good for throwing shit in the back. They are also very good snow cars. They're good for traveling on rough roads. They're good for hauling trailers. They are very versatile. They're swiss army knives on wheels.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

I need a truck to haul things around. Not to play in the mud.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Radical Moderate]

I would reply that the buyer you know is not buying the majority of the US pickup fleet. Nice anecdote, and thank you for playing.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Thelasko]

That could be one hell of a towing truck.

I foresee problems using this proposed truck for towing. One of the things that makes the Model S successful is it's form. It has very low aerodynamic drag, and a somewhat fixed mass. Towing a trailer completely disrupts that system. Mass will increase dramatically, and most trailers have the aerodynamics of a brick.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

If the roadster can already go 200+ miles between charges, 300+ with more room for batteries, less need for speed/acceleration, and presumably a small amount of time for charging while you load/unload whatever at the far point doesn't seem that difficult...maybe...I dunno... LOL

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

I could see an hour of charging at the far point, including loading/unloading, bathroom break, eating a meal, etc.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Radical Moderate]

Thanks for making my argument for me:
There are those who need pickups for their work. Yep. And if they're independent contractors, they're traveling to job sites all over the place, sometimes an hour or two away. Which gets scarily close to the range limit of current EVs.

There are those who use primarily for recreation, sporting activities Yep. And often it's a two or three hour drive to the lake or trailhead. Next.

There are those (like me) who have an old pickup but its not the primary driver And they're not going to pay the electric premium for a vehicle that only gets driven a few times a month. The payback in fuel and maintenance savings will be several decades.

There are those who are simply truck enthusiasts Sure. And they've been clamoring for an electric pickup. Really?

There are some who found a small pickup to be more economical than a car Yes, and they all lived in the '80s. The Toyota Tacoma starts at 23 grand and gets 24 mpg highway. There's a crapload of new cars that are more economical.

Look, I'm not on an anti-pickup jihad, but the assumption that because Americans buy a lot of pickups Tesla needs to build one doesn't stand up. I'm sure there's a market for an electric pickup, but I don't think it's big enough to be worth chasing at this point.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

It isn't in the DNA for truck drivers who don't need a truck but just want it for the status.
However business who use trucks, if they find that Tesla, can maintain the power they need, for the time they need it, they may switch over to save fuel cost.

The challenge for a pickup truck you will need to expect that it will be operating 10-12 hours a day, doing heavy work. That would be akin to an electric car with 800 mile range on a single charge.

Yes a pickup will run out of gas during the day. However you can fill up in around 5 minutes, electric takes longer.
Solve those problems and you should be fine.

Not really. Most pickup trucks are in active use only for short periods of time -going to and from a job site, hauling tools and materials, etc. They still sit for most of the day while their owners do things. One with a couple hundred mile range would be sufficient for most needs. The trick would be how the range is impacted by the load.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

The other reason seems to be that they have a small dick

..says the person driving the BMW...

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Mr D from 63]

Your petty comments after each line are just that, petty, and none of them speak to your original point about some fundamental (in their DNA) opposition that truck owners have to electrical. As I stated, and you seem to agree by avoiding the point, it makes no sense to generalize truck users as their are many differing requirements.

As to whether it make sense or not for Tesla to sell one, I really don't care nor did I say one way or the other.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Jeremi]

THAT is something I'd definitely be in the market for....why won't they do this again as the 'flagship' car to use to see their other more boring/pedestrian looking cars....?

That would be cool, and IIRC they have talked about bringing back an updated version of the Roadster.

As for why they (probably) won't do that in the near future -- they already have their low-volume "halo" car that proves their credentials, and what they want to do now is sell in high volume so they can benefit more from economies of scale. To do that, they need to sell something that is (relatively) cheap and popular, not another high-priced niche vehicle.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a pickup. If you need more range, throw another battery in the back. (Only half in jest. Done right it might actually be a good idea.)

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Radical Moderate]

Sorry the DNA comment hurt your feelings. Of course that's a generalization, people buy pickups for a myriad of reasons. As for handwaving my comments away as "petty", whatever.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Jeremi]

Do you know what the specs for a typical trash truck(3mpg) are and the battery you would need to run such a platform? How would you charge 15 or 20 of these monsters at night? (if you are lucky enough for battery to last during the day) The up front costs would be astronomical.

No need to imagine hypotheticals, you could just ask the guys who are doing it.

They seem pretty bullish on the idea and they've put their money where their mouths are, so to speak.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Jeremi]

I foresee problems using this proposed truck for towing. One of the things that makes the Model S successful is it's form. It has very low aerodynamic drag, and a somewhat fixed mass. Towing a trailer completely disrupts that system. Mass will increase dramatically, and most trailers have the aerodynamics of a brick.

The Model X seems to do okay at towing; I don't know why a purpose-built vehicle would be any worse.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Mr D from 63]

Feelings have nothing to do with it. I was just pointing out what seems to be done to excess here, and that is using sweeping generalizations when trying to make some point. Picking apart my initial response was an odd reply for someone that agrees.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

Have you noticed that every Tesla vehicle on the market so far gets 300+ miles on a charge? Or are you just ignoring that fact because it invalidates your argument?

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

Electric doesn't suffer from the same inefficiencies as internal combustion engines when dealing with frequent stops and slow speeds. It's likely that an electric garbage truck would have much more of an advantage over the diesel powered ones than in the case of cars. But there's probably a much bigger market for smaller delivery vehicles (mail, UPS, Fedex) and that's what they are talking about.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[tbq]

I had to read a little more carefully (I had the same question) but it does actually say 'pickup truck'. I'm all for it; I like driving small pickups. What I've wondered all along is why someone hasn't done this already? Seems like a no-brainer to me. You could build the battery packs right under the bed, no problem.

GM made and sold an electric Chevy S10 for the '97 & '98 model years. They had the same drivetrain as the EV1. They even sold some outright to fleet customers rather than exclusively leasing, so a few dozen escaped being destroyed when GM crushed all the lease returns of the EV1.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[0100010001010011]

When I put a hitch on my car (e46 BMW) my neighbors thought I was nuts.

It's what they do in Germany. Very few people own trucks. However everyone tows. It's so much easier to hitch up a trailer and get work done than to carry the "trailer" around everywhere.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Firethorn]

That makes him a good candidate for a personal mobility device such as a Segway.

You'd think so, but no. His balance is affected too much. As for the milk, remember that it used to be delivered. That's a business model(along with other groceries), that's coming back in some areas. He also needs to keep walking, otherwise he'd lose it quick.

One thing that I've read is that at least some Tesla models will vary their height - lower on the highway, higher off it where rougher pavement can be expected. If they produce a model that can lift itself 6-12", it'd look funny, but would probably work for mom, and maybe grandpa. But that's an awful lot of travel, and could be justified as a mobility device.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[matbury]

Done. http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg....

Looks like those UK socialists beat Musk to it a long time ago ;)

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Firethorn]

100% torque electric motor at 0 rpm is very good for towing stuff.

Yes, the aerodynamic drag is an issue, which is why I suggested making the truck a hybrid.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

That would be akin to an electric car with 800 mile range on a single charge.

Yes a pickup will run out of gas during the day. However you can fill up in around 5 minutes, electric takes longer.
Solve those problems and you should be fine.

Well, Tesla cars will charge on a supercharger in 25 minutes for free. Is the extra 20 minutes a good trade for free fuel? I don't know, it depends on your needs and supercharger availability.

