Technology

Five Major questions about the Polarizing Electric Vehicle

On Thursday night, Tesla’s Cybertruck pickup made its global debut with roaring cheers, signs of relief from Detroit automakers, and some criticism. The futuristic-looking pickup, similar to a huge metallic trapezoid, was far away from what several anticipating. The car has a polarizing design dissimilar to anything ever manufactured of science fiction movies, and its process of production, as detailed during the inauguration by CEO Elon Musk, forecast to be similar to that of a common car than a truck.

During the launch at the design center of the company outside Los Angeles, Musk said that trucks had been identical for a very long time. One can say, trucks have been basically the same as a hundred years back. So, the company wants to try something unique. Musk poked fun at the deficiency of design changes of pickups during the last hundred years ahead of the truck driving onto the stage – specifically harrying pickups from Chevrolet, Ram, and Ford brands, that account for the immense majority of pickups sales.

According to industry analysts and Wall Street, as the stock of Tesla falling six percent Friday indicates, the main questions remain about the truck ahead of its predictable production in late 2021. Here are some of them:

Fashion and Function?

At the start of the unveiling, a hologram of a woman called the truck “the greatest progress in vehicular function and fashion,”. However, some are questioning both those claims. Polarizing becomes the most usual term for the design of the vehicle, which inspired by Blade Runner (movie). Jeffrey Osborne, a Cowen analyst, wrote in a note to investors on Friday that Elon Musk has been excited about his Blade Runner stirred design for months, but it’s surprising how innovative he go with this one and believe it may destroy his dreams.

According to Osborne, Tesla appears to have swift its launch of the Cybertruck, as several features like windshield wipers and side mirrors were missing. The lack of those features, as well as the build quality of the vehicle, force some people to believe the vehicle is only a concept and not an actual production model.

As likely, the specifications regarding the performance of the truck are inspiring, including a 0 to 60 miles per hour (mph) time of as little as 2.9 sec, pulling capacity of over fourteen thousand pounds, and the highest speed of 130 mph. According to Tesla, the EV range of Cybertruck, depending on the model, forecast to vary from around 250 miles to 500 miles.

Joseph Spak, an analyst of RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a note to investors that though the Cybertruck looks plenty capable, we don’t think that Tesla is going after the market’s heart and the work crowd here. Musk disclosed the Cybertruck beating Ford-150 in a tug of war and outracing a Porsche 911.

Who will buy Cybertruck?

The Cybertruck expected not to attract millions of traditional truck buyers, who accounted last year for around one in five vehicles sold in the United States. According to analysts, Cybertruck is basically in a segment of its own that may attract existing Tesla customers and the influencer crowd (pop culture and celebrities). Still, it will not be a mass-market vehicle. Senior executive editor at Kelley Blue Book, Matt DeLorenzo, said that it will a niche vehicle at best and have no threats for the pickup market as up to the latest trend in the market. On the other side, Spak named the Cybertruck as a Hummer for the green millennial generation, vice signaling machine, and really the ultimate virtue.

Tesla revealed three models: A one-motor rear-wheel drive with a price of $39,900, a dual-motor all-wheel-drive with cost $49,900, and a tri-motor all-wheel-drive having price $69,900. Tesla is underway taking reservations for Cybertruck on its official website following the unveiling of the vehicle. A $100 deposit required.

Earth-shattering or glass-shattering

Trucks supposed to be rigid, whereas Tesla seems to be taking it to another level. Last night, during the inauguration, the ultra-hard 30x cold-rolled stainless steel of the truck’s body caught up to what Musk defined as a sledgehammer. Furthermore, he said it can resist a 9mm bullet from a handgun. While things got slightly awkward when it came time to demonstrate the durability of the new armored glass of the company. To show off the glass toughness, Franz Von Holzhausen, the chief designer of Tesla, threw a metal ball at two windows of the pickup. They shattered to surprise of Musk, but the metal ball didn’t pass through the glass. Oh my _ _ _ _ God! Well, possibly that metal ball was a little much hard.

Copyright: CNBC

Osborne said about the Armored Glass fail that Cybertruck reveal will likely disappoint the owners of the current pickup truck, and analysts perceive the pickup remaining a niche and not a mainstream product. Also, Musk said that the truck has an exoskeleton design that will use a process of production more alike to a common ‘unibody’ car than to a process of production known as ‘body-on-frame’ that’s usually used for trucks. Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives said the exoskeleton, made of stainless steel that Musk using on its Starship rocket with Space X, seemed as the eye-popping and most impressive part of the design.

Where did Tesla start Production of the truck?

It is not clear where Tesla has plans to produce the truck. Tesla announced production scheduled to begin in late 2021 but not shared any details about where it will produce. Also, the company didn’t instantly respond to the requests for comment on vehicle production and other future plans. Automakers typically devoted truck plants, and the firm’s sole in the United States plant in Fremont, California, not projected to have any added capacity without an extension of the facility. Given the missed deadlines history of Tesla, the complexity of trucks, and the fact that Tesla never produced such a pickup, production will be important.

Spak citing several announced products that still have to start production for Tesla wrote that they remind investors that Tesla does have a tradition of being late on projected timelines. Therefore, the investors do not doubt that Tesla will try to introduce the product in the market; a huge part of this event seems to be hype.

Competition for Pickup manufacturers

Though Cybertruck not expected to get the attention of traditional buyers of pickups, numerous all-electric pickups forecast to make their way into the market of the United States to compete against Tesla’s product. Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors (GM), confirmed the plans of the automaker to release an all-electric pickup in 2021. Moreover, during the same time span, Ford Motor also expected to launch an all-electric version of its F-150 pickup. Start-up automakers such as Lordstown Motors and Rivian, which just acquired a big assembly plant from GM, also projected to release Electric-Vehicle pickups in the coming few years.