Updated CyberTruck to be shown in a month or so says Musk!

[VolklKatana]

Um, yeah. 5 panels need to be aligned. Hood and four doors.

Here's the issue. Typically the fender is adjusted to the door gap (after the door is properly set). In a normal car there's lots of movement in the front fenders, nose, hood, etc. Most cant see if 1mm of panel adjustment. Not going to be the case with the CT. Fenders don't move.

Proper hood and door alignment will rely on the hood and doors being dimensionally correct.

Getting the proper production tolerances is going to be a bitch. Something that Tesla has admittedly struggled with.

no... i thought the doors were just going to be flaps of steel welded straight to to body?!

Compared to every other vehicle currently on the road, there are minimal body panel adjustments that need to be made.

I am interested to see what's under the hood. With such an industrial vehicle, i dont think the plastic they use for the rest of the Telsa frunks is going to fly....would look very odd and tacky

Advertisement

 

[VolklKatana]

Yes, but it still isn’t ‘that’ easy. No one has ever made a 3mm stainless exoskeleton before. They have to figure out how to cut, fold, and weld the frame quickly. They probably need a new suspension that can handle the cargo and towing requirements but also handle extreme off roading. That’s gotta be a problem. Their new casting machines have never been tested on something as big as the CT. There are still issues with the lights, and regulatory issues with wipers and side mirrors. And these are only the most obvious things. Most of the comments on this forum are about things never before mentioned by Tesla; things they could do to make the truck spectacular. So yes, there is hope, but there is a lot of work to do that hasn’t been shared (understandable) so a design update would be really, really, really appreciated.

I totally agree with you, building a vehicle like this isnt 'easy'. and yes, my statement make have been a 'slight' over simplification. I was just trying to make the point that many parts of this vehicle were previously developed, so each and every system needed to make this vehicle isnt a start from scratch.

Folks here seem to think every single piece of this vehicle is custom designed for the CT, but this flies straight in the face of what Tesla's goal is....to make manufacturing a vehicle as efficient as possible, which includes multiple uses for vehicle parts across lines.

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

Um, yeah. 5 panels need to be aligned. Hood and four doors.

Here's the issue. Typically the fender is adjusted to the door gap (after the door is properly set). In a normal car there's lots of movement in the front fenders, nose, hood, etc. Most cant see if 1mm of panel adjustment. Not going to be the case with the CT. Fenders don't move.

Proper hood and door alignment will rely on the hood and doors being dimensionally correct.

Getting the proper production tolerances is going to be a bitch. Something that Tesla has admittedly struggled with.

If I know anything about Elon, I expect him to say he doesn't really care about alignment and those folks on they Cybertruckownersclub.com forum will buy it and love it anyway.

 

[OneLapper]

If I know anything about Elon, I expect him to say he doesn't really care about alignment and those folks on they Cybertruckownersclub.com forum will buy it and love it anyway.

Yup.

Did you see Sandy Munroe's latest video that dropped today? 2021 M3 panel gaps still WAY off. Paint is much better, though! lol

 

[HaulingAss]

If I know anything about Elon, I expect him to say he doesn't really care about alignment and those folks on they Cybertruckownersclub.com forum will buy it and love it anyway.

He cares more about reliability, durability, function and getting the cost down so everyone can afford it than he does about whether every panel gap is perfectly uniform.

 

[shocker]

He cares more about reliability, durability, function and getting the cost down so everyone can afford it than he does about whether every panel gap is perfectly uniform.

If the parts I can see look like ****, what about the parts I can't see? The ones that affect reliability, durability, and function?

 

[Crissa]

If the parts I can see look like ****, what about the parts I can't see? The ones that affect reliability, durability, and function?

But they don't look like shit. They look like perfectly normal.

I want him to take that pen to random cars in a parking lot and see if they have gap variance. I bet the answer is 'yes'.

-Crissa

 

[HaulingAss]

If the parts I can see look like ****, what about the parts I can't see? The ones that affect reliability, durability, and function?

You have obviously never owned or torn down a Tesla. The parts under the skin look like they came out of a fighter jet, over-engineered. Elon is all about reliability because he knows the success of his company depends upon it. Every new model gets even more reliable than the last.

Elon does not spend too much time worrying about panel gap variations - because that's not what threatens his masterplan. If people want perfect panel gaps there are plenty of ICE cars that want their money. It's not that he doesn't care about the minor details - he does, it's just not the most important thing on his list of things to get done. When Tesla gets enough market share that getting rid of panel gap variation will increase sales, then he will make sure the proper resources are available and the variation will magically go away. Currently they are easily selling all they can make because they are the best cars on the market that people can actually afford.

