• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Split Thread Musk, SpaceX and future of Tesla

Status
Not open for further replies.
The Don said:
Sounds like SOP for "visionaries" like this - design a product with little or no consideration for ease of production and then simply shout and scream at subordinates when volume production turns out to be predictably difficult.
Click to expand...

I’m not an engineer, but from what I gather, much of the focus has been on using enormous presses (giga-presses) to create massive one-piece castings to replace dozens or even hundreds of individual parts that are normally bolted or welded together to make a subframe. The Tesla Model Y already does this.

Article on it here, specific to the CyberTruck, with pictures and pros and cons:

https://insideevs.com/news/487355/tesla-cybertrucks-structure-unique-sandy-munro/

Ultimately, it should streamline and speed up and reduce the cost of production. But there will be an inevitable “learning curve” to get to that point. That’s what I think Elon was warning about.

Anyway, I’m reminded by a line in a Warren Zevon song, “…stamping out Chryslers in the factory…”.
 
Looks like one was tested to see if it was bulletproof:

53273065124_4e8699a94f_z.jpg


Looks like it did OK, at least with the caliber used!
 
Fast Eddie B said:
Looks like one was tested to see if it was bulletproof:

[qimg]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53273065124_4e8699a94f_z.jpg[/qimg]

Looks like it did OK, at least with the caliber used!
Click to expand...

Is that a joke? Is that actually what it looks like? I don't mean the holes, I mean the shape.

Are they actually proposing to sell that, and take seriously the proposal that people will buy it?
 
GraculusTheGreenBird said:
Is that a joke? Is that actually what it looks like? I don't mean the holes, I mean the shape.

Are they actually proposing to sell that, and take seriously the proposal that people will buy it?
Click to expand...

1.9 million preorders. To be fair, only $100 refundable deposit required, so no real commitment to buy.


https://insideevs.com/news/678191/tesla-cybertruck-orders-5-year-wait-times/

I have a deposit on one. I think the design will grown on folks once it’s out in the wild. Time will tell…
 
jeremyp said:
Yes, because, if somebody fired real bullets at it, they would have made holes in any gauge of stainless steel that is reasonable to put on a normal production car.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily.

There was word going around like a year ago that Tesla was changing to thicker steel on the doors (and only the doors) specifically to pull a stupid stunt like this. It is reportedly 3mm stainless.

The claim is that they shot it with a 'Tommy Gun'. The Thompson Sub-machine Gun usually fires .45ACP, which is a relatively heavy and wide subsonic round in the standard loading. Non-jacketed (just the lead without copper) or hollow point .45ACP would be unlikely to penetrate 3mm of any stainless steel. Or most mild steel. We know this because the FBI famously switched from the Tommy gun to BAR because .45ACP wouldn't reliably penetrate Ford Model B body steel. This has more to do with .45ACP than anything to do with how 'special' the steel is. Any of the 'heavy/slow' handgun rounds are unlikely to go through.

What is? Basically everything else including the most popular handgun round by a mile, .9mm. And steel tipped .45. And high-velocity .22. And almost every single rifle round. Interestingly, a stainless steel breastplate over a quarter of an inch thick would be fairly good protection (apart from the spalling) against most handgun rounds. You know, if you want to walk around with more than 75 lbs of stainless steel around you rather than far less than half that in a hardened carbon steel, or AR steel, or aramid fiber, or even fiberglass, which all do far better.

Now there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical this was actually shot with a Tommy gun. The drum mag on one holds 100 rounds, and there are 69 dents in this. (That probably isn't chance because Musk is a child.) None of them overlap really, maybe two are closish. None show spalling (sideways gouging caused by the round becoming small pieces when it shatters against the steel), none show lead marks, none show powder marks. The distribution doesn't show rising or the normal spread of a Thompson. If this was shot with a Tommy gun, it was a semi-auto version from a decent distance with soft rounds or even half loads one at a time, slow aimed fire. And then cleaned with a pressure washer. Without being recorded.

Silly stunt is silly.
 
tyr_13 said:
Not necessarily.

There was word going around like a year ago that Tesla was changing to thicker steel on the doors (and only the doors) specifically to pull a stupid stunt like this. It is reportedly 3mm stainless.

The claim is that they shot it with a 'Tommy Gun'. The Thompson Sub-machine Gun usually fires .45ACP, which is a relatively heavy and wide subsonic round in the standard loading. Non-jacketed (just the lead without copper) or hollow point .45ACP would be unlikely to penetrate 3mm of any stainless steel. Or most mild steel. We know this because the FBI famously switched from the Tommy gun to BAR because .45ACP wouldn't reliably penetrate Ford Model B body steel. This has more to do with .45ACP than anything to do with how 'special' the steel is. Any of the 'heavy/slow' handgun rounds are unlikely to go through.

