Possible new tow truck ( Tesla )

[2kwik4u]

I hear ya, and all of those are valid concerns but you talk to a Tesla owner and I’ve yet to hear someone say that finding time to charge or stopping to charge has been an issue. More or less different planning and change of habits.

I get that. I really do. Not many of them dragging 4k lbs to the lake every weekend yet though. I've seen some videos online with the Model X towing various things (including what looks like an 23' Yamaha in one video), and it's no doubt capable, just gotta get that range up, or refill time down. Either would work really.

If I could have more than one vehicle I would definitely be considering electric as a primary driver. For my daily grind I rarely spike over 125 miles, and even the lowest range EV's can cover that. Since my current setup dictates a single vehicle (arguably I could rearrange my fleet into a multi-car system of slightly used vehicles and get total cost down), I have to be prepared for all the tasks, not just most of the tasks.

 

[jEt_jAk]

The issue is towing. I briefly considered a Model X but after trying to understand if I would be able to make it to our favorite lakes and still have places to charge, I eventually gave up there is just not good data for towing and so many variables that it's not worth investing in yet for me. Everything from weight, to aerodynamics to terrain affects the tow distance significantly. Not to mention usually I am driving across deserts with barely a gas station let alone a charge station.

Still wouldn't mind a Tesla as a daily driver though! I test drove one a while back man those things are quick!

 

[BlkGS]

Based on past trends the truck will cost $150,000 for the first year or two, then after that first run you’ll be able to buy a $75,000 model. I get that electric vehicles are the wave of the future, but the future isn’t quite ready for mass consumption yet.

And it will arrive years late with massive quality problems.

I doubt Tesla will even be around to produce this thing.

That said, I have legitimately zero interest in it unless it's got a gas engine on board too. Range limitations dont work for me. Until I can fill up 500+ miles of normal range in 5 minutes, it's not even an option.

 

[Julian]

Electric vehicles are no doubt coming. The battery costs and capacities are making dramatic improvements every year. Charging stations are appearing everywhere (4 at my office, in national parks etc) and charge times are improving too. It's just a matter of time. Maintenance costs of Evs is way lower with only approx 20 vs 1000 moving parts - maintenance is really primarily tires.

Cars will take over first and trucks later. Trucks with ICE will still have a market for long distance high capacity towing, but maintenance might end up being their downfall in the fleet situation....time will tell.

I have many coworkers with electric cars that love them. I'll get one in a few years....

I wont be in line for an electric tow vehicle any time soon. Just too early....let the kinks get worked out first.

 

[Dixie Highway]

The biggest obstacle (for me anyways) is that my truck is a tool. I “use” this tool about 55,000 miles per year, so at this point in time for me and many others just like me, electric does not make sense. I can fill my truck up with gasoline outside Chicago, and drive to Nashville without stopping. That’s 551 miles, and approximately 8 hours. An EV will not currently do this, and without some major breakthrough in battery tech, will not. I can then fill up, and drive to St. Louis later that day, or Detroit, or wherever. My $50,000 investment will do this for 4 years or so, with likely little more than 6 oil changes and a set of brakes once a year, and pay for itself in about 2 years or so. If this same truck costs $75,000 or $80,000 (most likely scenario) then it’s possible the life of the truck may never pay itself off. For guys like me, and fleet vehicles (which is a large reason for light trucks being the best selling vehicles) this math has to make sense or the idea fails. Model X’s, S’s, and 3’s are fine for most Americans (even if not financially viable right now) but there’s a different component to this segment.

 

[Dean P]

Torque is just amazing. Check this out

 

[Julian]

The biggest obstacle (for me anyways) is that my truck is a tool. I “use” this tool about 55,000 miles per year, so at this point in time for me and many others just like me, electric does not make sense. I can fill my truck up with gasoline outside Chicago, and drive to Nashville without stopping. That’s 551 miles, and approximately 8 hours. An EV will not currently do this, and without some major breakthrough in battery tech, will not. I can then fill up, and drive to St. Louis later that day, or Detroit, or wherever. My $50,000 investment will do this for 4 years or so, with likely little more than 6 oil changes and a set of brakes once a year, and pay for itself in about 2 years or so. If this same truck costs $75,000 or $80,000 (most likely scenario) then it’s possible the life of the truck may never pay itself off. For guys like me, and fleet vehicles (which is a large reason for light trucks being the best selling vehicles) this math has to make sense or the idea fails. Model X’s, S’s, and 3’s are fine for most Americans (even if not financially viable right now) but there’s a different component to this segment.