Gas prices are down for now. But eventually, once US producers are forced out by the low prices, Saudi Arabia will pull back production and the prices will come back up. SA isn't keeping the glut going because they're nice guys. They've done this before to keep the US from developing alternative energies/products. So right now the savings from using an electric vehicle are minimal (where I'm at my cost is equivalent to $1/gallon in general), but the difference will only get bigger.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[haruchai]

Musk / Tesla seem averse to making ICE hybrids so it'l probably be an add-on battery pack / fuel cell like the one Phinergy demonstrated a few years back.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[ArylAkamov]

When I put a hitch on my car (e46 BMW) my neighbors thought I was nuts.

I love seeing BMWs with hitches and the reaction from people. Something about it is really amusing.

"It can't tow things, it isn't a truck!"

I'm assuming it was the glorious |6 engine?

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

So the savings aren't worth doing the small amount of extra logicstics for the few times a year the typical person goes on a trip? I mean its not really that hard to research and locate a rental place that has what you need at the time with in the range of your electric. You have to do that for hotels and anything else anyways.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[scdeimos]

I agree that he should get into the delivery truck business... but if he had any intentions of doing that then why did his co-founder leave to start Wrightspeed?

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Theolojin]

Not really. Most pickup trucks are in active use only for short periods of time -going to and from a job site, hauling tools and materials, etc. They still sit for most of the day while their owners do things. One with a couple hundred mile range would be sufficient for most needs. The trick would be how the range is impacted by the load.

And when it comes time to back up that loaded trailer on the job site, instant torque will be amazing. My guess is a lot of construction sites would love to see a truck with instant torque.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Firethorn]

Yeah, I agree - note that I mentioned 'putting it in the bed' and 'renting'.

You leave the weight off when you don't need it.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

Try again. The super chargers here are spaced so you have to stop every 2 hours to charge on long trips otherwise you can't make it to the next supercharger. P70 gets 320km max per charge. You end up at 80km left max at each supercharger so you can't make it to the next if you don't stop.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah ok Elon. The last 8% takes how long? You can't charge it in less than 45 mins at a supercharger. To get the last 8% try more like an hour.

Disclaimer - I have charged a P70 and P85+ at a supercharger.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[drinkypoo]

And it'd even fix the winter traction issue. I looked under my truck to kind of figure out how I'd electrify it, and there's plenty of room under there for batteries.

It also fixes the room for batteries problem. You could slap a transverse DIT L4 under the hood with a generator on it and attached to a CVT with a low range next to it, and replace the rear diff with an electric motor/gear pack combo. The drive shaft goes away making room for the batteries, if you don't fiddle with the engine too much you can retain the reliability of being able to continue on it alone if something bad happens to the electric drive, and you can also run solely on the electric. Win, win, win. It also ditches the transfer case, and thus the loss therein.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[drinkypoo]

Ideally, the generator comes out of the truck and then goes onto a pad at your house, transferred there by an automated robot arm or crane or whatever, and can be used to power your home in the case of an outage. That provides customer incentive to purchase the generator. As it is, at least some of these people are also buying a generator. A good-sized home generator is already big enough to function as a range extender for a light vehicle.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Outta_the_way_peck!]

It would more likely be similar to the Cadillac Escalade EXT. Can it go offroad? Sure. Will you be willing to do so with that price tag? Not likely.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Bob the Super Hamste]

I'm assuming it was the glorious |6 engine?

Yes, it is the 2.5L m54 engine. I got a kick out of the looks I got from people when I was heading up deer hunting towing my trailer, or head to the processor with a deer tied on top of the trailer. I also like the looks I get when towing my father-in-laws small sail boat with it. The boat is larger than the car, but is fiberglass so boat plus trailer only weighs in at about 1500 lbs. I probably get more looks at the boat launch than any place else. My only complaint is I really miss the high clearance and real 4WD with posi as getting to some places is just too difficult with a low slung rear wheel drive sporty sedan. Also I can't pull stumps with the BMW as I don't have that nice 4-low, and yes I did do crap like that with the Jeep when I had it.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[WindBourne]

Lol. If you think that highlander goes off-road, but X does not, well, u obviously work for another car company.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[WindBourne]

Nope. Musk has already said numerous times that it is a pickup truck. He has hinted at developing in Texas, if the GOP will quit blocking competition.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[WindBourne]

Tesla will never ever do a hybrid. Nor does it make sense save for semis, military vehicles, etc.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[WindBourne]

Tesla will be out with a battery pack later this year which will give the MS or MX, 500 mpc. With towing, it cuts it down to about 1/2. And considering that superchargers are about 200 miles apart, not a big deal.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[WindBourne]

First off, superchargers are set up along major highways every 200 miles. Would you be adversed to stopping at 200 mile, filling up for say 1 hour FOR FREE, and then continuing on?
Secondly, Tesla designed their vehicles to have swappable batteries. In addition, they are going to introduce a pack later this year which will give the MS and MX about 500 mpc. Would oppose renting such a pack for your trip?

Re: What Type of Truck?

[WindBourne]

Actually, most truck owners that I know will happily switch to this, assuming done right. You have better torque then an F350. Likewise, if you have 90kwh and can access that for power tools, it becomes useful for on-site work. Assume the frunck can hold the toolbox. And likewise, you can get a battery pack that holds close to 200kwh so that you can go 500 mpc , if needed. Finally, an AWD with the weight equally distributed between axles so that driving in snow, ice and mud is easy, will please any truck owner.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[WindBourne]

I have been amazed that electric car companies are missing a golden opportunity with electric companies AND uspo.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[HawkinsD]

Ludicrous amounts of torque, from a standing start, might be a huge selling point.

This instant torque is why locomotive designers hook up diesel engines to make electricity to power electric motors. The torque is worth the conversion losses.

So imagine a pickup truck with a "ludicrous" mode, not for acceleration, but for getting a trailer rolling.

Re: What Type of Truck?

[drinkypoo]

Actually, it makes great sense for a truck, where you expect both range and high power output for towing etc. Granted, a shitty little toy truck could be a full EV, but the range is nowhere near good enough for a real truck.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Firethorn]

You're right, I've looked up - it's about 10-20 hp, or ~7.5-15kW. Even the 4.5kW generator I have might work as a range extender for a small strong EV - if it wasn't for it being louder then hell. A motorcycle or ATV engine with proper mufflers would work better.

Anyways - let's say I have a 300 mile EV that consumes 9 kW to maintain highway speeds. While the 4.5kW generator only fulfills half the demand, that's still going to double my range to 600 miles, which should take roughly 10 hours of driving. Which is about as long as you should drive anyways. Unless they put a bigger tank on the generator - it's going to need gasoline after approximately 5 hours anyways. You should be left with roughly 50% battery power at this point, which is plenty of slack to drive another hour or so. So let's say that you stop for gas, lunch, and a super-charger station for about an hour. By the time you get going again, you're almost back up to 100% on the batteries, the generator is full again, etc... Note: If a supercharger station isn't available, running the generator might be an option, especially if it can operate in parallel with another charging station.

Going by this, I could have a 150 mile EV, that consumes ~20kW on the road because it's towing, mount a ~15kW generator to the trailer, which I hook to the towing vehicle by a power cable. That way, I only have to hook up or unhook the trailer to take the generator along, presumably I don't need the generator unless I'm taking the trailer. I can use the generator, while still on the trailer to provide power to my house during an outage, or during a camping trip, at a remote work site, whatever.

That would give me approximately 600 miles of range assuming the fuel doesn't run out, and if I manage to exhaust the battery I just slow down some.

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Firethorn]

So imagine a pickup truck with a "ludicrous" mode, not for acceleration, but for getting a trailer rolling.