What is? Basically everything else including the most popular handgun round by a mile, .9mm. And steel tipped .45. And high-velocity .22. And almost every single rifle round. Interestingly, a stainless steel breastplate over a quarter of an inch thick would be fairly good protection (apart from the spalling) against most handgun rounds. You know, if you want to walk around with more than 75 lbs of stainless steel around you rather than far less than half that in a hardened carbon steel, or AR steel, or aramid fiber, or even fiberglass, which all do far better.

Now there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical this was actually shot with a Tommy gun. The drum mag on one holds 100 rounds, and there are 69 dents in this. (That probably isn't chance because Musk is a child.) None of them overlap really, maybe two are closish. None show spalling (sideways gouging caused by the round becoming small pieces when it shatters against the steel), none show lead marks, none show powder marks. The distribution doesn't show rising or the normal spread of a Thompson. If this was shot with a Tommy gun, it was a semi-auto version from a decent distance with soft rounds or even half loads one at a time, slow aimed fire. And then cleaned with a pressure washer. Without being recorded.

Silly stunt is silly.
Click to expand...

Also, all the shots except one are on the doors and they completely missed the windows - or replaced them.
 
idk it just looks like the truck has a bunch of holes in it and if i'm in a cybertruck and someone starts shooting at me with a machine gun i should be pretty worried. it reminds me of the time he smashed the window with that brick. like, why are you showing this to people?
 
dirtywick said:
it reminds me of the time he smashed the window with that brick. like, why are you showing this to people?
Click to expand...

It was a large steel ball, followed by another. It had allegedly worked in practice and was a classic demo fail. On the plus side, I don’t think either penetrated the glass.

The failure brought a LOT of attention to the CyberTruck reveal. And the bullet-ridden example may be “silly”, but it sure got people talking.
 
Last edited:
angrysoba said:
Not sure if this is what investors in Tesla wanted to hear:
Elon Musk said that Tesla "dug its own grave" with the Cybertruck, as he warned that it would take years for the company to ramp up production of the electric pickup.

Speaking on Tesla's Q3 earnings call on Wednesday, the Tesla CEO said that the Cybertruck's unique design meant the company faces immense challenges in scaling production, with Tesla aiming to produce a quarter of a million trucks a year by 2025.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Meanwhile...

Ford CEO Dismisses Tesla Cybertruck, Suggests It’s Not A Real Work Truck
Farley said he isn’t worried that Elon Musk’s pickup venture will take his company’s customers away, adding that America loves an underdog, but when it comes to EV trucks and vans, Ford knows those customers better than anyone.

“And if he wants to design a Cybertruck for Silicon Valley people, fine,” the Blue Oval company’s head honcho said during the interview. “It’s like a cool high-end product parked in front of a hotel,” Farley continued. “But I don’t make trucks like that. I make trucks for real people who do real work, and that’s a different kind of truck.”
Click to expand...

Boss of major car manufacturer admits there’s a ‘problem’ with his company’s own EVs
Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, took to X (formerly Twitter) with his honest remarks about the new F-150 Lightning pickup.

He said: "Charging has been pretty challenging."...

"It was a really good reality check of the challenges of what our customers go through and the importance of fast charging."

Captioning his post, Mr Farley added that Ford were working with Tesla to allow drivers to access over 12,000 superchargers at dealerships across the US.
Click to expand...

Ford Is Losing $32,000 On Every Sale of an EV
Model e, Ford’s new electric division, lost $1.8 billion in the second quarter of 2023, on sales of just 34,000 electric and plug-in hybrid models. It had forecast that it would lose $3 billion this year, but now believes losses will hit $4.5 billion. Clearly, the price war with Tesla hasn't helped matters. The unusual aspect to this battle royale is that the traditional roles are reversed. Here we have the smaller company hurting a giant firm like Ford in a price war...

Now, with all these figures showing in red, Ford has revised its objectives and ambitions. The automaker now wants to give greater priority to hybrid models and has reduced the number of electric vehicles it plans to build in the coming years. Initially, Ford had targeted assembling 600,000 EVs a year by the end of 2023. This has been pushed back to 2024. As for the figure of two million electric models per year, which it wanted to achieve by 2026, there is no longer a fixed timetable, according to what CNBC is reporting this time.

Ford boss Jim Farley stressed that there is no urgency to reach the targets that had previously been announced. “The near-term pace of EV adoption will be a little slower than expected,
Click to expand...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top Bottom