Some are theorizing that the advent of EVs will also come with a major increase in warranty durations.....as in like Million mile coverage! If that happens Fleets will definitely look at them closely! This is also why driverless EVs are possible and financially possible....they can run 24/7 for years with minimum maintenance. The below is a long watch, but really interesting:

 

[Mainah]

Not there yet for me but not too many years away. Make the battery cooling system and batteries scalable while giving up a fraction of towing capacity and volume with connections in a 6 foot truck bed for range scalability and electric trucks will really start to make more sense for many. Electric hybrids are where I see the big 3 starting. Add the new airless tire tech that is getting closer to production and ICE trucks may end up being for off road only sometime in the future.

 

[Dixie Highway]

@Julian, as long as there are human drivers on the road, there will never be feasible truly driverless cars and trucks. AI can be programmed to function in a closed system, like a game of chess or even a vehicle driving on a closed system of roads with other driverless vehicles. There is a theory out there that as long as humans are there to interact AI cannot be safely implemented. Because we are only using AI as nomenclature, it cannot be possible to program something to be intelligent as long as a human or humans are programming it.

 

[MidnightRider]

Maybe I had a different expectation at this point for electric charging availability but I was pretty impressed when a colleague of mine planned a cross-country trip in his Tesla and the onboard GPS routed him through charging points as needed. The impressive part wasn't how it routed him it was when he zoomed out the map to show all the "SuperCharger" locations, more extensive than I thought.

 

[Mainah]

@Julian, as long as there are human drivers on the road, there will never be feasible truly driverless cars and trucks. AI can be programmed to function in a closed system, like a game of chess or even a vehicle driving on a closed system of roads with other driverless vehicles. There is a theory out there that as long as humans are there to interact AI cannot be safely implemented. Because we are only using AI as nomenclature, it cannot be possible to program something to be intelligent as long as a human or humans are programming it.

I agree and disagree in part. I am biased as I work with machine learning ai in a different industry. The machines can be programed to crunch and act on data faster, consistently, and more accurate than any human even when being programmed by humans. The issue is the data. In the self driving car world it is humans doing things On the edges or outside margins that make it messy and less predictable. Don’t get me wrong human programmers are prone to error like all humans but human drivers are far more erratic including the programmers when they drive.

A 100 percent self driving car world sounds great but how many things can we take the humanity out of before we fundamentally change humanity to the point where we resemble the robots of today?

 

[BlkGS]

Some are theorizing that the advent of EVs will also come with a major increase in warranty durations.....as in like Million mile coverage! If that happens Fleets will definitely look at them closely! This is also why driverless EVs are possible and financially possible....they can run 24/7 for years with minimum maintenance. The below is a long watch, but really interesting:

Not a chance. The companies selling warranties wont ge around long enough to fulfill them, and the big automakers arent going to do giant warranties out of generosity.

Moreover, what goes wrong in cars nowdays is electronics. And EVs are chock full of electronics. Heck, that's basically all they are. EVs do best to go after the Apple market... people willing to spend too much on a toy that is a status symbol to them and makes them feel smart and techy. Theyll fo ol there for a few more years.

Honestly though, EVs have a decade or so left. Once the batteries start failing and the cars are valueless (EV resale is already terrible), and hydrogen fuel cell cars can come in with the benefits of electric power while still being able to be refueled, battery powered cars will go back to complete obsolescence.

 

[Julian]

Not a chance. The companies selling warranties wont ge around long enough to fulfill them, and the big automakers arent going to do giant warranties out of generosity.

