Is the Cyber Truck a Flop?

[NoTrespassing]

I don't have much interest in owning an electric vehicle, but the concerns about battery life seem overblown. Current replacement cost for Tesla batteries seem to be in the $12K to $15K range and the failure rate is very low. The warranty is for 100K to 150K miles depending on the model and applies to ones bought used. An engine or transmission failure on a conventional car can easily cost $5K to $15K.

I like the concept of EVs but I'm not a big fan of new technology so that's a problem. I don't like running almost everything in the car from a big screen. The controls on my wife's 2019 Edge annoy me. Luckily most of screen controls also have buttons and switches that have the same function. The one that bothers me the most is the heated steering wheel control which for some reason is on the home screen rather than the climate control screen. It seems like the engineers just forgot about it and added it late.

 

[Renze]

Current replacement cost for Tesla batteries seem to be in the $12K to $15K range and the failure rate is very low.

My Norwegian friend put up something on Facebook of the Norwegian consumer organisation. A Nissan Leaf battery was more expensive than a used Leaf in Norway. And especially with cheaper EVs with smaller batteries, they go bust sooner than in a full size car with a big battery. Or battery degradation on a big battery doesnt limit the range so much that it renders the vehicle useless for the daily commute.

An engine or transmission failure on a conventional car can easily cost $5K to $15K.

I had once a camshaft break at 400.000km
Replacement engine cost 1000 euro from a wreckyard (the 2.5 TDI is very popular for repowering camper vans) , for 800 euro i had it built in and the timing belt replaced at the same time, it had 300.000km and i ran another 150.000km with it.

For the rare occasion you get a freak failure that wrecks your engine or transmission, by that time there are plenty of crashed vehicles at wreckyards to scavenge an engine or transmission from.

EV batteries rarely survive a crash because they are integrated in the floor pan.

 

[WinterDeere]

I don't have much interest in owning an electric vehicle, but the concerns about battery life seem overblown. Current replacement cost for Tesla batteries seem to be in the $12K to $15K range and the failure rate is very low. The warranty is for 100K to 150K miles depending on the model and applies to ones bought used. An engine or transmission failure on a conventional car can easily cost $5K to $15K.

From the perspective of a new car buyer, I agree with you. But Renze was making a good point with respect to buyers of used vehicles. They may indeed see out-of-pocket costs for a failed or failing battery.

 

[kromc5]

The real problem is cold and towing; our lighting will lose 60+ miles in weather under 30f just sitting. The bolt Ev is driven daily, and when it was sub-20 this year, it lost close to 100 miles. We can regain some of that by leaving them plugged in and running them with the heat on. One trip we often make in the lighting is roughly a 110-mile mix of highway and city, towing about 2200 pounds. The trailer is 7 x 10 ft, so not much in the back. With a full charge between 239 and 243 miles, we return with the dashed orange and flashing warnings. Battery capacity is usually around 19-14% when we get home. The same trip is not possible in late fall or winter.

 

[NoTrespassing]

The real problem is cold and towing; our lighting will lose 60+ miles in weather under 30f just sitting. The bolt Ev is driven daily, and when it was sub-20 this year, it lost close to 100 miles. We can regain some of that by leaving them plugged in and running them with the heat on. One trip we often make in the lighting is roughly a 110-mile mix of highway and city, towing about 2200 pounds. The trailer is 7 x 10 ft, so not much in the back. With a full charge between 239 and 243 miles, we return with the dashed orange and flashing warnings. Battery capacity is usually around 19-14% when we get home. The same trip is not possible in late fall or winter.

That loss of range doesn't surprise me at all. I experience similar range loss in our ICE vehicles in really cold weather.

The issue is that charging locations are sometimes off the path I want to take, and charging takes more time that gas tank filling.

 

[kromc5]

That loss of range doesn't surprise me at all. I experience similar range loss in our ICE vehicles in really cold weather.

The issue is that charging locations are sometimes off the path I want to take, and charging takes more time that gas tank filling.

Our lighting does not have a heat pump, so sitting with the heat on is just over a 5kw pull, measured at the inverter. There is only one station on our 110-mile trip, which is too far removed, so we always end up so low getting back.

 

[Renze]

They may indeed see out-of-pocket costs for a failed or failing battery.

68% of German car dealers dont take an older EV as trade in... too uncertain what condition the battery is in, and resale value of older EVs are so uncertain that these dealers often had to sell them at a loss...

I hope for you guys that your web browser translates German:

https://m.focus.de/auto/news/autoabsatz/e-auto-unverkaeuflich-jetzt-ziehen-haendler-die-elektroauto-notbremse_id_260139787.html

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

That loss of range doesn't surprise me at all. I experience similar range loss in our ICE vehicles in really cold weather.

The issue is that charging locations are sometimes off the path I want to take, and charging takes more time that gas tank filling.

We saw out of state visitors recently in a cybertruck towing a travel trailer in our nearby town. The guy had a map & laptop, asked if we knew where..."ain't no chargers anywhere around here" I replied, knowing what he was going to ask.
I'm guessing tow trucks have generators on them now.

 

[Renze]

The guy had a map & laptop, asked if we knew where..."ain't no chargers anywhere around here" I replied, knowing what he was going to ask.

My mates grandfather has been forced labourer in WW2, taken to Germany. He didnt talk, but hated their gut all his life.
He lived across the milk factory. When a German trucker stopped and asked where he could find the milk factory, he said "turn around here, take a right on the end of this road and when you keep going straight ahead, you'll get where you need to be" (the provincial road that leads back to Germany)

Then my mate, a kid at that time, asked "but grandpa, shouldnt you say the milk factory is across the street?" To which grandpa replied "50 years ago they knew the road damn well around here, and if he doesnt, he'd better ask his grandpa !"

 

[ultrarunner]

My mates grandfather has been forced labourer in WW2, taken to Germany. He didnt talk, but hated their gut all his life.
He lived across the milk factory. When a German trucker stopped and asked where he could find the milk factory, he said "turn around here, take a right on the end of this road and when you keep going straight ahead, you'll get where you need to be" (the provincial road that leads back to Germany)

Then my mate, a kid at that time, asked "but grandpa, shouldnt you say the milk factory is across the street?" To which grandpa replied "50 years ago they knew the road damn well around here, and if he doesnt, he'd better ask his grandpa !"

Growing up many of the dads were WWII vets and would have nothing to do with anything Japanese… no radios or electronics and certainly no automobiles.

When I started working medical I was surprised how many practicing Jewish docs I met and more surprised at many driving luxury German cars from Porsche, Mercedes and BMW.

Very few of these luxury models to be found here now with the exception of Audi with some of the young female docs but the majority drive electric or hybrid of some form and a lot had to with single occupant car pool lane stickers.