Now I'm picturing a guy with a S-10 sized pickup pulling a F-350 out of a ditch via tow strap. Normally he wouldn't have enough traction, but because he has those batteries, his truck actually weighs about the same as the bigger vehicle. Power? Not a problem!

Re:What Type of Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

You could build the battery packs right under the bed, no problem.

And it'd even fix the winter traction issue. I looked under my truck to kind of figure out how I'd electrify it, and there's plenty of room under there for batteries.

I guess you have never looked at a Tesla. The battery is underneath in a large module. The Tesla company has actually produced automated equipment that can swap the module out in less than 5 minutes.
The first time I saw a naked Tesla chassis at the Menlo Park, CA showroom I immediately thought that it would make a great platform for a delivery step van.

This is a great idea - looking to buy such a truck

[WillAffleckUW]

At some point, I'm going to have to buy a truck to get to remote sites for wind/solar/hydro power generation, so something like this is very interesting.

I'd like it if it had a "spare battery", not just a spare tire, too.

Makes sense to me.

[Wycliffe]

Just like Tesla's other ideas, a luxury sports car proves that it can be done so other people can copy it. It makes sense that a truck would be the next thing for Tesla to prove feasible. I don't think Tesla really wants to build cars or trucks but rather wants to run a think tank to prove it can be done. I wouldn't be surprised if Tesla open sourced his car plans at some point so other people could manufacture them for him (and he can sell batteries to them, of course)

Re:Makes sense to me.

[avandesande]

Why would it make sense? Because Elon said so? If the truck will actually be used like a truck there won't be any chargers around. If you are talking about rich dorks running around town to show off, than maybe you are right.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

If the truck will actually be used like a truck there won't be any chargers around.

Oh, so you think "like a truck" means "in rural areas". How quaint.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Feral Nerd]

Why would it make sense? Because Elon said so? If the truck will actually be used like a truck there won't be any chargers around. If you are talking about rich dorks running around town to show off, than maybe you are right.

If Elon Musk and his gang of eggheads can build a truck that will move cargo at a lower cost per drive kilometre with a full load of cargo than a diesel truck can then just you wait and see, the charging stations will pop up like mushrooms around a rotting tree stump. The there is fierce competition among the haulage companies, to them only the bottom line matters. If the truck that gives them a competitive edge is electric then they will not stick with diesels for the sake of tradition or some asinine right wing ideological aversion to 'tree hugger technology'.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, let's be honest here. What percentage of trucks do you see being used as trucks vs being used as grocery getters? I'd be shocked if less than 85% of them were only being used to drive around town. I laugh when I go to the landscaping lot and you see most guys in their trucks putting down tarps so they don't scratch up the bed. Trucks are the new status symbol. Yeah, it won't have as big of a consumer base as ICE trucks, but 85% of the truck buyers would be perfectly served by it.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[avandesande]

Tesla cars can't do this now why would it happen for a truck? It's going to be another rich toy.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[funky49]

Apparently Tesla already open sourced their electric car patents

https://www.teslamotors.com/bl...

Re:Makes sense to me.

[SirSlud]

According to market research, the overwheliming majority of truck owners do not use their truck like a truck. That doesn't make them all rich dorks, it just makes them regular consumers.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[avandesande]

They are dorks, but only the rich ones will be able to afford Tesla. I have full size truck and using it around town is a nightmare- terrible gas mileage, nowhere to put groceries and hard to park.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Talderas]

It does. How quaint that you think the majority of trucks are utilized in urban areas.

Fun fact. One of the larger purchasers of pickup trucks are companies like Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern, who routinely run their pickup trucks in exceedingly rural areas that have no road access.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[jedidiah]

ANY patent is "open source" by definition. That's just how patents work. The extra bit that Tesla added was disclaiming any rights or intentions to demand royalties.

It would be more accurate to say that he "copylefted" them or "liberated" them.

"open source" is a more watered down term by design.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[MindStalker]

Maybe, maybe not. The bed of the truck would make for excellent battery swap potential. The end user can't swap the cars battery. I can see several potential ways to make battery swap much more feasible in a truck, at least for a commercial outfit to equip one.
Also the electric All Wheel Drive dual motor in the current models is far superior traction control to Internal Combustion Engine AWD. Its even possible they might put 4 motors, 1 for each wheel. This would offer vastly superior traction to any truck on the market today.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess you didn't think of the fact that diesel engines are hugely polluting and neither really suited for, nor welcome in cities? Yet there are *lots* of them driving around all day long, not very far, but for a long time, with lots of stops for traffic lights etc. You don't think there's an opportunity there? Or maybe you're concerned that infrastructure will be a huge problem? You also forget that legislation can be a huge motivator for getting one, I'm sure e.g the Californian authorities would love them, not so confident about their feelings wrt diesels...

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

learn to drive, dork. I drive an F-150, the groceries fit in the back, and I park in the parking garage every day at work. Now, I also have an 8 mile commute, so there's no business case for buying a replacement vehicle, and I end up putting more than just groceries in it every other week or so, so my business case is different than yours. But, still, learn to park.

Re: Makes sense to me.

[Bing Tsher E]

Several large purchasers don't dwarf the millions of single vehicle purchasers who choose a pickup truck. Maybe you live in a region that is different, where car snobbery is more important. I bought my light truck off the dealer's lot new with two digits on the odometer in 2006 for $15K and 0% interest. It was a very low cost for a quite durable vehicle that now has 160k miles and I hope to be driving another 10 years..

Re: Makes sense to me.

[Bing Tsher E]

Nowhere to put the groceries?? Are you buying pallet loads of groceries, and your truck has a bed too narrow for the pallet?

Or do you have a "decorative" cover over the bed with a spoiler on back?

Re:Makes sense to me.

[internerdj]

Terrible gas mileage but no worse than anything else that will hold 6 people. Get a bed cover, you'll have a place to store groceries and may even improve your gas mileage. It is difficult to park, but it is a big vehicle. What I don't get is why it doesn't make any economic sense to make a fuel efficient vehicle for a family size that should be well within 1 standard deviation above the mean.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[avandesande]

LOL talk your book. Driving a truck in town sucks.

Re: Makes sense to me.

[avandesande]

Yeah because I like having groceries roll around the bed and be exposed to the elements or where someone could take them if I have to stop somewhere else.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[thoromyr]

How quaint, you think that Tesla can only make a pickup truck if it will satisfy the needs of the customer who buys the most? I can see how you think that, because that is exactly what they have done with their electric car. Oh, wait...

Re:Makes sense to me.

[avandesande]

Oh so I have to screw around with a bed cover when I want to actually use the truck as a truck? Using a truck for commuting is dumb, end of story.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

he said "full size", not a little glorified car with a bed

Re:Makes sense to me.

[tlhIngan]

Why would it make sense? Because Elon said so? If the truck will actually be used like a truck there won't be any chargers around. If you are talking about rich dorks running around town to show off, than maybe you are right.

And why are pickup trucks basically the top-selling vehicle in North America? Are there seriously that many people who use it to haul around cargo so often that it's justified?

Like SUVs, the vast majority of them will never more "off road" than a gravel paved road. And most will never haul more gear than maybe a few sports bags. (Yeah, you can use it to haul a fridge or something, but then again, I'd get that delivered and let the guys with a ramp or electric lift bring it down from the truck than to try to do it by hand).

