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Cybertruck Delivery Event
609 Plays11 months ago
Welcome to the Plug In For More podcast! Mike, Tom, and Bryant are here to help you on your journey to an Electric vehicle future. Each episode we discuss current events, trends, and a specific topic of education related to EV's. We bring together a diverse experience set, and pair it with guests who are experts in the field. For even more information on EV's, check out www.EVUniverse.com.
In this episode Tom and Mike cover the Cybertruck delivery event and bring you the good, the bad, and (ofcourse) the ugly. But... it sounds like Tom might be changing his tune on the Cybertruck.
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Transcript
Cybertruck Excitement & Podcast Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
So welcome back to the plugin for more podcasts. We're here today to talk about the cyber truck. The delivery event just happened on Thursday, even though this recording is coming out on a Monday, but we want to talk about it because we just watched it and Mike's really excited about his three cyber trucks that he has coming.
00:00:19
Speaker
Yeah, we'll see how many actually show up and how many actually get. And for those of you who don't remember, that was by accident. It was not a planned thing. It was because Tesla's website was having some issues. So instead of one, I got three. Wife was really happy about that.
00:00:35
Speaker
So maybe we'll have a garage and driveway full of stainless steel.
Podcast Goals & Host Introductions
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome to Plug In For More, brought to you by evuniverse.com. EV Universe is your one-stop shop for all things related to the electric vehicle. Here on this podcast, our goal is to educate, inspire, and hopefully make your transition into the electric vehicle marketplace a lot less intimidating.
00:01:04
Speaker
And now here are your hosts, Mike, Tom and Brian. So Tom,
Cybertruck Design Critique & Innovations
00:01:09
Speaker
what are you thinking about this truck? All right. So I have not been shy over the course of the last four years talking about how hideous that I think the cyber truck is. And I maintain that it's hideous. It looks awful. And in all those things.
00:01:27
Speaker
However, after hearing about some of the specs and all of the design challenges and all of the new inventions and the reinvention of how this truck is functioning, it's impressive. I want it despite how hideous it is. Well, if you're going to be driving it, it can't be that hideous, right? I don't think even I can make that truck look good.
00:01:55
Speaker
Well, I think, I mean, if you take away, if you've got to take a step back and think about what it actually does and being a truck-ish thing, I mean, there's a lot of functionality there. I think there's a lot of cool things.
00:02:09
Speaker
One
Video Review & Missing Key Info
00:02:10
Speaker
video that I saw very recently, just this morning, was Hagerty did a really cool video on the Cybertruck. They obviously had a pre-production model that they did a full review on. They raced it against the Hummer. They raced it against the Rivian and did a full test on it. Even had Randy Probst do a little thing with it as well. I won't spoil it if you haven't seen it.
00:02:40
Speaker
Frankly, after watching that delivery event and seeing how
00:02:44
Speaker
how that all took place. They could have just done the Hagerty video in place of the, you know, actually delivery event. I think it would have turned out better. Yeah, the delivery event definitely felt like a school presentation where you didn't study because you figured you could wing it. And that's what Elon did. And it just, it felt painful. Yeah. And I think the Tesla folks, you know, fanboys or whatever you want to call them,
00:03:10
Speaker
I guess I would typically fall into that category as well. A lot of people were pretty upset about the specs of that vehicle. Elon didn't even say how much it cost during the event, which is surprising in some ways. Because of the pricing, it was definitely a lot higher than it was four years ago, which inflation, we get it. I think everyone is expecting it to be more expensive.
00:03:36
Speaker
However, if you're not mentioned it during the event and then everyone to see it online, I think it was a little bit shocking. Same thing with the range. That wasn't brought up either. And there's some pretty big news with the range. Right.
Cybertruck Versions & Range Extender Discussion
00:03:51
Speaker
So your range, at least looking at overall, you got the three different versions of the Cybertruck. So on the Cyberbeast, which is this top-down model, you're looking at 320 miles. That's your EPA estimated. Your next tier is the all-wheel-drive version, which puts you at 340 miles.
00:04:05
Speaker
And then you've got your rear wheel drive only, which is about a 250 mile range. However, you can add a range extender to it, which is going to get you on that cyber beast and other extra 120 miles.
00:04:19
Speaker
but I think that's a pretty pricey add-on if I don't. Yeah, so it's not shown on their website. So right now we've looked at the code on the site, and you can actually see it's set for $16,000 is what it is for that range extender. And so if you haven't seen the photographs of that, essentially it's a box of battery that's going to sit in the most forward section of the bed.