Moreover, what goes wrong in cars nowdays is electronics. And EVs are chock full of electronics. Heck, that's basically all they are. EVs do best to go after the Apple market... people willing to spend too much on a toy that is a status symbol to them and makes them feel smart and techy. Theyll fo ol there for a few more years.

Honestly though, EVs have a decade or so left. Once the batteries start failing and the cars are valueless (EV resale is already terrible), and hydrogen fuel cell cars can come in with the benefits of electric power while still being able to be refueled, battery powered cars will go back to complete obsolescence.

Lots of people said there wasn't a chance horses would be replaced by cars (you had to buy gas, they didn't have the range, there weren't many gas stations etc). I'm not sure which fuel source will win out, but ICE is short for the world (relatively speaking....a decade or so).

I just got back from India, and in Bangalore ALL their Tuktuk's are now Propane driven (these are the 3 wheeler mini transports). Smog still sucks there...it will be a week before my sinus clears out. Thank God for a strong EPA!

 

[BlkGS]

@Julian, as long as there are human drivers on the road, there will never be feasible truly driverless cars and trucks. AI can be programmed to function in a closed system, like a game of chess or even a vehicle driving on a closed system of roads with other driverless vehicles. There is a theory out there that as long as humans are there to interact AI cannot be safely implemented. Because we are only using AI as nomenclature, it cannot be possible to program something to be intelligent as long as a human or humans are programming it.

The tech companies dont give a shit about if it's safe though. Their mantra is throw out a half baked product and fix the "bugs" as time goes on. Or deny you have an issue and come out with a new one next year.

IMO, the states should really be stepping up and stating that driverless cars cant use pric roada. But the politicians are all too willing to give their constituents the finger for a tiny piece of big tech's money

 

[seanmclean]

The curmudgeon is strong in this thread.

 

[BlkGS]

Lots of people said there wasn't a chance horses would be replaced by cars (you had to buy gas, they didn't have the range, there weren't many gas stations etc). I'm not sure which fuel source will win out, but ICE is short for the world (relatively speaking....a decade or so).

I just got back from India, and in Bangalore ALL their Tuktuk's are now Propane driven (these are the 3 wheeler mini transports). Smog still sucks there...it will be a week before my sinus clears out. Thank God for a strong EPA!

We will have to agree to disagree. I dont see EVs getting much bigger. Tesla is doomed, they're looking at the prospect of having to franchise their dealers like the law states as they become more normal.

People have said ICE would be dead in a decade for decades. The only way this will happen is if we elect a radical left government that makes this law, at which point the whole system will break down. It will most likely get overturned, or just never followed, because the reality is the economic cost is too high to switch.

And if we switch, it's just one "evil" for another. At least with ICE we can control what gets emit, when you buy a car with foreign parts and a globe spanning supply chain, many of not most of those stops won't care about what they emit. Then you have transport emissions (the top handful largest container ships already outpollute all the cars in the world combined). Then you STILL have to generate your power and transmit it (we dont produce enough power of have the infrastructure to distribute it all), and then you have to replace those batteries much more frequently than say an engine or gas tank, and the car has little value without them.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

Is there any speculation on when Musk will reveal the truck?

 

[2kwik4u]

A 100 percent self driving car world sounds great but how many things can we take the humanity out of before we fundamentally change humanity to the point where we resemble the robots of today?

Ever seen Wall-E......that's where we're headed right there.

 

[J-RAD]

Ever seen Wall-E......that's where we're headed right there.

Or the Marvel route... if we program and electrify ourselves out of smog and 4 wheel rolling cocoons of death, how will we control the population. We're just inviting Thanos to snap his fingers...

 

[Gym]

Lots of naysayers on here about electric... My money is on Musk and will not purchase a new SUV or truck till I see the reveal on this puppy! Super excited especially if the first post renderings are close!

I see your point. I'm actually bullish on zero emission vehicles but just don't think the infrastructure is in place yet to support it. At this point I would be more in favor of bringing more hybrids to the market so economies of scale would bring the prices down and allow time for battery technology and infrastructure to catch up. Although hybrids have been around for 15 years or so they are still not in the mainstream so jumping to pure electric seems to be skipping a step not just technology but socially.