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Talderas]

I believe Tesla can do just fine if they are producing a pickup truck for non-commercial usage or they build a crossover or SUV as they'll have far more flexibility in their design and engineering which is an advantage to them whenever they can sell the vehicle to the customer as is without the customer needing any further alterations which will encompass practically all non-commercial purchasers. I question their ability to crack into the commercial truck market because they're facing brand loyalty and price competition and to put a bit of pain to it there's a support network for the commercial truck business that is sensitive to the nuances in the engineering in cab and chassis of pickups. Tesla will have to conform to the dimensions utilized by the big manufacturers if they want that support network to be able to be utilized because they cannot reasonably expect those suppliers to produce equipment for Tesla vehicles at a price that is going to be palatable to commercial purchasers. It's a situation that could stick them into a following position whether than a leading position which could cause them to bring vehicles to market later making it more difficult to secure commercial sales.

Believe me, I would love for Tesla to become a player in the commercial truck business as it would be very helpful for my personal life. My suspicion is that Musk is talking about heavy trucks that exceed 10,000 GVW where the bodies are primarily cargo hauling flatbed or box trailers/trucks or lighter GVW box trucks if those even exist.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[0100010001010011]

I worked for a company that was trying to get Walmart to buy our engines for their trucks.

0.1% of a fuel economy savings could save them millions per year. For short haul a lot of fleets are moving to CNG because it's cheap.

If Walmart, UPS or FedEx could do just a single route in an EV truck they'd jump at the opportunity in a second if it meant cutting fuel costs.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

Notice where the fucktard kept calling Musk "Tesla"? Fucking fanboy cult is rearing it's ugly head. I predicted this shit long ago and this is proof positive. No matter what success of failure Musk encounters these fucks will be acting like that was his plan all along or that some mysterious conspiracy was his ruin.

Just like with the Telsa cult, there is no reasoning with these people. Proof to dismiss 90% of the Nicola Tesla bullshit is a 30 second Google search but these fucks still keep insisting that history is a lie and Tesla is a demigod. Elon is the same to mostly the same people.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[drinkypoo]

I have a full size truck and it has room for groceries in the super cab's vestigial seating area behind the buckets in the front. People often also use a tool box for such things, but I admit accessing it for groceries is a bit tricky. Maybe you should have got just a bit more cab. Nothing can be done about the mileage, though. However, Tesla won't be making a full-size truck. They'll be making a Unibody truck. Honda has just proven that you can do this and still make it look like a truck, with the 2016 model of the Ridgeline... which I admit formerly looked like a children's project.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[drinkypoo]

Also the electric All Wheel Drive dual motor in the current models is far superior traction control to Internal Combustion Engine AWD. Its even possible they might put 4 motors, 1 for each wheel. This would offer vastly superior traction to any truck on the market today.

There is literally no need for that in a truck which doesn't go off-road, and Tesla isn't going to be building a rock crawler. Since they need a gear reduction drive already, the best solution is to use two motors just like they are now so that they only need two of those instead of three. Using an open differential gear and EBD will be more than adequate for street use. I would very much like to see a four-wheel all-electric rock crawler, but it's going to be a while before anyone does that. It's very expensive in terms of components so it's going to be a long while before something like that shows up at SEMA, and there's really no money in it now in terms of an actual completed product. Eventually, however, we'll probably see Jeep (if they continue to exist) or Rover put out an off-road vehicle like that. The problem is that right now you'd never be able to sell it to that market. I do think though that a truck like that could just clean up everything in one of these off-road truck competitions. You'd get great weight distribution by being able to split power generation up into two generators, one at each end of the cab, and by being able to place batteries semi-arbitrarily around the vehicle.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

Diesel engines are not "hugely polluting". Modern diesels are cleaner than modern petrol engines.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

And why are pickup trucks basically the top-selling vehicle in North America?

Good question. Why are they so popular in North America? I know they are taxed favourably, but that is hardly an argument to drive around in a vehicle that is ugly, uncomfortable, impractical and very thirsty, so there must be some other reason.

Outside of North America, they are pretty rare.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

Which is mostly a PR move, since their patents are essentially worthless.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[dave420]

UPS already uses lots of hybrid and electrical trucks. They started using electrical trucks in the 30s, according to their website.

Re: Makes sense to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're stopping other places on the way home from buying groceries, you're doing it wrong. The grocery store should be your last stop before heading home to avoid spoilage.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Wycliffe]

Why would it make sense? Because Elon said so? If the truck will actually be used like a truck there won't be any chargers around. If you are talking about rich dorks running around town to show off, than maybe you are right.

That's what I get for not reading the actual article. I just assumed (incorrectly) that Tesla was talking about big rigs. To me that's what makes sense for both electric and self-driving. Trains are already electric. Large hauling companies are more than willing to adopt new technology if it makes them money over the long term. They are not as concerned about up front cost and self-driving would be a huge money saver.

Re:Makes sense to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

Do wish people wouldn't keep saying this. There is such as thing as a secret patent.

Model T

[goombah99]

how could they miss that opportunity. Model T

Re:Model T

[chopper749]

Ford already kill the 'Model E' name, which had to be changed to the 'Model 3'
They definitely wouldn't allow a 'Model T'
The next model will surely be the "Model Y'.
Then the lineup would be :S,3,X,Y!

Re:Model T

[Anonymous Coward]

They couldn't a Ford it.

Power Storage

[Githaron]

Wouldn't they need to fix the power storage problem before creating a fully electric truck? A lot of people have trucks for hauling things.

Re:Power Storage

[__aaclcg7560]

A lot of people have trucks for hauling things.

Many of the truck owners I know are compensating for something. The only thing they haul is groceries.

Re:Power Storage

[Anonymous Coward]

A lot of people have trucks for hauling things.

Many of the truck owners I know are compensating for something. The only thing they haul is groceries.

You need a lot of space to haul that 100-muffin pack from Costco!

Re:Power Storage

[Anonymous Coward]

and their fat asses

Re:Power Storage

[U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M]

You need a lot of space to haul that 100-muffin pack from Costco!

Damn, since when do they make their muffin packs smaller?

Re:Power Storage

[Nidi62]

Wouldn't they need to fix the power storage problem before creating a fully electric truck? A lot of people have trucks for hauling things.

Couldn't they make long, thin batteries and use the bed of a pickup as the compartment. You would lose some storage, but how often to people really use a pickup to transport stuff?

Re:Power Storage

[ClickOnThis]

A lot of people have trucks for hauling things.

Many of the truck owners I know are compensating for something. The only thing they haul is groceries.

This.

Nine times out of ten, when I see a truck on the road, the bed is empty.

Re:Power Storage

[Firethorn]

A Model S battery is already proportionally flatter than a cell phone battery.

At that point you stick it UNDER the bed, like how it's on the bottom of a model S, and you don't lose any storage.

Re:Power Storage

[Nidi62]

A Model S battery is already proportionally flatter than a cell phone battery.

At that point you stick it UNDER the bed, like how it's on the bottom of a model S, and you don't lose any storage.

That's kind of what I intended, use the batteries (in a protective compartment of course) to act as the actual floor of the bed. However, since I don't know the thickness of the batteries I didn't know how big said compartment would ahve needed to be.

Re:Power Storage

[thoromyr]

What? Going by anecdotal observation? I almost *never* see a pickup that is loaded. It is much much closer to 99.9% are empty all the time.

However, when do I see trucks? I see them in the parking lot at work, or driving to and from work. I'm not particularly surprised that the beds are empty, all things considered (it used to be that I'd see a toolbox in the truck bed, but it seems that would be hard on the pretty liners on the ones I see).

The most often I have seen a truck used to haul things, I was involved in the hauling. And it wasn't during rush hour, but during the day (the last time I took the day off and helped someone move). Ergo, it is possible that pickup trucks used for hauling usually don't compete with rush hour traffic, explaining the nearly 100% lack of evidence they are used for hauling during my routine driving.