00:04:45
Speaker
It has to be installed at a Tesla service center is what we're seeing. Again, $16,000. It's apparently about 400 pounds, which is actually not as heavy as I would have anticipated, which is a good thing. But it does take up about a third of the bed. That's coming from Elon on a tweet or an X, whatever you'd call it, a notification.
00:05:12
Speaker
I mean,
Innovative Features & Structural Design
00:05:13
Speaker
if for a truck and you take up a third of its bed, then you're looking at like the Rivian size bed, it does get pretty good range. I mean, you're on the 400 mark, you know, between, I think it's 440 and 470. So pretty substantial, but, um,
00:05:28
Speaker
Because it's more weight, lack of bed space, some negatives there with it for sure. And so when you start comparing it on those types of metrics, the range and your speed and that kind of stuff to the Rivian or to the Hummer EV, it's not as extraordinary. It's pretty much on par with what a lot of these other trucks are doing, Lightning included.
00:05:52
Speaker
I don't think that's where the value of this truck comes from. I think it's the, how it's revolutionized the technology that's under the hood and how this truck was designed from the outside in, that's going to really set it apart. And that insight is what really makes me interested in this truck as opposed to it's otherwise mundane stats compared to other electric trucks.
00:06:11
Speaker
I would like to dive in on that part. So again, for stats, for the range and for, you know, it is a little bit faster than what the Rivian is, not, you know, not a ton. I mean, frankly, there's not going to be a lot of people who are going to drag race this thing. And with my Rivian, that thing is fast enough as it is for a 7,000 pound vehicle.
00:06:30
Speaker
But to Tom's point, there's some really cool things that Tesla did here that really weren't talked about as much as I think they should have been last night with the delivery event. One is
Crash Test Performance & Safety Features
00:06:41
Speaker
the 800 volt architecture. That's a huge thing. There's a lot less copper that's going to be used in the wiring. It's a lot less wiring in general.
00:06:49
Speaker
Elon did mention that very briefly but that's a huge thing for cost. So that's that's number one. Number two is the steer by wire. I believe this is the only vehicle that's come out with that. And that makes it's gonna be a huge difference when you're in a parking lot versus on the highway for wheel steering. So that's going to be pretty
00:07:11
Speaker
revolutionary feature in and of itself right there. Then of course you have the body of the vehicle which you know for rigidity that's huge it's going to be essentially stiffer than a lot of sports cars out there so handling will be better for what it is. So I think when you look at those features and everything else is sort of on par
00:07:36
Speaker
At least for me, it kind of changes my initial impression of the vehicle. When it first came out four years ago, I wanted that thing. I thought it was super cool. I had a whole bunch of neat features, such as the ramp to get into the bed and the side sales and some other things for storage. A lot of things went away with that. And then with the price going up and the range not being originally what they said it was, I was pretty disheartened last night.
00:08:04
Speaker
I've taken a little bit of time, you know, looking back at some of the specs and really what it can do. I don't know. I think I might be going back to wanting it again. Um, Tom, where, where are you thinking? Well, I'm thinking that I can't afford a cyber truck because of the pricing is so high, but it's all these things. And I really am attracted to this idea of this exoskeleton to where you have the exterior of the body that is providing some structural support that
00:08:31
Speaker
kind of eliminate some of the redundancy that you see in most modern vehicles where you have a chassis that's surrounded by this really flimsy sheet metal, and that is what gives you the form of the vehicle. I like the stainless steel appearance. I think it's pretty unique.
00:08:46
Speaker
the strength of that exterior body panel. And then that Hagerty video that you're referencing, they showed the side impact crash test of it. And yeah, there's damage to the body panels, but the glass in the side windows that were impacted doesn't even break. Like it's rigid. It's impressive. Yeah. And I've, you know, anyone with, with kids, um, you know, families
00:09:11
Speaker
I have always looked at the crash test ratings of any vehicle before I purchased them. I didn't care how cool it was. It really was safety first, and maybe that just comes with being a parent. But when I saw this video of the side impact and
00:09:28
Speaker
I mean, it's it's so impressive. And again, I've watched so many of these videos and even ones that are five star side impact tested and rated. They just those aren't even comparing to this thing. I mean, it truly is remarkable.
Is the Cybertruck Bulletproof?
00:09:46
Speaker
So anyways, I thought that was that was really neat. And again, as a as a father with two boys that like to throw stuff in the driveway,
00:09:55
Speaker
have having some protection for the vehicle of, uh, let's just say Franz, um, limp, wristy and throwing the baseball at like maybe a half mile an hour. I'm not sure, but it was, um, a really, really weak throw. I wish they would at least throw it a little bit harder. Um, anyway, we are going to do a video of the Rivian doing that, right? You're going to have your, your boy throw a baseball at the door. We're scheduled. No.
