Jim Glickenhaus challenges Elon Musk to a Cybertruck showdown in the Baja 1000

[Newton]

the issue that makes hydrogen cars... 'mind-bogglingly stupid ' .
Is the fact you need several process's, each using energy to make it, thus using probably more than or equal to the same energy from fossil fuels.

sure you can make it using solar, hydrolysis but you still need to compress it, that in itself uses a lot of energy. plus you need to have a system for distributing it.

so making a fuel cell car go long range and be a good vehicle isnt hard or bad. using hydrogen as the fuel source is pretty stupid

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[DarinCT]

I don't know anything about the Baja 1000 other than what I've seen on YouTube and egads, I don't want to go anywhere near that but I **do** want to see someone else try it in a CT.

I've read it's kind of ruleless and that the course is not set then I saw this and thought... WTF



Here's a pro making looking it look easy and tempting

[Edit to add one more] These "trophy trucks" would be the competitor. However much I like the idea and look of the CT, the idea that it would compete with this is ahh... yea... we'll see

 

[Crissa]

the issue that makes hydrogen cars... 'mind-bogglingly stupid ' .
Is the fact you need several process's, each using energy to make it, thus using probably more than or equal to the same energy from fossil fuels.

For the same weight, even with conversion loss, you can store more energy in a hydrogen tank and fuel cell stack, than you can a battery.

Pressurized hydrogen, in ground storage, it more stable than batteries, and far, far cheaper.

So it does make sense. Just not for cars. Because it's bulky.

-Crissa

 

[Newton]

im pretty sure a stock ford raptor did it with no issues (or so the story goes)
i dont really care if CT gets high in its class' standings. im more interested using it as a testing ground for potential weak spots, or problems

 

[FutureBoy]

I don't know anything about the Baja 1000 other than what I've seen on YouTube and egads, I don't want to go anywhere near that but I **do** want to see someone else try it in a CT.

These "trophy trucks" would be the competitor. However much I like the idea and look of the CT, the idea that it would compete with this is ahh... yea... we'll see

I don't know what level of competition the CT could give for a trophy truck. Or what kind of modifications would be necessary to a CT in order to compete. From what I understand, a roll cage is required. Would the exoskeleton count?

The one thing that the CT might have an advantage at though is balance. I'm betting that it is a lot of work to get the trophy trucks balanced well enough to take those jumps the way they do. The way the CT is designed, it might be very close to perfectly balanced right from the get-go.

I'm not signing up to take jumps like this any time soon (or any time in the rest of my life I guess now). But here is a promo video of a trophy truck tearing up Ensenada Mexico. I like the idea that the CT might be able to do at least some of this. I'll bet if it can there will be some new action movie coming out showcasing what it can do. People love to watch car chases.

 

[FutureBoy]

im pretty sure a stock ford raptor did it with no issues (or so the story goes)
i dont really care if CT gets high in its class' standings. im more interested using it as a testing ground for potential weak spots, or problems

So here is a movie about the Ford Raptor competing in the Baja 1000. I would dispute if a Ford Raptor actually did it though. In the movie, they talk about wanting to have a truck that people could buy where they would drive it as a daily driver but then on weekends go out and have fun. The Baja 1000 race would be a demonstration of what the truck could do. But when it comes to prepping the truck for the race, they end up basically tearing the truck completely apart and then rebuilding it specifically for the race. It's interesting to watch but the race truck is definitely not a "stock Raptor with a safety cage".

 

[FutureBoy]

I don't know anything about the Baja 1000 other than what I've seen on YouTube and egads, I don't want to go anywhere near that but I **do** want to see someone else try it in a CT.

Here's a pro making looking it look easy and tempting

I found a video of an all-electric vehicle racing in the Dakar Rally. If you want a cockpit view of the race you can watch below. Looks like the terrain of Dakar is not quite what you get in Baja though.


For a couple quick promos of the project:

Seems like an interesting project. But I'm betting the CT will beat that vehicle in a race.

 

[Newton]

I love that those electric trucks arnt stupid loud.
I enjoy a good engine rumble but straight pipes v8s and things like harleys are downright obnoxious

 

[Tinker71]

A swappable battery took about fifteen minutes in a Model S.

So just dumping charge into a nearly-empty battery turned out to be 'faster'.

We'll see what they come up with.

-Crissa

A fast discharge next to a fast recharge in the desert would probably overtax the battery cooling. I don't think it is sized for that. It could probably be upgraded.

Jim Glickenhaus challenges Elon Musk to a Cybertruck showdown in the Baja 1000

He wants to prove hydrogen fuel cells aren't as dumb as Musk claims

Dec 31st 2020
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/12/31/cybertruck-jim-glickenhaus-elon-musk-race-challenge/

Jim Glickenhaus has challenged Elon Musk to race in the 2023 edition of the Baja 1000. Posted on social media, the duel invitation aims to prove the merits of hydrogen-electric technology.

