Tesla Pickup...the big question is when?

2334 Views 24 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Mister Dave, Oct 6, 2017

Upper5Percent

Discussion Starter · Oct 5, 2017 (Edited)

We have recently heard about several of Tesla’s upcoming vehicles, especially the Model Y and Tesla Semi since they are expected to be unveiled next, but we haven’t heard about the planned electric pickup truck in a while.

Now CEO Elon Musk hints that it could be based on the same tech developed for Tesla Semi.
When Musk unveiled Tesla’s product plan last year, he revealed that Tesla had an electric pickup truck in early stages of development. Musk had already been talking about Tesla making an electric pickup for a few years now, but in April 2017, he said that the company is only going to reveal it “18 to 24 months” from now.

That’s the last time we heard of Tesla’s upcoming pickup as the company focused on Model Y, which is expected to be a crossover based on the platform developed for Model 3, and Tesla Semi, the all-electric semi truck, which Tesla plans to unveil on October 26th.

Now Musk responded to someone on Twitter suggesting that Tesla should build a light duty pickup after Tesla Semi:
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status...k.co/2017/09/16/elon-musk-tesla-pickup-truck/
You can ignore all the commenters on the Semi...

In a previous op-ed after Musk said that Tesla doesn’t plan to unveil its pickup truck until the end of the decade, I argued that ‘Tesla should unveil its electric pickup truck and open reservations right away for the sake of the US auto industry‘.

The idea is that pickups are the profit centers for all the American automakers and by showing that there’s demand for electric versions of those trucks, like Tesla’s reservation process did with the Model 3, it would jump-start efforts to electrify their own truck programs.

At this point, Tesla’s new vehicle unveiling plans remain unclear. Based on Musk’s previous comments that Model Y is the priority at Tesla after Model 3, you would think that we were going to see that car first, but now all the attention is on Tesla Semi.

Furthermore, Tesla is already offering discounts on the next-gen Roadster through its referral program even though we have no idea when we are going to see that car.

https://electrek.co/2017/09/16/elon-musk-tesla-pickup-truck/

And yes...if there were an announced waiting list...I'd put down a deposit on one of these...

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PrivatePilot

· #13 · Oct 5, 2017

Steverino said:
I think many of those who buy a pickup as a "lifestyle fashion statement" rather than as a working pickup would be interested in a Tesla truck. After all, it's about image rather than utility at that point. Driving a truck is not the same as needing a truck for those folks.

Agreed - probably 80% of pickup trucks are pavement princesses who never see much more than groceries in the back, much less a dirt road.

But the pickup truck market could be tough to crack from a marketing perspective as it's also dominated by a testosterone laden crowd, many of whom eschew anything "green" or "tree hugger" out of hand, and are notoriously skeptical about EV's in general.

Whoever does it, is going to need to do it right, and I doubt it'll be Tesla for a variety of reasons. On the flipside if it's marketed carefully with a HUGE stress towards the reduced operating costs (vs anything else - the cost of actually operating a gas pig pickup truck does legitimately bother most pickup owners), it has a chance.

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