Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

SoylentNews is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop. Only 17 submissions in the queue.

Tesla Unveils "Cybertruck"

posted by takyon on Friday November 22 2019, @09:06PM   Printer-friendly
from the baby-don't-hurt-me dept.

Tesla Cybertruck

hemocyanin writes:

Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck. Apparently, many people think it's ugly. I absolutely love it. It took the jellybean esthetic of modern vehicles and ran it over. Twice. There's simply no point in saying anything about this truck -- you have to look at the pictures:

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/22/20976539/tesla-cybertruck-test-drive-electric-truck-pickup-video-features-price-elon-musk

In order to make this TFS less short, a few specs, but really, they don't matter until you see if it appeals to you which it either will or won't in spades. The low end 250 mile range version is supposed to be about $40k. The body is unpainted cold rolled stainless steel. Upmodels will have a towing capacity variously described as 10-14k pounds and at the top end, a 500 mile range. They'll cost a lot more.

"Bulletproof" Musk Cybertruck fail

barbara hudson writes:

Elon Musk bragged that his "cybertruck" was bulletproof to a 9mm round, but two separate attempts to demonstrate just how tough it is failed when ball bearings thrown by hand literally caused the windows to come crashing down in pieces. So much for safety glass; even on cyber trucks, windows sucks.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/nov/22/cybertruck-tesla-unveils-the-pickup-truck-we-have-to-have

We created an exoskeleton," Musk said to rapturous whoops from those attending the Los Angeles launch. "It is literally bulletproof to a 9mm handgun."

Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla's chief designer, asked Musk if he could lob a metal ball at the window of the vehicle. "Really?" said Musk. The window smashed. "Oh my fucking God," said Musk. "Maybe that was a little hard."

Showing confidence in the vehicle, Von Holzhausen then suggested he should lob it at a second window. "Try that one? Really?" asked Musk moments before the rear window was also smashed. "It didn't go through, that's the plus side," a stunned Musk said.

Also at Ars Technica and Wccftech.

See also: Hot takes as opinion cools on Tesla Cybertruck
Tesla trademarked Cybertruck and 'Cybrtrk' ahead of its planned debut

Original Submission #1  Original Submission #2 

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Tesla Unveils "Cybertruck" | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 72 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by barbara hudson on Saturday November 23 2019, @02:22AM (4 children)

    by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Saturday November 23 2019, @02:22AM (#923611) Journal
    If you watch the videos on the evening news, the ball bearings were tossed at very low speed - think "slow pitch baseball." That's one of the problems of flat glass surfaces - far more flexible (and likely to break) than glass with a convex curve. Last week I threw dozens of jars into a dumpster, they hit each other, the metal sides, etc. None broke. Flat glass shatters easier, so the FUGLY design made it weaker. Same as the curve of an eggshell makes the egg stronger.

    Form follows function, and this was obviously poor form causing poor functionality. Good functionality (strength) comes from proper, in-fight form.

    --
    SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Insightful=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   3  

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 23 2019, @02:48AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 23 2019, @02:48AM (#923624)

    The solution is to make the Cybertruck's flat windows out of sapphire glass, transparent aluminum, or something.

  • (Score: 2) by Bot on Saturday November 23 2019, @04:20PM (1 child)

    by Bot (3902) on Saturday November 23 2019, @04:20PM (#923855) Journal

    Also the coupling with the frame is important. A glass rigidly coupled is easier to break. Being a prototype means possibly shoddy assembly.

    --
    Account abandoned.

    • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Saturday November 23 2019, @07:41PM

      by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Saturday November 23 2019, @07:41PM (#923928) Journal
      The lack of tumble-down means you're stuck with flat glass: the desire to give it a sharp-edge integrates look, as you pointed out,,means there's no give. Musk needs to look at a Case tractor from when they used flat safety glass in the ROPS (roll-over protective structure) and the thick rubber-and-spring-metal gaskets that absorb energy.
      --
      SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 23 2019, @08:26PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 23 2019, @08:26PM (#923947)

    If you watch the videos on the evening news, the ball bearings were tossed at very low speed - think "slow pitch baseball."

    ...the person responsible for the two shattered Tesla windows is Vladimir Putin... while the steel ball was thrown by Tesla’s chief designer, it was really Putin’s hand doing the throwing. [twitter.com]