Some time ago, Tesla's official website removed Cyberruck, and the intended users who want to order have no chance. It doesn't feel like you're missing something, but it doesn't seem to matter.
Indeed, in all the Tesla-related reports, this one is the least eye-catching, the reason is probably because the pickup truck is still far from our lives, the fuel pickup truck I do not pay attention to, electric pickup I will look at you more?
But in fact, this melon is still worth eating, because this pickup truck that broke glass at the conference, not only did the heat not decline, its order volume has exceeded 1.25 million in August this year. What does this number mean? Take Tesla itself, tesla sales in the whole of last year were about 500,000 vehicles in the world, and Cyberruck has not really achieved mass production, and the order volume is already more than twice tesla's annual sales.
Perhaps converted into money, everyone will have a more concept, combined with the deposit of Cyberruck in the United States is $100 (the deposit in China is 1,000 yuan), the order alone has created about $125 million of cash flow for Tesla. Musk never expected that he could make a lot of money lying down.
So if Cyberteruck is so hot, why is it suddenly taken off the shelves? Or is it a delay in delivery?
Starting from the product itself, although Cyberruck has been released in 2019, the car has been in the research and development stage, and it has to be tossed for a while on the triangular roof shape.
Musk previously tweeted with fans, "Frankly, Cybertruck always has some possibility of failure because it's so different, but I don't care, even if others don't like it, I like it very much." The other trucks look like replicas of the same thing, but Cyberruck looks like they were made by aliens from the future. ”
You see, as for whether mass production can be achieved, Musk himself is ambiguous. In addition, because the 4680 battery carried by Cyberruck has passed the verification of performance and service life, Musk has also publicly said that "the 4680 battery is an innovative product that needs dozens of major improvements", implying that the battery development is difficult, manufacturing process, supply chain and a series of problems, so that the current stage of the 4680 battery has not reached the standard.
However, Musk said that the production of Cyberruck will start next year and be mass-produced in 2023, leaving aside the credibility of this statement, even if it is produced, including the current Ford F-150, HUMMER EV, RIVIAN R1T will face a problem, that is, the safety of the battery.
Because whether it is an electric pickup truck or an electric off-road vehicle, it will face a variety of non-paved roads, so the bottom, bumps and other situations have become relatively common. Therefore, whether the battery can be safe and sound in this harsh environment for a long time is a question worth pondering, after all, driving an electric car to cross-country, no one will do it again before.
The direct cause of the explosion of electric vehicles is because of violent collisions, resulting in short circuits inside the battery and thus fire and explosion. The battery of electric vehicles, whether it is ternary lithium or lithium iron phosphate, is realized by the loss of electrons through lithium ions.
Lithium, as the most active element known, reacts with oxygen as long as it comes into contact with air, causing combustion and explosion. Although car companies will adopt a series of protective measures, if the battery is hit by a serious external force and deforms, these protections may fail.
Just like people who have poor immunity themselves, even if they wear masks and gloves and wrap themselves tightly, they are still easy to get caught.
In addition, there is the problem of wading in the water, although the electric vehicle battery will be waterproof treatment at the factory, to meet the dustproof and waterproof level of no less than IP67, which means that the lower surface of the high-pressure component is less than 30cm from the ground height, and it is necessary to meet the object can be in a water depth of 1 meter to ensure that there is no problem within 30 minutes.
However, for high-pressure components greater than or equal to 30cm from the ground, such as the ground clearance of the off-road vehicle itself, they only need to meet the waterproof level of IPX5 and below. What is this standard, only can withstand a short period of water spray protection, that is, daily car washing, if you wade in the water for a long time, it is likely to lead to damage to parts and other situations.
In addition to safety, since it is an electric vehicle, it must not be able to bypass problems such as endurance, energy consumption, and charging.
It is reported that the longest endurance of Tesla Cyberruck can reach 805+ kilometers, with an acceleration time of 2.9 seconds per 100 kilometers, and the longest endurance of the HUMMER EV is 563 kilometers and an acceleration time of 3 seconds per 100 kilometers.
The huge body size coupled with the amazing acceleration capacity, its energy consumption must not be low, and in order to ensure its endurance, under the premise that the battery energy density has not yet achieved a historic breakthrough, the battery capacity must be increased, resulting in its battery volume will be larger than that of ordinary family cars.
For example, the plug-in hybrid version of the Wrangler has a battery capacity of 17.3kWh and a pure electric endurance of 55km. However, the general family car such as Tang DM, in the case of achieving a pure electric endurance similar to that of the Wrangler, the battery capacity is only 9.98kWh, and this difference is still quite obvious if it is reflected in the battery volume.
And once the battery volume and capacity are too large, a series of problems will follow. The first is to carry such a large battery to go off-road, and the probability of bumping will be relatively increased.
Moreover, Tesla Cybertruck uses cylindrical cells, compared to square shells and soft pack cells, cylindrical cells are worse than them in terms of space utilization, which is also one of the problems that has been plaguing Tesla, because this will directly affect the bulk energy density of the entire battery pack.
The 4680 battery carried by Cyberruck adopts a CTC structure, that is, a moduleless battery pack, and the battery shell and the vehicle chassis are integrated, which has involved the change of body structure and becomes part of the body-in-white design of electric vehicles. This structure is very helpful for improving space utilization and battery life, but it is not an easy task for battery suppliers.
So as an off-road expert, Jeep is very smart, first arrange the plug-in version of the Wrangler to test the water, because the battery volume is much smaller than the pure electric off-road vehicle, so it can be arranged in the safest place of the whole car - under the seat. It not only ensures the riding space, but also avoids the influence of the external environment.
In addition, in terms of charging, the average charging power of the current general fast charging pile is about 70kW, assuming that the battery capacity of the electric off-road vehicle is 200kWh, it will take two or three hours to fully charge. If there is no charging pile at home, I want to wait outside for such a long time, it is not a pleasant thing, so the layout of the fast charging pile should be improved accordingly.
Of course, electric pickup trucks are not without advantages, in fact, to some extent, electric off-road vehicles are more suitable for non-paved roads.
Due to the output characteristics of the drive motor, the maximum torque can be output at the rated speed, and as the speed continues to rise, the torque shows a downward trend.
Therefore, this characteristic of the electric motor can better meet the needs of off-road vehicles for low torque, and also eliminate a series of complex gear transmission mechanisms such as low torque amplification gear. You just need to choose the version of different motors according to your personal needs, one motor is not enough, then two, three, or even four motors. The latest news says that the Tesla Cybercruck will be equipped with four motors, so that each wheel can independently control the torque, even the differential lock is saved.
At this time, the driver is no longer busy to switch various modes, you only need to do two points, one is to grasp the driving route, the other is to control the opening of the electric door under the foot, after all, the drive motor can output maximum torque instantaneously, to know that the HUMMER EV three motor version can achieve 1000 horsepower and 15592 Nm torque output, in the face of this amazing data, advise you not to easily provoke the electric gate.
In fact, Tesla Cyberruck, no matter what the reason for jumping the ticket, it is undeniable that in various harsh environments, higher requirements have been put forward for the safety of battery packs and other aspects, which is also a greater challenge for car companies.
And at the level of consumers, China and Europe do not have a strong enough pickup tradition, most of the American pickup truck consumers are old white men, the average age is in their 50s, how to expect these people to turn into "female cannon" pickup trucks or off-road vehicles? However, according to Cyberruck's current order volume of more than 1.25 million units, maybe I think too much...