"You have said that hydrogen technology is 'mind-bogglingly stupid.' You've also mentioned that the Baja 1000 would be a great test for your Cybertruck. We say bring it," wrote Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus on Instagram.

Tesla boss Musk made the comments referenced by Glickenhaus in 2019. He called fuel cells "fool cells," added that the technology is "a load of rubbish," and concluded that "success is simply not possible." Musk became one of the richest people in the world by selling battery electric cars, so his stance on hydrogen is not entirely surprising.


Glickenhaus evidently stands on the pro-hydrogen side of the industry, among manufacturers like Toyota, BMW, Hyundai, and Ineos. Although his company primarily builds race cars powered by gasoline, he predicted that a hydrogen-electric variant of the Boot (pictured below) could finish the 1,000-mile Baja without stopping to refuel, a feat that would give the team a big time advantage over its rivals. In comparison, the top-of-the-line Cybertruck will allegedly offer a 500-plus-mile range, so it would need to stop and charge at least once to finish the race.

"We have a nice relationship with [sanctioning body] SCORE International, and we would be happy to help you navigate entry and find a good place to set up charging stations for your Cybertruck," SCG added. Glickenhaus won first in its class twice, in 2020 and in 2019, and it beat several big-name rivals, such as Ford's born-again Bronco.

Musk hasn't responded. If he accepts the challenge, the Baja 1000 would become the first major race Tesla participates in. It sounds like the hydrogen-powered Boot will compete in 2023 regardless of Tesla's answer.

That is a 2 door buggy not a 4 door luxury pick up. That is an apple next to an orange. Glickenhouse has very little to lose. Tesla has a lot to lose. I think Tesla should test out the CT on a course like this, but do it in Cali in a controlled environment. A race team costs millions. Tesla can get the same data and publicity for much less.

 

[Crissa]

Tesla generally has pretty beefy battery cooling. It's usually the motor that overheats first - hence the tri motor design.

-Crissa

 

[Bond007]

It’s like the Indy 500. When it is done by professional race crews you can change all 4 tires, fill the tank, and do who knows what else in 60 seconds. I do not think that we can compare the test case with the Model S to a well-planned race, not one anyone would expect to win at least, and if the fuel cell gauntlet has been thrown down wining has to be on the plate, at least winning against the fuel cell vehicles. Like the Pikes Peak Challenge, I bet there would be more than one CT team.

I thought the Cybertruck will have a structural battery pack, like all tesla's future vehicles. In that case it would be impossible to swap it. May be they can have an accessory battery in the truck bed which can be easily swapped.

 

[Bond007]

That is a 2 door buggy not a 4 door luxury pick up. That is an apple next to an orange. Glickenhouse has very little to lose. Tesla has a lot to lose. I think Tesla should test out the CT on a course like this, but do it in Cali in a controlled environment. A race team costs millions. Tesla can get the same data and publicity for much less.

Agree, but money crunch is the least of Tesla's problems right now.

 

[Crissa]

I thought the Cybertruck will have a structural battery pack, like all tesla's future vehicles...

...Just because a component is structural, doesn't mean it can't be removed. You just can't drive or be towed without it. (Well, maybe with a jig on a flatbed, but is that really towing but more carried?)

-Crissa

 

[FutureBoy]

...Just because a component is structural, doesn't mean it can't be removed. You just can't drive or be towed without it. (Well, maybe with a jig on a flatbed, but is that really towing but more carried?)

-Crissa

For a quick minute, Tesla had those robotic battery swaps that they demonstrated. If the structural battery pack were bolted in, I could imagine a CT drive up on top of a trailer that has a robot in the bed of the trailer. It reaches up and un-bolts the battery, unhooks the connector, pulls out the current battery pack, pushes up a new fully charged battery pack, re-connects it, and bolts it back in. A robot ought to be able to do that very quickly. But it is very dependent on how the battery pack is connected with the rest of the body. But if it worked, the CT could just drive up on the trailer, get looked over while the battery is being replaced, and then drive back off the trailer as soon as the battery is back online. If they had enough spare battery packs and trailers, they could just place them at periodic maintenance stops that would not slow them down by very much.

I'd doubt that anyone other than a professional race team would get access to such a setup but the rest of us are not in that much of a hurry so we wouldn't need it either.

 

[xodarap1]

A fast discharge next to a fast recharge in the desert would probably overtax the battery cooling. I don't think it is sized for that. It could probably be upgraded.

That is a 2 door buggy not a 4 door luxury pick up. That is an apple next to an orange. Glickenhouse has very little to lose. Tesla has a lot to lose. I think Tesla should test out the CT on a course like this, but do it in Cali in a controlled environment. A race team costs millions. Tesla can get the same data and publicity for much less.

ya.. a 6 passenger full bed cybertruck or a 2 passenger cybertruck buggy?