
Tesla's Cybertruck Approach on Auto Manufacturing and Engineering - fumar
https://www.motortrend.com/news/tesla-cybertruck-electric-pickup-engineering-manufacturing
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netfl0
This was the most compelling explanation of the visuals. They are saying that
Telsa put function radically over form to reduce manufacturing complexity and
efficiency. This is a purely utilitarian approach that is not self-evident.

I hope Telsa will put together a better presentation to explain this to the
public. This is the sort of technical progress you'd like to see in other
domains.

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new_realist
These are mostly old manufacturing ideas which affect crash safety;
repairability, an street legality.

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ziftface
Could you please explain how it affects those things? I'd be very interested
in learning about that.

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tshannon
I can't speak towards repairablity and legality, but I know cars are safer now
than they used to be back when they were made of steel, because they crumple
which absorbs the impact of crashes. Rigid steel transfers the impact to it's
occupants.

I'm eager to see how this thing performs in crash tests.

~~~
ziftface
Ah that makes sense. I'm interested to see how it performs there too

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roland35
Basically: the stainless steel, hard edged design has quite a few cost-savings
for manufacturing but may effect aerodynamics, weight, and durability (large
flat sections of metal are more likely to dent than curved).

It will be interesting to see how the pros/cons play out for Tesla with the
cybertruck!

~~~
mikepurvis
The whole stainless steel thing is fascinating to me. The other really famous
car made of stainless is of course the Delorean DMC-12.

~~~
serf
> The other really famous car made of stainless is of course the Delorean
> DMC-12.

the metallic finish made the entire care near un-repairable. It showed flaws
exceedingly well, and the properties of most stainless hinder most efforts at
regular dent and ding repair.

Aside : I got to smog certify a DeLorean when I was a mechanic in a previous
life. It's one of the most memorable cars I have ever had the pleasure of
driving. It wasn't that great a driving car, but it was just such a neat image
to see in real life.

~~~
preommr
Wouldn't it be more easy to maintain because you could just sand and blend
away defects as opposed to dealing with paint where flaws are more noticeable.

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serf
paint can be filled and repainted, bare metal cannot without exposing fillers
and ruining the finish.

realistically no one is blending the metal during most repair jobs; the panels
either get replaced or bondo'd, sadly -- unless we're talking about vintage or
nostalgic cars that have inherent issues with panel supply.

~~~
mikepurvis
Sounds like their plan for this is just that the panels are super thick and
therefore really hard to dent, though I don't know what that means for crumple
zones and safety.

Perhaps there's an argument here that the bare metal will acquire a kind of
patina, that the accumulation of small blemishes will over time contribute to
an attractive worn look? That's certainly not how cars conventionally age, but
it will be interesting to see what a Cybertruck looks like once it's got 200k
miles on it.

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ZenModeRy
This is the truck Howard Roark would build. Function over form for good reason
and to hell with the critics. I for one absolutely love it.

~~~
Someone1234
How is it function over form? They use electric motors on the door handles,
bed cover, and ramp. They made the bed sides super high and hard to access the
bed. It has no floor tie-downs. They gave it a glass roof where you'd lean
stuff from the bed!

This is absolutely form over function, they just picked a form which is
controversial.

PS - I actually like the Cybertruck. But I'm self aware to know it is due to
all the impractical toys that will ultimately be a maintenance hazard. It is
_cool_ but _impractical_.

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retbull
Uh it looks like there are at least holes where the tie downs can fit. The
glass roof is kinda nuts for sure though. Those high walls are also annoying
if you want to put tool boxes in your truck. It might be possible to still be
practical by making some changes to how you might store things for easy access
like on a normal truck but it probably can't use current existing solutions.
:/

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Someone1234
If there are re-enforced holes to add floor anchors then that definitely
resolves that issue, just didn't see any on the limited press photos released
so far (only wall anchor points). Kind of want someone to do a "truck bed
review" of the Cybertruck, just loading, unloading, anchoring, etc.

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sschueller
Why would you need bulletproof glass?

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hobofan
Why would you need an SUV in urban areas?

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fdswefsad
Because some of us are tall.

I commute with a 2.5L Golf, I get 25 mpg in urban mountain driving. Stick
shift, it's a blast to drive. However, it's also a massive pain in the ass to
get in and out of. Especially since my recent abdominal surgery.

When I slip into my SUV I really appreciate the extra space.

When I load all the crap modern children have (car seats, strollers, pack and
play, ect) and lug them 300 miles to their grandparents (which I used to do
monthly, now once every two months), I also appreciate the extra room.

Speaking of kids, I really appreciate having an extra 1000 lb of inertia (vs.
the Golf) protecting them when some idiot on his phone crashes into me. Fellow
millennials! Put the phone down!

If (when, really) I move back to CND, I'll appreciate towing 5000 lb trailer
worth of stuff to have while the moving companies does their thing.

And you know the best part of the SUV? The Golf doesn't get much better
millage! I save more money from the cheaper tires the Golf takes than I do on
the gas!

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Jamwinner
Station wagons, being lower and not outfitted for 4wd, have taller cabins than
most suvs. The physics are pretty clear cut. You have not done your due
dilligence and are talking without knowledge of wagons.

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noir_lord
Black and _white_ in a work truck..

I think that they used pure white anywhere shows where they expect the market
to be.

Aesthetically I like it, it's different and looks like something you'd see
bouncing around Mars.

