Header image source | YouTube screenshots
At the beginning of 2021, Model Y triggered a rush in the Chinese market, when a Tesla salesman told Future Auto Daily in the overcrowded Tesla store: "The hottest thing now is not Model Y, but Cyberruck."
Indeed, this sci-fi-style electric pickup is highly sought after by Tesla fans and has now received more than one million orders.
Nowadays, the car seems to be getting closer and closer to us.
Recently, Chile AI100, a drone pilot who has long tracked Tesla's movements, shared a dynamic performance of Cyberruck on the test track of Tesla's California factory on Youtube. Along with Cyberruck, there is also the new Model S. However, compared with the original version, the appearance of the test model has been greatly changed, which has aroused the disgust of many fans.
It's not Cyber
Looking back at the beginning of Cyberruck's debut in 2019, almost everyone was amazed. This car subverts people's inherent perception of pickup truck models. According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Cybertruck was inspired by the famous 1982 American science fiction movie Blade Runner, which is wrapped in silver cold-rolled steel plates, with sharp edges and a style similar to the car of the protagonist of "Blade Runner". Even the time and place of the appearance coincide with the details in the movie.
In addition to the avant-garde design, the configuration of the Cybertruck also reflects Tesla's usual sense of technology. Cybertruck's flat windshield blends seamlessly with the hood and abandons the traditional wiper and reversing mirror design. There are reports that Cybertruck will use a laser wiper, that is, the use of lasers to clean the windshield, Tesla has obtained the relevant patents.
Musk called it a "rover" at the time, hinting that Cybertruck would play a huge role in his future exploration of Mars.
However, judging by the exposed video, the appearance of the Cybertruck has changed a lot, which may have disappointed fans a little - it looks more and more like a regular pickup truck.
In the latest video, the front windshield of the Cyberteruck on the test road changes from flat to curved, with slightly obtrusive rearview mirrors added to the sides.
Source: Youtube screenshots
This change has angered many fans: "Please, there should be no such thing as a retrospective mirror on the Cybertruck, but a lens should be used." According to the law, automakers must sell cars with rearview mirrors, but Musk reassures car owners that they can modify themselves.
The rearview mirror can be removed and modified, but the wiper, which looks out of place, is an unavoidable "hard wound" for Cyberruck. Some fans are dissatisfied, "This wiper is very non-Cyber."
As can be seen in the video, this Cyberruck has a giant windshield wiper, mounted vertically on the side close to the driver, almost the same length as the A-pillar, appearing "roughly" in the driver's field of vision.
Musk said bluntly in Tui Terry: "This is the most disturbing thing for me. "There is no better solution for wipers, and it would be a good idea to put unfoldable wipers into the front compartment, but it would be complicated to achieve.
In addition, Cybertruck's through-line laser headlights have also been changed, with the new design adding three smaller lights, the front and rear bumpers being changed, and the original closed wheels being replaced with open ones.
However, fans need not be too disappointed. Musk replied to netizens on Twitter that the Cyberruck with super large wipers in the current video is not the final mass production version.
In terms of body color matching, Musk came up with a bolder idea: Cybertruck will no longer offer an official color match, but instead deliver in a steel gray primary color, "Cybertruck has no color, you can have any color you want." ”
In this regard, Musk explained that because cyberruck body uses an ultra-hard 30X cold-rolled stainless steel structural shell, this material may cause uneven spray paint, and before spraying, cyberruck needs to be coated with an outer film to change color.
Some industry insiders have analyzed that Tesla's use of the "primary color" delivery scheme is to streamline the process and reduce costs.
Also on the test track was Tesla's new Model S. As can be seen from the video, the new Model S adopts a new style of taillights, and the light source shape in the light group becomes closed, and the area is further expanded, and the overall feeling is more refined.
Bigger changes at the charging port. Previously, the charging port position of the small opening hole was replaced by a large cover design, which was the same as that of the Model 3 and Model Y.