In other words, be careful about drawing conclusions from observations. At the least you need to account for observational bias.

Re:Power Storage

[amiga3D]

Most people buy trucks to have a real vehicle. It's impossible to find a "full" size car. If you want room and comfort a pickup truck is where it's at.

Re:Power Storage

[Anonymous Coward]

Not at all. In fact, most trucks are used for shorter hauls than cars when they're actually carrying stuff in the back.

It won't be the truck if you tow long distances. Take the boat to a lake 3 hours away? no. Tow the camper across country? no.
Picking up stuff at the local home center, hauling leaves/mulch/trash/wood/old kids toys around town? Perfect.

Re:Power Storage

[Anonymous Coward]

You know, if your powers of observation extended beyond confirmation bias, you'd look for evidence that they have hauled something recently. Mine's empty, but has had in this month 2 bathtubs, 1800 lbs of drywall and tile scrap, a yard of gravel, new drywall, scrap cardboard going to recycle and a foot of snow. That's 8 trips out of roughly 60 that were carrying something. So, I'm pretty close to your "9/10" made up statistic, but I think I've got a strong case to have a truck instead of having spent 20 hours this month renting a truck for each task.

Re:Power Storage

[Anonymous Coward]

A pickup truck is not remotely near as comfortable as even the crappiest economy car, so that can hardly be the reason.

Re:Power Storage

[dave420]

Baseless assertion detected! Baseless assertion detected!

Musk Needs to Focus

[monkeyxpress]

Look, the guy is amazing but he still has to ramp up production on the delayed Model X, get the Model 3 out, get the Falcon 9 landing and taking off again, finish the first giga factory and its extension, probably update the Model S by then, finish the hyper loop test track, get another giga factory started, convert the global energy supply to solar generation and local storage, fly and land the Falcon Heavy, scale Model 3 production up to 10 million cars a year, build a global micro satellite internet system, build another giga factory, send enough supplies to Mars to sustain a human habitat, build a Mars capable spaceship in orbit, and finally get himself to Mars before he becomes to senile to complete the trip.

As my mum always said, finish the project you're doing before you go start another one.

Re:Musk Needs to Focus

[onkelonkel]

"Get some rest. If you haven't got your health, then you haven't got anything."

Re:Musk Needs to Focus

[Anonymous Coward]

Pretty sure he's not the sole person working on those projects. I seem to recall teams of thousands of engineers also chipping in with a bit of the work.

Re:Musk Needs to Focus

[bkr1_2k]

And absolutely none of that gets done without a vision of the future. This is just another piece of his vision.

Re:Musk Needs to Focus

[Anonymous Coward]

Good advice from someone's mother who never accomplished anything in their life.

Re:Musk Needs to Focus

[Anonymous Coward]

he basically only has two things he's working on, everything else dovetails nicely into those two goals. Retire on mars and make more environmentally friendly civilian transport.

Re:Musk Needs to Focus

[Anonymous Coward]

The only thing he's "working on" is building his own wealth, with the help of unpaid mouthpieces like yourself.

Re:Musk Needs to Focus

[DerekLyons]

As my mum always said, finish the project you're doing before you go start another one.

This isn't about projects - this about Musk keeping Musk in the public eye. On top of being a showman, Musk seems to have a real need to keep people talking about and listening to him.

Re:Musk Needs to Focus

[Anonymous Coward]

The only thing he's "working on" is building his own wealth, with the help of unpaid mouthpieces like yourself.

Actually most of his wealth is tied-up in his companies.

Not that he's poor, but his available liquid wealth is overrated.

Re:Musk Needs to Focus

[tsotha]

I don't think this is so much psychological as a reflection of the fact Tesla is about to do another round of financing. They've been able to borrow money pretty cheaply as a result of the hype.

Re:Musk Needs to Focus

[blankinthefill]

I'm going to be honest... I have no problem with someone doing that that is really working to advance and better the human race. Most people like that like to talk about how amazing they are, or to brag about how great something they've done is. I don't really see or hear about Musk acting like that. He's always looking for the next project and trying something new. Some of the new projects he talks about are flat out ridiculous. Some of them seem ridiculous, but are actually far more doable than anyone is willing to admit until he goes and does them. Some of them are just pretty run of the mill improvements. So if Musk wants to stay in the public eye by talking about wild shit, I've got less than no problem with it as long as he also keeps acting in the way he has in the past. The state of cars, space travel, and battery storage are all objectively better off for Musk's desire to stay in the public eye. If only every narcissist acted that way.

Re:Musk Needs to Focus

[Jeremi]

On top of being a showman, Musk seems to have a real need to keep people talking about and listening to him.

Perhaps, but that goes both ways -- the media also have a real desire to keep talking about Musk, for the obvious reasons -- he's doing interesting things, and therefore talking about him sells copy.

Re:Musk Needs to Focus

[BeamSaber]

I'm far more inclined to support Elon Musk's need to keep people talking about him than, say, Kanye West!

A truck for $70,000? That's crazy talk!

[Anonymous Coward]

I wish I were joking, but the top models from all the majors finish out near those numbers. It's one consumer market where Tesla might come in at parity right off the bat.

Re:This is a great idea - looking to buy such a tr

[110010001000]

You are going to lug around a "spare battery" in your electric truck powered by a battery? I wouldn't go to remote sites with an electric truck. That isn't what they are for. These are more for city trucks (delivery, trash, etc).

use the solar powered graphite magnet engines?

[Anonymous Coward]

stay above the fray? http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/New-York-City-Manhole-Explosion-Fires-Blizzard-Salt-Snow-366744551.html?_osource=SocialFlowTwt_NYBrand ...dark matter for sure..?

Sport Truck or Real Truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

Last year I moved 700 miles, towing my car behind my F-150. 12 hours, 2 tanks of gas.

Unless Tesla can solve some of the 'typical' use scenarios for a truck, they'll fall flat on their faces. Around here, trucks are used for hunting, hauling feed/animals for farms and ranches, going offroading, camping, etc...

When I can do at least 3 of the above without worrying about range issues, I'll consider it. Though I suppose with a full-size pickup there is plenty of room for big batteries.

Well, it's not all trucks like trucks.

[Anonymous Coward]

Or pick-ups, for that matter. Here in Amsterdam, I'm seeing electrical UPS brown trucks zipping along local streets delivering packages as the day is long. Big, bulky, limited to 50 KPH to preserve el. juice, but still, they are real and functioning as we speak.

Not if they can;t sell in Texas

[Anonymous Coward]

Gonna need to fix that.

Yea an 80k luxury truck

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks Elon, thats just what more people need. Luxury trucks with no utility.

Game changer

[Anonymous Coward]

I could use my 6'5" bed to hold batteries. What a game changer!

Electric trucks make a lot of sense

[shawn2772]

Electric trucks make a lot of sense... if you can get the price down.

Trucks benefit from having lots of torque for pulling, towing and hauling. If you went with a hub motor design, each wheel independently powered and each on a motorized jack, you could create a phenomenal off-road vehicle, able to adapt to all sorts of terrain.

The challenge is that trucks also need decent range even when pulling a heavy load. My pickup has a 600+-mile range, not because I need to drive that far but so when I'm pulling something that cuts my fuel efficiency in half I still have a 300-mile range. In an EV, this means lots of batteries, which means lots of $$$. A Tesla Model S P85D's 90 kWh battery is probably 1/2 the size you'd need for a half-ton pickup, and you'd need to go even bigger for heavier trucks. I don't know how large the market for $150K pickups is.

Re:Electric trucks make a lot of sense

[110010001000]

He isn't talking about pickups. He is talking about real trucks.

