Some Tesla engineers secretly started designing a Cybertruck alternative because they ‘hated’ it::“They were like, ‘You can’t be serious.’ They didn’t want to have anything to do with it,” Franz von Holzhausen said, according to Walter Isaacson.

  • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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    1 year ago

    You just know Elon had a personal hand in designing it, because there’s no other reason a car company would go ahead and build the equivalent of “The Homer”.

    • TwoGems@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      He didn’t have a personal hand in designing anything, because he doesn’t have an engineering degree. And that’s why everything he does is stupid.

      “Musk doesn’t have an engineering degree - and kind of has a science degree. He began the first in physics at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, after he moved to Canada from his native South Africa. He completed it at the University of Pennsylvania, where he transferred after two years to earn his second bachelor’s degree, in economics, at the Wharton School. He completed it the following year. Musk then headed for Stanford to start a Ph.D. in applied physics, which he dropped out of.”

      https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/elon-musk-has-a-problem-with-rocket-scientists-thinks-engineers-deserve-all-the-credit-3136538.html

      • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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        1 year ago

        Oh, I know that. Neither did Homer.

        He likely doodled it (or got some lackey to be his remote controlled pencil), and then it was some other poor fucker’s job to turn that sketch and a handful of vague notes into an actual car.

    • BroccoliFarts@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I don’t like Musk, and I’m not a fan of Tesla in general, but I kind of dig the design. Completely understand why it’s controversial and how others could perceive it as ugly, but I like it.

      Then again, I liked the PT Cruiser when it came out (compared to all the other cars of the era), but within a year it became the car that was falling apart and owners hated it, and within 5 years it looked really dated.

      I still like the Chevy HHR and Plymouth Prowler designs. They are truly “bold” designs in that they make decisions that a large percentage of people disliked. Not the marketing “bold design” which means “we slightly exaggerated a popular design feature that’s in style right now so no one will object to it”.

      • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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        1 year ago

        You’d probably like the Fiat Multipla, the Renault Avantime or the Lotus Europa as well.

        • Barack_Embalmer@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I actually really like all those designs. They’re bold, playful, distinctive. Much more interesting than the dreary crossovers of today that all look identical - bloated hatchbacks with unnecessarily high ride-height, angry anime eyes, and oversized grilles. Full-width tail light bar like a dollar-store Porsche completes the look.

        • Zanshi@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I’m not really into cars and I agree Multipla is horrible. Lotus Europa is wonky, but I don’t hate it. Genuinely curious to know what people have against that Renault when it comes to looks

          • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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            1 year ago

            With the Renault it’s the back rather than the front. Like they were going for something, but nobody could really decide what.

            • Zanshi@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              It reminds me of early to mid 2000’s Megane, so I kinda like it. Always liked how that one looked, especially since my parents owned a boring Thalia

      • supercriticalcheese@feddit.it
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        1 year ago

        Liking the design and deciding as an executive that this is what your company are to spend money and resources at are different things.

      • Esqplorer@lemmy.zip
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        1 year ago

        The triangular unibody frame was a very clever functional idea that didn’t seem to work for whatever reason. That happens all the time but it’s insane to keep the same form when the function doesn’t benefit.

      • Concetta@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        I’d agree, if it was designed by somebody I respected. Than the lack of design could be perceived as a choice. As it is I think Elons a skillless dipshit and this is the only shape he could make on CAD software or some shit.

  • Furbag@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    There’s no way in hell this shit doesn’t completely flop, right? Like, who in their right mind would buy this garbage aside from techbros riding Elon’s pole?

    • Cornpop@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      There’s a ton of goobers that want it, but very few are actually going to be able to afford it. It’s going to be 80k plus

    • ours@lemmy.film
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      1 year ago

      I know someone who preordered this atrocity immediately. He of course drives a Tesla already and was convinced it was fully self-driving capable (3 years ago! LOL).

      Some people really embrace Musk’s reality distortion field. Other co-workers just made fun of him and asked him if he was going to put his current Tesla S on his Cybertruck’s truckbed to max out his Tesla fanboyism.