Due to the surge in orders, Tesla recently said that it will no longer accept new orders for Model S/X outside North America, and on Tesla's official website in China, the above two models are already in a state that cannot be booked. Tesla said deliveries in markets outside of North America will begin in the second half of next year.
Compared to the tight demand of the new Model S, cybertruck's popularity is even more surprising. The latest figures show that Cybertruck has received about 1.27 million orders, and these backlogs are more than double Tesla's annual sales last year.
Musk said at the recent shareholder meeting: "Due to some characteristics, such as the new manufacturing process required for steel exoskeleton body, Cybertruck will face some serious challenges when it comes to starting production." He revealed that Tesla does not expect to start production of Cyberruck until the end of 2022, because this electric pickup truck applies too many new technologies, so it is expected to achieve mass production by the end of 2023.
The pace of new cars needs to be accelerated
As of now, Tesla has only four models on sale, which is not a fast pace of product updates for a car company that has been established for more than a decade.
The Cybertruck is arguably the most anticipated model. American consumers have always had a strong preference for pickup trucks. According to Automotive News, in 2018, a total of 2.9 million pickup trucks were sold in the United States, accounting for 17% of the market share. In 2020, five of the top ten models in the U.S. regional single-model sales rankings were pickup trucks.
Under the wave of electrification, the potential of the electric pickup truck market is self-evident, and many car companies are rushing to pour in. Cyberruck, who was once the most promising first to seize the market, is now lagging behind.
In October, Tesla's number one rival, Rivian, had already begun delivering the first electric pickup truck, the R1T, and the company hopes to deliver about 1,000 vehicles by the end of the year.
That's not good news for Tesla. You know, the delivery time of the R1T is more than a year ahead of Cyberruck, and it will be the first to get the first starter advantage. And R1T's technology is no less than Tesla's, Rivian is also backed by amazon and Ford two giants - one is the world's most profitable e-commerce, the other is the world's seventh-largest car company.
However, it is difficult to say what kind of opponent Rivian will grow into in the future. Industry analysts said that although Rivian took the lead in achieving delivery, Tesla is more experienced in large-scale production. In the long run, it makes more sense to be the first to achieve mass production than to be the first to deliver.
Source: Rivian official
Cyberruck aside, Tesla needs to launch new models as soon as possible to cope with new competition. After all, in the Chinese market, pickup trucks are still only a niche area. At present, the Model 3 and Model Y are the main contributors to Tesla's scale effect. According to the official earnings report, in the first three quarters of this year, Tesla delivered 627,000 new cars worldwide, of which the Model 3 and Model Y accounted for 97.9% of sales.
In the future, if Tesla continues to fight the world with these two models, I am afraid it will not be so easy.
According to the incomplete statistics of Future Auto Daily, in the upcoming 2022, popular models such as Weilai ET7, Xiaopeng G9, Lynk & Co 09, SAIC Audi A7L, and the first model of Jidu Automobile have been confirmed to be delivered or unveiled.
In addition to ET7, Weilai will also bring a more affordable model ET5, which will focus on the market segment where the Model 3 is located, and the Xiaopeng G9 will enter the field of medium and large SUVs, which Tesla has not yet been involved in.
In order to seize the technological high ground, lidar has been widely put on the agenda. At the beginning of this year, Weilai released the first car equipped with lidar, ET7, and then Xiaopeng, Zhiji, Jihu, GAC Aean and others successively arranged for lidar to be put on the car.
Tesla currently uses a pure vision scheme, relying mainly on its neural network to train the supercomputing system Dojo.
Industry insiders told Future Auto Daily that from the safety point of view, the lidar's automatic driving scheme is better, tesla's pure visual autopilot program to ensure driving safety, the CPU chip needs to have strong computing power for the surrounding environment.
2022, defined as the first year of the smart electric vehicle war, in this new technology volume, Tesla needs to speed up.
The author | Ding unique
Edit the | Li Huanhuan