Re:Electric trucks make a lot of sense

[powerlord]

So something like a UPS, FedEx, insert LastMile courier, or something like a Moving/Freight Truck, or are we talking Semi?

Re:Electric trucks make a lot of sense

[110010001000]

Oh yeah, I mean like UDS/Fedex/trash trucks. Not "real" trucks like a semi. I doubt there would be much of a use for semi trucks...the range isn't there.

Re: Electric trucks make a lot of sense

[Bing Tsher E]

Real truck, as in the same chassis as a pickup but with a custom bed replacement or a van body on it?

Or are you meaning an 18 Wheeler?

Re:Electric trucks make a lot of sense

[eth1]

Electric trucks make a lot of sense... if you can get the price down.

Trucks benefit from having lots of torque for pulling, towing and hauling. If you went with a hub motor design, each wheel independently powered and each on a motorized jack, you could create a phenomenal off-road vehicle, able to adapt to all sorts of terrain.

The challenge is that trucks also need decent range even when pulling a heavy load. My pickup has a 600+-mile range, not because I need to drive that far but so when I'm pulling something that cuts my fuel efficiency in half I still have a 300-mile range.

The nice thing about an electric truck is that extra battery capacity would be easy to build into a trailer that needed it when being towed. Bonus: You're not hauling around that weight when you don't need it.

Re:Electric trucks make a lot of sense

[shawn2772]

He isn't talking about pickups. He is talking about real trucks.

From TFA: "Elon Musk hinted that a Tesla branded pickup truck isn’t entirely outside the realm of possibility."

He's talking about pickup trucks.

Re:Electric trucks make a lot of sense

[blankinthefill]

I'm not sure about that. The range for long range hauling semis might not be there, but there's a ton of semis that get used in limited geographic areas. Lots of places have a central depot or two in a city, that services all their stores/outlets/etc. Many of those semis don't really need huge range, they're just bigger moving/freight trucks. Heck, if you designed it right you could include easily swap-able battery packs with quick charge capability. The truck comes back to the depot, as it's getting refilled or getting a new trailer, the battery pack gets swapped for a new one, and bam, away you go, while your other battery pack charges up again for your next go round. Hell... I don't know why you couldn't do the same type of thing with large highway truck stops, which could certainly make long haul electric trucking a reality. And with the amount of gas that gets spent on these trucks, even with the high cost of batteries there's probably a substantial savings to be had.

Re:Electric trucks make a lot of sense

[Anonymous Coward]

The thing is, we already have electric freight vehicles. Musk likely won't bring anything new to the table except for using batteries instead of using diesel electric generators. But you fucking retards will praise him as a visionary even tho the working vehicles are likely older than you are.

Re:Electric trucks make a lot of sense

[Anonymous Coward]

From TFA:

Elon Musk hinted that a Tesla branded pickup truck isn’t entirely outside the realm of possibility.

Re:Electric trucks make a lot of sense

[Anonymous Coward]

Or, the batteries are part of the trailer itself...

Re:Electric trucks make a lot of sense

[blankinthefill]

That's actually a good idea, cause the batteries size could be changed based on the trailer and maximum load sizes. It could also allow for motors to be placed on some of the rear axles, which I could see possibly being useful.

Re:This is a great idea - looking to buy such a tr

[WillAffleckUW]

No, the truck is to hold the snowmobile and the cross country skis. I'm looking at regions that have 30 meters of snowdrifts across highways that don't get cleared for weeks. If that happens, you leave the truck. And all the sites are - by definition - on the grid.

Seriously you city boys sure are whiners.

LOL

[Anonymous Coward]

the service industry works with slim profit margins as it is, often either subsisting off of used cheap trucks or inexpensive but reliable vehicles that they can run for years.

A high end boutique rig that costs 3-4x an equivalent gasser, with limited refueling options, is not gonna be something the pizza parlor, florist, gardener, or any private delivery service provider is gonna reach for.

But Im sure the bottomless well of government will be happy to buy up a bunch for postal delivery or something. And states will "subsidize" from their already sketchy budgets to try to convince all the well-subsidized solar installers to use them.

But at the rate the "model 3" promise has been withheld, we'll not see any actual "pickup truck" or delivery van until after Musk has gotten someone else to buy up Tesla before the subsidies and CARB bennies start to fade so it won't really matter. We were "promised" the Model 3 when Musk wanted big automaker bailout money. Instead efforts went towards the X. Years later we barely even have the X out and the 3 is like practical fusion, another 3-5 years away?

Electric delivery trucks have a great future

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

There are a whole range of vehicles that can switch to electric if the price is not an issue. These are not range limited vehicles.

Most school buses, mail trucks, parcel delivery trucks, can go electric. Most of them stay close to their base station and can be charged over night. Further they are suitable for "swap-the-battery and continue" mode of operations. Deliver fleets could build battery swap stations for their trucks to swap batteries when needed.

Currently these options are not being pursued because the price is too high for the cost savings. As gas prices fall they become even more unviable. But these are the first ones that will be peeled off when the battery price break through comes along.

Re:Electric delivery trucks have a great future

[110010001000]

You are right. In some cities in the US we already have electric Fedex/UPS trucks. Also hybrid buses.

Re:Electric delivery trucks have a great future

[cpoch]

I think range is still a limit for most. I live in the Washington, DC metro area. WMATA (the regional transit provider) runs mostly hybrid diesel and CNG buses. They have found that while CNG is cheaper on a per mile basis just concerning fuel cost, most of the CNG buses can't handle a double shift on one fill of CNG so they end up having a lower percent utilization than a diesel since they have to head back to the garage for a long refill after each driver's shift. Their CNG buses typically fill overnight as they take several hours to fill. A diesel takes minutes to fill, so even with the same range per fill, a diesel can run nearly continuously. Not all the WMATA garages support CNG and plans to build CNG infrastructure at more of their garages have gone slower than originally planned and my understanding is the primary reason is the operational constraints of CNG fueling.

Electric vehicles currently have the same kind of limitations as CNG. Without expensive infrastructure for doing things like en route charging, a bus needs to be able to comfortably run two shifts back to back before a transit authority can use them on a wide scale - probably roughly a 300 mile city range. The charging infrastructure even in a garage is expensive. Swapping enough batteries for a 300 mile bus range is also labor intensive. I agree that electric makes sense here, but the infrastructure just isn't there yet.

Van based trucks (think UPS) are light enough that they're not that hard to electrify from today's standards. However a medium duty truck like a box truck gets roughly the same kind of fuel economy as a transit bus and so the amount of energy you have to carry to make them work well today is still expensive and hard to do.

Re:This is a great idea - looking to buy such a tr

[110010001000]

Us "city boys" are the ones who are designing your stuff, and I can tell you carry a "spare battery" around is idiotic. Anyhow, Musk is talking about things like city DELIVERY trucks. Trash trucks. He isn't dumb enough to build the type of vehicle you are wanting. He is talking about city vehicles.

Maybe we should stop subsidizing...

[Simulant]

.. empty pickup trucks. Business expense my ass.

Re:Maybe we should stop subsidizing...

[Anonymous Coward]

Pickup trucks are big sellers, but many are never used for anything that requires a pickup truck. I live in a state full of people gas-guzzling around in full sized trucks, never doing anything that couldn't be done in a Prius.

Not even possible now

[avandesande]

There are good reasons why trucks get less gas mileage than cars- weight, tire patch, aerodynamic drag. These will not change with an electric truck. Right now the Tesla is on the ragged edge with battery cost, range, charge time etc and these issues will be double on a truck.