00:10:21
Speaker
Yeah, I mean with a Nerf ball or something, just in case. But I want to talk about the pricing a little bit. Because I think that you got a lot of negative feedback from people on the internet over the last few days. But I want to talk about that in some way.
00:10:44
Speaker
It won that extended range batteries $16,000, which again, that's optional. If you look at the top range right now, that cyber beast, that's 99, basically $100,000 on the nose. The next tier down, so the dual motor all wheel drive, that's
00:11:04
Speaker
just under 80, so 79. And then when you look at the base model, you're looking at 61,000 for that rear wheel drive, and that's coming out in 2025. What I think is really key here is the federal tax credit. And so if you qualify for that, that all wheel drive model is going to be 73,000, 72,500, which
00:11:33
Speaker
Now you're getting into, um, you know, somewhat more reasonable spot for a car with 340 miles of range, but.
00:11:43
Speaker
The other thing too, that I think is also key is if you think back of the, you know, the model three, the model Y, what happened with the plaid when it came out for the S and the X and how much those were priced. And then the addition, the price decreases since those came out. If we see that with this, which I suspect we will, as the production ramps up.
00:12:09
Speaker
Now we're getting into a really affordable vehicle that I don't think a lot of the OEMs are really going to be able to match if it gets to that point. If they can do the same price drops here, I think that completely changes the game.
00:12:20
Speaker
you're listening to the plugin for more podcast. If you're looking for information on electric vehicles, electric vehicles, components, or information on how to reduce your carbon footprint, look no further than evuniverse.com evuniverse.com is your one stop shop for all things related to electric vehicle. So the one things we talked about on
00:12:43
Speaker
the last time we talked about the Cybertruck on the episodes was whether or not it was bulletproof. We were trying to get you to want to volunteer to shoot yours when it shows up. We've since seen videos that have come out and they've shot it a bunch of times with a Tommy gun. Joe Rogan shot an arrow at it.
00:13:02
Speaker
assuming all these videos are real and nothing's been fabricated, it's stopping handgun rounds. For people who don't know your background, give a little background on your training with firearms, so they understand your expertise in that. Because I think that's key to this conversation. Right. And I spent 17 years in law enforcement. I've been around guns my whole life. I wouldn't necessarily qualify myself as an expert in the field, but I have some basic understanding of ballistics and the different types of rounds from different guns.
00:13:30
Speaker
Yeah. So what they're shooting at the Cybertruck essentially from that Tommy gun is a handgun round. It's a 45 ACP, which is a very large, heavy, slow bullet. Typically handgun rounds are going to be traveling anywhere between like 750 feet per second up to like 1500 feet per second. And so with that.
00:13:53
Speaker
that speed of that bullet, you get more energy that travels with it that has more puncturing power, which typically handgun rounds are the weakest. Now you look at a rifle round from say like an AR-15 or some of your more potent deer rifles, you're going to have speeds
Delivery Uncertainty & Influencing Factors
00:14:10
Speaker
of three to 4,000 feet per second. And I would be absolutely shocked if the Cybertruck did anything to stop a rifle round. There's an important distinction there just to make between
00:14:22
Speaker
being bulletproof, well, maybe pistol bullets, but I would be shocked if it's stopping rifle rounds. Well, and I think the other factor is there, if you're driving this and someone's shooting at you, they're probably also going to go for the windows as well, which is going to be a big exposure. You just duck and get low. Yeah.
00:14:44
Speaker
That's right. Yes. That's yeah. Cause you'll, you'll, you'll hear and see the bullets coming. And even like the ballistic panels that we, I used to wear at the police department for, you know, protection from getting shot. Those are really only going to stop pistol rounds either. Like that's the same kind of idea because the soft body panels that we were in our body armor, isn't going to stop right off rounds. And the amount of protection you'd have to have on your body actually stop a rifle round makes it counterproductive to really even move.
00:15:12
Speaker
And I would almost predict that at some point, I don't think it'll be too long. There'll be people who get one of these trucks and they're going to do amateur, you know, shooting at it, just like kind of joking around a second ago about it. I think, I think it's going to happen. I think there's someone, people are going to get hurt. I think they've kind of over advertised this a little bit. I mean, I understand the point and you wanted to show me how, how tough it is, but
00:15:39
Speaker
I think there's going to be probably a few negative incidents because of it. It's not something I want to see happen, but I'm betting on it at this point. One other thing I want to talk about is for a lot of people keep asking me, when am I getting my Cybertruck? When is that going to show up? There's a couple of different sites out there that have some tools that purportedly show you where in line you are and they're based off your reservation number.