    • Fondots@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      If it weren’t for Musk standing to make a profit from it and Tesla’s history of questionable design decisions and quality issues, I’d potentially be interested in one. I like how it looks (although my aesthetic choices are certainly not everyone’s cup of tea,) and the specs are pretty impressive if they manage to deliver on them.

      There’s a lot of hunger out there for more EV trucks, musk fanboys will gobble up anything he is involved in, and lots of people make questionable vehicle purchases, I think it will sadly sell just fine.

    • doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      It will be a moderate success, I suspect. Owing more to the massive demand for electric vehicles than the cyber truck’s particular design.

      No chance it will outsell the f150 lightning, except possibly if Ford can’t build enough to meet demand.

    • Usernameblankface@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      There are plenty of people not in their right minds who have the money (or access to financing) and questionable taste to go buy the thing as soon as it’s available.

    • Petter1@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      I don’t like Elon and I don’t like trucks but I like the cybertruck design 🙂 it’s just refreshingly new design on the road

      • Guntrigger@feddit.ch
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        1 year ago

        Refreshingly new? It looks like someone started 3D modelling a Sprinter Trueno, but gave up after making the first low poly draft.

      • steakmeout@aussie.zone
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        1 year ago

        Something that looks straight out of a Hulk Hogan action show is refreshingly new to you? It looks like a late 80s early 90s toy.

  • ram@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    Completely flat steel’s gonna ding like a bitch and it’ll never come out. You’ll need an entire new sheet to replace it if you want it to look right.

    That said, it will never look right since it’s not being built with thermal expansion in mind.

    • ivenoidea@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It‘ll also slice really nicely through pedestrians. I don’t see this being allowed in most EU countries.

      • BroccoliFarts@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The US laws on bumpers has been refined in blood over the years. At least 20% of the people I know in my area have damaged their car by hitting a deer.

        How will this truck fare if hitting a 90 kg deer? It’s different enough that it might be substantially different (better or worse) than a more conventional truck.

        I’m also reminded of a famous car made of paneled stainless steel. It was a terrible car and ruined the company that made it. It’s only remembered fondly because of a popular movie series.

          • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Doc Brown was secretly a coke head, and DeLorean was his dealer. He threw the car in for free when he delivered the last couple kilos to Doc.

            • accidental@lemmy.sdf.org
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              1 year ago

              How do you think he got matched up with the Libyans? It’s not everyday you get offered to help smuggle nuclear material…

        • IHaveTwoCows@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          To be fair, John DeLorean got nabbed and imprisoned for coke before the company could stabilize

        • PraiseTheSoup@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          and yet, each new generation of vehicles has less and less of an actual bumper, meanwhile the cost to replace basic shit like headlight housings have skyrocketed. I live in deer country too, and you have to add your own aftermarket bumper if you want any real protection.

        • doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          1 year ago

          From the sound of it you’d be lucky to get it off the lot /s

          Fr tho I bet it’d cut the deer in half. Then again it’s kinda huge, so maybe it would just ramp up on top of the deer and launch itself.

          I assume it’s also crazy fast like most Teslas, so maybe it would just pink mist the poor animal.

          I think the truck would be totaled regardless, only real question is if the driver survives and if it catches on fire

  • angrystego@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    So both the engineers and everyone in the comments is just saying they hate/like the look of it? That’s the last important part. As I understand it, the Cybertruck is never going to be allowed to the roads in Europe because of how unsafe it is. That’s what people should be interested in. Looks can be pleasing to some and ugly to others and that’s ok.

        • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I wonder how much the other car’s crumple zone affects the performance of your own. I wouldn’t be surprised if one car not having one would degrade the performance of the one that does.

          In which case, these cars actually become a public safety risk.

          • Natanael@slrpnk.net
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            1 year ago

            The crumple zone absorbs kinetic energy / momentum and allows a smoother and slower deceleration for the passengers as the energy transfer of the impact gets drawn out over time. The suddenness of crashes is what causes the greatest injuries, so you want it to be less sudden.