Re:Not even possible now

[Anonymous Coward]

This is Elon Musk we're talking about, he'll just add gull wing doors and the problem of aerodynamics is solved!

Re:This is a great idea - looking to buy such a tr

[WillAffleckUW]

I don't need much more than a standard winch. I grew up in the mountains. Not carrying heavy loads for the most part, just need it to function as needed. Big trucks are for heavy loads and full cabs of workers. Would still buy it, given range and conditions.

Truck means extended range

[U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M]

Since you have so much room in a truck, you can put a lot more batteries in it. I'm pretty sure Tesla could make an electric truck with at least quadruple the range of their cars.

Wait, what do you mean by "cargo space"?

Re:Truck means extended range

[110010001000]

You know what I would do? I'd make the entire thing out of batteries. The frame, the wheels, seats, everything. It would have awesome range. I'm off to the patent office!

Re:Truck means extended range

[Firethorn]

Wait, what do you mean by "cargo space"?

You could shove 4-8 model-s batteries under the bed of a full size pickup without sacrificing any cargo space. That would translate, probably, to 2-4 times the range.

Of course, $136k for 8 ~$17k battery packs would make it a little pricey.

Re:Truck means extended range

[Anonymous Coward]

You could shove 4-8 model-s batteries under the bed of a full size pickup without sacrificing any cargo space. That would translate, probably, to 2-4 times the range.

Model S battery packs weigh 1300 pounds (http://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-s-weight/). Shoving 5-10 thousand extra pounds under the bed would probably require an extra axle just to bear the weight of the vehicle, even without any cargo.

Not to mention the additional cost and the fact that such a contraption would probably negate any efficiency argument for buying the thing.

Re:This is a great idea - looking to buy such a tr

[Anonymous Coward]

a spare batter is a retarded idea. Carry a generator and as much fuel as you want.

Stop building Mercedes!

[Anonymous Coward]

I love Tesla's goals, and they are kicking everyone's tails in the EV market, but...

They have a good number of their parts made by Mercedes, and none of my friends can afford an $80,000 car.

I wish they would stop with the luxury car nonsense, and build a car like an old Chevy or a cheap Kia. Start with a simple frame for a commuter car or a light truck. Add in the Tesla axle(s) and battery pack. I don't even want power windows. I want a low-end Kia Rio or a base-model Chevy pickup. Give me something that works, and leave out the sound proofing. A stereo should max out at an MP3 player with 2 speakers in the dash. Don't give me OnStar or anything more intelligent than a wheel and pedals that work. This would require a redesign (simplification) of the controller box, and I'm good with that.

I am worried that their "$35,000" model will still be a Mercedes at heart. For economy models, the repair costs can outweigh the savings on gas if they are as expensive to repair as a Mercedes is.

What about a REAL truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

I mean the ones that carry gods, NO I don't expect them to go 500km without a charge, but there is alot of shorter deliverys in a town. Daily deliverys to stores for instance.
Well, actually chargetime could be handled by the drivers just switching trucks in dessignated stations where the truck is reloaded.

Re:What about a REAL truck?

[ledow]

Ironically, you're going 50 years back.

The UK had all-electric vehicles doing local milk, bread, etc. delivery since at least the 60's. We call them milk floats.

They were generally lead-acid powered but the newer models use Li-Ion and other technologies, and because they generally did morning rounds, they could charge all day and night to get their runs done early the next morning.

Many a child woke up with the motor-whine and bottle-jingle of the milk float coming down the road. They died out around where I live about 10 years ago, with the advent of local supermarkets and online shopping.

Everything goes in circles.

Re:What about a REAL truck?

[amiga3D]

The problem with electrical vehicles in the US is the range. With the exception of commuter vehicles they need to have a minimum 300 mile range per charge. We desperately need some kind of practical electrical storage.

Re:What about a REAL truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

>I mean the ones that carry gods

That explains the ones with the "God is my co-pilot" bumper stickers. I always wondered about them.

Re:What about a REAL truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

I mean the ones that carry gods,

So... something more along the lines of the PopeMobile?

Re:What about a REAL truck?

[pz]

And a frequent-stop application, like milk delivery, postal delivery, package delivery, public bus, etc, is the perfect application for electric power because a fuel-based solution wastes energy slowing down at each stop that an electric solution can recover through regenerative braking.

Re:What about a REAL truck?

[Anonymous Coward]

I haven't driven over 300 miles in a day's driving for over 3 months....and he was talking about possibly using them for local deliveries and maybe urban areas...you know, where most people in the US live...

Re:What about a REAL truck?

[amiga3D]

I generally drive at least 32 miles per day minimum. That's work and back. A lot of my co-workers drive 100 or more miles round trip commute per day. That's not the problem though. If I have to take care of business after work it'll mean a lot more miles. At least one day per week I can count on up to 80 to 100 miles extra. That leaves aside weekends. I don't live in an urban area but it's not rural either. My county has about 140 thousand people and the county directly North of mine has a population around 155 thousand. Several cities and towns encompass this area and traffic in my county shows tags from 5 or 6 other counties. A lot of traffic in a region that has one city of around 100,000. The city is Macon, GA and it's the center of a lot of commercial activity including multiple counties with a combined population of over half a million people. To be a non-urban area the traffic can be hell. I often drive 300 miles and never leave the area. I wouldn't mind having a little battery powered commuter car for work and back but for a truck being used to run deliveries I'd really want 300 miles on a charge.

Trucks v heavy

[MarkH]

Up to 40 tonnes of load, long distance . Big fan of electric but for shear grunt power that old tank of enriched carbs is hard to beat.

Re:Trucks v heavy

[Z00L00K]

Not sure where you live, but here we allow in general 64 tons max weight.

But they are talking of putting down power lines along the highways to allow trucks to get electricity for propulsion.

Re:Trucks v heavy

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm curious as to who "they" are, and how "they" plan on actually transferring the power from the grid to the vehicles.

Re:Trucks v heavy

[Anonymous Coward]

From TFA:

Elon Musk hinted that a Tesla branded pickup truck isn’t entirely outside the realm of possibility.

I'd prefer a Tesla Wagon.

[Z00L00K]

I'd prefer a Tesla Wagon over a truck. For family usage a wagon is a lot more useful than a sedan or a truck.

Re:I'd prefer a Tesla Wagon.

[slinches]

That's essentially what the Model X is.

A truck is much harder to do

[Anonymous Coward]

So far what Tesla has done has been predictable car and SUV but not really a full fledge off road SUV. More yuppy kind of urban vehicle for soccer moms that looks much less mainstream. A truck however garners a much more particular crowd and requires a lot more flexibility, such as towing, long distances, and hauling lot's of stuff. No truck driver will want a wimpy low range, weak hauling Honda Ridgeline only with a big battery. I can just imagine big burly guy buys one, hooks up his boat heads off to his favorite fishing hole. Only to discover that if he makes it there he will have to find a place to plug it in and recharge it. The whole problem with all electric vehicles is going to be a lack of charging stations and the fact its rather time consuming and yet another task that needs to be planned out for a long trip.
Personally the whole achilles heal of electric vehicles is still the battery.

I'm surprised

[drgould]

Yes, I know TFS says, "the three best-selling vehicles in the U.S. in both 2014 and 2015 were all pickup trucks."

But I would think a luxury SUV would be a more likely step.

Musk has made great improvements to battery capacity and life for his automobiles, but I suspect trucks require more power and range than is practical with current battery technology.

