Musk Again Teases That Cybertruck Will Float

[lotus]

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[ericpdb2]

I live in coastal SC and love to fish. I would gladly pay for a salt water trolling option.

 

[Timoj]

I live in coastal SC and love to fish. I would gladly pay for a salt water trolling option.

The ocean is already full of Tesla trolls, I hope we can get a trawler to collect them all to make fertiliser. ?

 

[TruckDaddy]

Seeing videos of Tesla sedans driving through impressive depths of water that would easily turn ICE vehicles into bricks is encouraging, especially with 16 inch ground clearance in the CT.

With the flat bottom, would seem to skim across fairly deep flood waters at a high rate.

 

[Crissa]

With the flat bottom, would seem to skim across fairly deep flood waters at a high rate.

...Which is both interesting and has its own hazards. Plow into some water and bounce off, pulling your tires from the ground and letting the water skip you in the wrong direction.

-Crissa

 

[FutureBoy]

...Which is both interesting and has its own hazards. Plow into some water and bounce off, pulling your tires from the ground and letting the water skip you in the wrong direction.

-Crissa

Or in the case of a river, float you off the road into who knows what other hazards downstream. The videos where I most see people crossing water is when the water has overflowed some paved road somewhere. The safety advice is to not try driving through it because you don't know where the road might be washed out. But for a floating vehicle, there would be the additional danger of just floating off the road even if there is no washout. And this additional floating danger would be there even if the road had not washed out.

 

[TruckDaddy]

If the water is flowing at a high rate, don't even attempt it. You will lose.

 

[FutureBoy]

As for the general ability to float... Elon just says "for a while". I think I'll let someone else do the test of how long that while might be. No use having to pay some barge crane operator and diver to go retrieve my CT after I stay out in the water just past the "while" mark. On the other hand, if there are retractable inflatable floats that can be inflated with the air compressor. and there is some kind of water-based propulsion mechanism.... I still wouldn't test it on my own CT but for an emergency it might be useful...

Here in Seattle we used to have a Ride the Ducks franchise. I've ridden it once and while it is a novel ride, reading up on the history of the DUKW I'm not so sure I'd trust that vehicle with my family. Even here in Seattle, we had multiple deaths as a result of this vehicle. Though in Seattle's case I think most if not all of the deaths were not on the water. Historically though these vehicles have been known to sink.

What's all this got to do with CT? Well, let's look at the front of the CT and compare it with the front of the DUKW. One big issue I see is that under propulsion, the DUKW would have the propensity to have the front rise in the water. But the shape of the CT front would have the propensity to be pushed under the water. So even if the CT can float, I think it would really need to be working as a submarine more than as a boat.

Elon is definitely into the submarine idea. I saw an interview where he said he has a design for a submarine car. Plus he owns the James Bond Lotus submarine. But I doubt the CT would be the base of such an amphibious vehicle. Tantalizing but not the first feature I'd request on my CT.

 

[Crissa]

None of the commercial duck failures were on the water, AFAIK. They were found to be too liable in traffic: brake failures from salt corrosion, and high risk of roll-overs.

-Crissa

 

[FutureBoy]

None of the commercial duck failures were on the water, AFAIK. They were found to be too liable in traffic: brake failures from salt corrosion, and high risk of roll-overs.

-Crissa

In Seattle yes. But there was this one in Missouri:

NTSB: Missouri Duck Boat Sinking That Killed 17 Could Have Been Avoided : NPR

 

[Crissa]

In Seattle yes. But there was this one in Missouri:

NTSB: Missouri Duck Boat Sinking That Killed 17 Could Have Been Avoided : NPR

Oh, man, that was pure irresponsibility. Going out without checking the weather?

They were taken off the streets here and Seattle after problems with their brakes before 2018. Kinda sad, they're cool vehicles. But very fair weather.

-Crissa