            If both cars have equally performing crumple zones then both zones contribute equally to this “jerk reduction” (a rapid change in acceleration is called jerk), but if only one has it then you only get half as good reduction and the slowdown will be more sudden.

            • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              I thought that might be the case but I didn’t want to speak authoritatively.

              Yeah this cyber truck is going to make accidents a lot worse.

      • kameecoding@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        the bodies of children it’s software won’t detect will have plenty of crumple zones, don’t see what’s the issue

      • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        the thing is a giant slab of angled metal, when it crashes into things my guess is the hood will slide backwards and “dissect” entire people.

        • Lev_Astov@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          That’s a threat with most vehicles and is easily engineered for. Aside from visibility problems, we can’t know what real safety issues it might have until we get crash test data.

      • doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        Afaik they haven’t done any crash testing yet, or haven’t released the results. The EU tends not to allow cars with sharp, angular front ends. Iirc that’s why the latest Camaro can’t be sold in swathes of Europe.

    • WhipTheLlama@lemmy.world
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      Why are people so convinced that the Cybertruck won’t be safe? Of all the bad things we can say about Tesla, it’s a fact that they’re quite safe vehicles. I see no reason why the company would suddenly build a vehicle that is so unsafe it cannot be sold in Europe. Some comments in this thread say it doesn’t have any crumple zones. How strong do you think 3mm stainless steel is? The strength of every vehicle comes from its frame, not from its body panels. Same thing with the Cybertruck.

      • Trashboat@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        Safety isn’t just about the driver though, you also have to think about what happens when they hit pedestrians or other cars. I gotta say, there’s a lot of vehicles I’d much rather be hit by than this if I had a choice

  • over_clox@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The OG cybertruck reminds me of Lara Croft in the OG Tomb Raider.

    If you know you know, looks like a shitty prototype.

  • Rubanski@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I am still very confused why it’s not called the X Truck or CyberX TruX or something stupid containing the letter X

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      He already has the Tesla Model X. Probably why.

      The Tesla models are S, 3, X and Y. Because Musk is a child. He’s such a child that he tried to get the 3 to be Model E, but Ford owned the trademark.

      • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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        He is also such a child that he had to give his daughter Exa Dark the nickname Y, because he forgot he named his other son X.

        He is also a douchebag. Fucking dude has 7 10 kids claims to spend half the week with all of them. Claims he works over 100 hours a week and somehow also is the best person to be CEO of four companies… want proof CEOs don’t really do much work. Here it is.

  • BeautifulMind ♾️@lemmy.world
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    Y’know, I wanted one until I learned anything about Tesla as a company or about Elon, and then I decided it’s vaporware and will probably never be delivered for reasons that are stupid. Looking from the outside but with experience shipping big software releases, this smells a lot like what you get when you think of QC not as an engineering discipline, but as a cost to be minimized.

  • WuTang @lemmy.ninja
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    1 year ago

    you mean, the mockup on a model s chassis that Elon’s groupies pre-purchased ? Financing for free (of interests) a multi-billions dollars company … no!

  • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
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    There’s a lot to hate. It’s insanely ugly. It’s like a PT Cruiser and a Nissan Cube mated and all the worst car genes went right into the CybeR TruCk.

  • doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1 year ago

    Hasn’t Tesla’s design language always been about not rocking the boat aesthetically? The model S looks nice, but except for the lack of a grille it kinda just looks like any other car. You could make an EV look pretty weird as you don’t really need an engine compartment, but it’s harder to sell someone on both an exotic drivetrain and an exotic appearance. This think looks like it fell out of blade runner…

    It also doesn’t look very aerodynamic. I have some concerns about range, especially considering that Tesla doesn’t exactly have the best record of honesty in that particular area.

    I guess we’ll see how it sells. Eventually.

    • WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      This thing looks like it fell out of the 1997 Blade Runner computer game if Westwood had decided to go with polygonal 3D graphics instead of pre-rendered FMV and voxel 3D.

  • ensignrolaren@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Read this as ‘cyberduck’ at first and I was like, what’s wrong with my favorite FTP client? Why do they hate it?