Re:This is a great idea - looking to buy such a tr

[ickleberry]

Plenty of stuff gets designed out 'In de Shticks', when you don't have a megacorp waiting to take your cash and pander to your every need you have to get inventive :)

Manual gearbox

[ickleberry]

T'would be nice if they could throw a manual box into this. Only 3, maybe 4 gears needed at the most or maybe just a transfer box with a low range. Combined with an electric motor this would give you a serious amount of torque.

Re:Manual gearbox

[Anonymous Coward]

Electric motors have max torque at 0 rpm, flat up for thousands of rpm. The Model S doesn't have a transmission. it's direct drive to the wheels. No gear shifts, no loss in performance. The transmission in an ICE is there to correct for the torque curve. Because an EV has no torque curve, there's no reason to correct it. You would actually lose performance by introducing one, as the gear shifts will drop out your acceleration temporarily.

Model S with 85 KW battery: top speed 125 mph, 14,000 rpm.
Torque 325 lb-ft (440 Nm), 0-5,800 rpm, which is roughly 40% of 14,000.
With single gear, in speed it is 40% of 125 mph = 50 mph.

So there is full torque up to 50 mph: There is absolutely no advantage in shifting up to 50 mph. Plenty of speed for curvy mountain roads. And above 50 mph, the torque starts dropping gently. Tesla tried a 2-speed transmission with the Roadster, but the immense instant torque kept grinding the gears.

Re:Manual gearbox

[Anonymous Coward]

T'would be nice if they could throw a manual box into this. Only 3, maybe 4 gears needed at the most or maybe just a transfer box with a low range. Combined with an electric motor this would give you a serious amount of torque.

It *already* has a serious amount of torque. Aside from range and upfront cost (both of which are "gas tank" problems, rather than "powertrain" problems), electric cars are objectively better than gas in pretty much every way. Not needing a transmission is a fair chunk of why (because weight, expense, and maintenance).

There might be an exception for vehicles that currently employ a "low range" gearbox, but even then, you'd probably really only need two gears.

Yeah

[Anonymous Coward]

Howabout producing an electric airplane for penguins? Bound to be a market there. That'll keep the stock price up!

You know that every suthin' boy wants to put a gunrack in the back of his brand new 'lectric truck, especially one with a bed large enough to accomodate a big ol' all-electric lawn tractor (that doubles as a golf cart). Why pay $1.75 a gallon on something with more power and miles when you can wait two days to slow charge an elegant electric truck? No brainer there. Same goes for those sophisticated San Francisco neuvo-rich types with money to burn. You know they want an electric pickup. One that's easy to parallel park!

How about...

[Anonymous Coward]

How about that affordable electric car you promised us. So far all we're seeing is the overpriced crap designed for anyone but the average person.

Duh

[wonkey_monkey]

If you think Tesla's plan for world domination begins with the Model S and ends with the Model 3, you're sorely mistaken.

Oh, really? And there was me thinking a car company would just stop making cars once they've made one they thought was good enough.

Sheesh...

Long Distance Trucks - Possible

[Nehmo]

Even long-haul (over 1,000 km) trips by e-semis is feasable if you supply the vehicle with power while on the road. I'm refering to an inductive power supply system using a buried set of transmiter-coils in the road and a reciever coil on the vehicle. For a start, a piece of Interstate between two active points could be fitted with the power-transmission coils.

The trucks would be cheaper to run than their internal combustion countereparts.

However, the recent drop in gasoline price is goint to stall e-vehicle development for a while.

Battery size

[Firethorn]

The model S and roadster use modified 18650 cells. They're 65.2mm long, and 18.6mm in diameter. They're mostly stacked end to end, so you're looking at about 2 cm per layer + armoring.

At least in my truck, there's room to put a battery box/structure under where the current bed is, and you'd want to keep SOME bed structure to protect the batteries as well as to support the load.

As for the protective compartment idea - I'd continue with what tesla did. The protection is built onto the bottom of the battery, and the battery bolts into it's support structure. That way you can just unscrew the bolts and replace the battery without worrying about other protective structures.

Batteries

[DrYak]

There are many times during the year when I may need to drive 300 miles round trip. If it won't make it then it's a non-starter.

Two things makes this realistic:

- vehicle size: In a bigger truck, there's more room to store aditionnal batteries.
Whereas extending a Model S would necessitate fill the front and back trunk with additional batteries (increasing weight and killing potential cargo), on a truck you could realistically use more space for additional batteries while still having plenty of room left for cargo.

- also, electric motor are less complex and cheaper than internal combustion engines. Model X and newer Model S have two motors. European high speed train don't even feature a locomotive because *the whole train* is motorized - every single coach.
This increase either efficiency or (in P85D Tesla S) the peak performance.
So, to further the above point: On a "Tesla T" you could have the whole trailer motorized and with its own battery, dramatically increasing the potential range.
Tesla would need "simply" to design a flat-bed with motors and battery similar to its current dual-motor Model T/X platform, with the necessary point to attach a standardized shipping container for cargo.

- unlike a gaz tank, battery are swappable and it's a rather fast procedure.
Musk has always wanted to supplement Tesla's network of free super-charger, with a network of (paying) battery swaps.

In other words, planty of opportunity for electric trucks in some point in the future.

So by applying the same approach and

Been there, seen that, Kando that!

[Anonymous Coward]

The electric truck already exists, it's called electric locomotive. She has been around since 1899/1902 (Valtellina line, Lombardy, Italy). Regularly hauls 30 or more waggons and doesn't need to carry on-board batteries, because power comes from the overhead catenary.

Those who hate rails and adore highways can opt for the "electric trolley bus" method of power-feeding, which essentially means double catenaries with current collector poles, thus no need for rails for the return current, yet heavy and expensive onboard batteries can still be avoided. I think Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) is currently test-running such a system for 18-wheelers.

Not a pickup truck - we want a truck truck

[SimonInOz]

To heck with pickups. What the world needs is decently driven trucks. Actual tractor trailer rigs (variously called 18 wheelers, articulated lorries, semis, big rigs) that move product around the country.
In big countries, Australia, USA, Canada, Russia, not mention Europe, there are long distances to be covered by said trucks. They are currently driven by often exhausted, sometimes drugged, human drivers. Most of the travelling is not challenging - freeways and the like.
The rigs are seriously expensive, and having them sitting about while the driver sleeps is a waste of investment (and slows delivery). Replace the driver with a machine and it'll drive for 24 hours per day.
A halfway mode is possible - with a fairly standardised route, the driver could sleep in the back of the cab, and get called to duty for the tricky bits - cities, loading/unloading.
Result - better use of investment, faster delivery, safer roads.
So how about it Tesla ... or Scania, Volvo ... [insert list of manufacturers here]?

Re:Not a pickup truck - we want a truck truck

[Anonymous Coward]

FedEx has a services where they swap drivers in shifts. One sleeps while the other drives. FedEx Custom Critical. The trucks basically only stop for fuel.

A truck is not a pick up truck

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course the question on trucks was related to road trucks, for heavy logistics. The model X can tow 1500 kg already. Makes perfect sense for logistics to go electric, in most ports it is.

Could be great for warehouses & factories

[oneiros27]

I've been to large factories where it's a bit of a hike to get from one side to the other. As I was delivering or unloading parts, I'd drive right in (and hopefully not clip anything overhead w/ the trailer).

But there were also various pickup trucks and such to move mid-sized things between stations, besides the forklifts for larger items and golf carts for just moving people around.

Electric pickup trucks would be great for this sort of use -- you're never getting up to high speed, you're not going all that far, there's plenty of electrical connections nearby if you need to top it off, and you can reduce the need for venting the exhaust.

Re: This is a great idea - looking to buy such a t

[WindBourne]

No, just switch the pack, city boy.