00:16:10
Speaker
First off, they don't know, at least to my knowledge, and it hasn't really come out specifically on how Tesla is going to be delivering these vehicles. Is it going to be based really on your reservation number? Is it going to be based on your location? Is there going to be a factor of have you had a Tesla before or currently do? Some of those type of things. And so it's also obviously going to vary on which model you're looking at purchasing.
00:16:38
Speaker
And my understanding so far, the latest things come out is each location is going to get some certain allocations and based on where your reservation number is, you know, they'll reach out to you and that sort of thing. So, you know, I really think it's.
00:16:55
Speaker
too early for anyone to say, Hey, I'm going to get it before someone else. Cause there's so many other factors that come in that, um, you know, you could get, you know, the column next week, or it could be six months or a year from now, um, even for the early reservation holders. And that was the same thing that happened with the model three. And so, um, you know, if you're reading, you know, if you've got a reservation for a cyber truck, my only advice is.
00:17:21
Speaker
don't have your heart set on getting it at a certain timeframe because we really don't know anything at this point. And a lot of those sites out there that are reporting to show that
00:17:30
Speaker
you have something coming in at a particular point in time, most likely are not as accurate as they would want you to believe. We saw lots of the technical specs, we saw a lot of the exterior, obviously it's hideous, but one thing we didn't see was too much of the inside.
Interior Space & Comparisons to Rivian
00:17:47
Speaker
I don't think we ever have seen the backseat of this thing and also the rear cargo area, we don't have a great feel on that.
00:17:56
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I would have loved just a bigger dive into the frunk to really showcase. I mean, there's been a lot of different photographs that had floated around of people taking sort of spy shots of the frunk. Some of the rear seat and the interior, same thing with the storage compartment underneath the bed.
00:18:20
Speaker
I would like to see more of that officially from Tesla so we could see you know really what what the size is in the bed does it do the sides of the bed slope down which I believe that they do so there's less room on the bottom that there is on the top how big that you know under
00:18:38
Speaker
under bed storage truly is how big the rear seat is. I mean, I've got two kids and a dog, and I would really, really like to know how much bigger that rear seat space is versus what the Rivian is. Because for me, that's going to be probably one of the deciding factors if I get this truck or if I don't just on size. Because if it's very similar, I don't know if it's going to be worth me going through the hassle of getting rid of the Rivian versus this. I mean, I guess time will tell, but
00:19:08
Speaker
I feel like that was kind of a miss and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on it just to see some of those smacks. I have to believe the backseat is going to have some degree of more space in the Rivian just in the sense that the Cybertruck is four inches wider than the Rivian. That alone I think has to account for something.
00:19:27
Speaker
I would hope so. For me, I just want to see it. I want to know for sure rather than guessing. And there weren't, to my knowledge, any photographs last night of the rear seat room. I mean, there was a couple of videos that were shown last night that are on the website today of, let's say, a dog jumping out of the back or some kids jumping in, but it really isn't like a full picture. So you can't really get a sense of it.
00:19:54
Speaker
I just want to see a tape measure, frankly. So one of the other things that is very interesting to me is seeing the number of people with reservations. And I've seen
Reservation Cancellations & Spec Concerns
00:20:04
Speaker
probably three or four different surveys on the internet the last 24 hours or so of people who once they saw the specs dropping off. So the surveys essentially are, if you have a reservation already for the Cybertruck, are you going to keep it or are you going to cancel it? And the numbers have astounded me
00:20:22
Speaker
It's actually about 55 to 50%, somewhere in that range, about half of people are going to cancel the reservation based on the specs that they saw last night, which I think obviously has to do with the pricing being up a lot in inflation. I think we can all expect that, but also the range was really not what was originally brought up by Tesla four years ago. Is that up?
00:20:48
Speaker
battery issue with the 4680 really not being as far along as what Tesla had hoped. And when I say 4680, for those of you who aren't aware, that's a different battery than what Tesla has had in the past. It's all made in-house. Essentially, it's not new-ish technology. It's a different type of way to make that battery that Tesla's gone through. But anyways, I think those factors are
00:21:17
Speaker
have upset a lot of people, and it's not going to be a good fit for them. Cool. Obviously, we're learning more and more about the Cybertruck every day, and probably from when this podcast was recorded, when it released, there would probably be more information even yet. But we would love to hear your take on it, and if you reach out to us through our socials, DMS, let us know what you want to learn more about the Cybertruck, what you'd like to see, and we will do what we can to bring that to you.
Podcast Conclusion & Listener Engagement
00:21:39
Speaker
Mike, thanks for taking the time sitting down talking about the Cybertruck release and we'll be in touch. Take care. Thank you for listening to plug in for more. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. In the meantime, check out the one stop EV Marketplace EV universe dot com. Until next time.