 

[HaulingAss]

But they don't look like shit. They look like perfectly normal.

The 'guts' of a Tesla look better than 'normal'.

 

[Luke42]

He cares more about reliability, durability, function and getting the cost down so everyone can afford it than he does about whether every panel gap is perfectly uniform.

While consistent panel gaps does show an attention to detail I appreciate, a lot of the discussion about them is just BMW fans flailing around for a reason why the 3-series is better than the Honda Civic.

When you put a price on inconsistent panel gaps, though, I suddenly care a lot less. Our Civic cost around $20k less than an entry-level 3-series and has greater longevity on the 20k-mile-per-year duty cycle it's on. I'm much happier with $20k in my pocket and the inconsistent panel gaps.

At $70k, consistent panel gaps is probably something buyers will expect. But if you put a pricetag in it, we'll find out real quick what people actually value.

Personally, I value an EV drivetrain and overall longevity more than I value consistent panel gaps.

 

[FutureBoy]

While consistent panel gaps does show an attention to detail I appreciate, a lot of the discussion about them is just BMW fans flailing around for a reason why the 3-series is better than the Honda Civic.

When you put a price on inconsistent panel gaps, though, I suddenly care a lot less. Our Civic cost around $20k less than an entry-level 3-series and has greater longevity on the 20k-mile-per-year duty cycle it's on. I'm much happier with $20k in my pocket and the inconsistent panel gaps.

At $70k, consistent panel gaps is probably something buyers will expect. But if you put a pricetag in it, we'll find out real quick what people actually value.

Personally, I value an EV drivetrain and overall longevity more than I value consistent panel gaps.

Panel gap seems to be the vehicle equivalent of the thigh gap issue. Some people are so stuck up and inconsiderate that they make a big deal about these things. In reality there are no associated quality, skill, or desire issues for the vast majority of us. My dream car as a kid was the Lamborghini Contach. I dreamed about that car for years and years. I’ve sat in newer Lambo’s. But to this day I have no idea how a Lamborghini stacks up in the panel gap controversy. And I’ve owned multiple new Honda, Chrysler, Toyota vehicles over the years. Again I have no idea about the panel gap on those either. Well except for when my PT Cruiser was rear ended had d enough that the passenger side doors would no longer open. So yeah, if the doors or other openings will not ope or close then I get concerned about panel gap. Or I suppose if there was rain water leakage. But otherwise, I’m not gonna waste my mental cycles on such an esoteric issue.

 

[Diehard]

Elon is all about reliability because he knows the success of his company depends upon it. Every new model gets even more reliable than the last.

Elon does not spend too much time worrying about panel gap variations

Improving the paint and interior quality is not about reliability and it seems like he has done that anyway. I think he has too many balls in the air and getting everything right early for a relatively new and innovative company is too much to ask. Even more established automakers with longer time on a model have more serious issues from time to time. I think you are correct in that gaps are there because he can get away with them. My takeaway from Munro video was improvements in Interior. Because paint improvement wouldn’t apply to CT but seat comfort and interior fit and finish could transfer.

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

Um, yeah. 5 panels need to be aligned. Hood and four doors.

Here's the issue. Typically the fender is adjusted to the door gap (after the door is properly set). In a normal car there's lots of movement in the front fenders, nose, hood, etc. Most cant see 1mm of panel adjustment. Not going to be the case with the CT. Fenders don't move.

Proper hood and door alignment will rely on the hood and doors being dimensionally correct.

Getting the proper production tolerances is going to be a bitch. Something that Tesla has admittedly struggled with.

Well, sure for the exoskeleton. We and everyone are counting on this simplicity. But there is also an inner skin, otherwise the inside door has a huge lip. The bed is the same. The suspension probably doesn’t connect directly to the exoskeleton either. We don’t know much about the inner skin or how it will be connected to the skeleton. I only mention this because it makes things at least a bit more complicated.

 

[Cyberman]

If this is true, I can guess what Elon’s update to CT looks like:

Hey! Are you directing that toward Frankenblob?!?

 

[Cyberman]

‘Elan is trying to get you emotionally ready for the delay next December.

In the meantime watch this and try to imagine it is CT:

Very cool! But still not 65 things I love about Cybertruck