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Comment by giarc

7 years ago

Let's be honest, this truck won't replace Chevy/Ram/Ford trucks on work sites. This truck will primarily be used to haul mountain bikes, soccer equipment and the occasional run to Home Depot.

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giarc

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MisterOctober  7 years ago

those are literally the three things that are a major pain in the neck for me [sedan], and when I saw that tesla was developing a truck, I was like "oh sweet! Now I can hit the trails and haul garden supplies with a greater level of convenience, and without smuggering up the earth as much!"

  • Volker-E  7 years ago

    > without smuggering up the earth as much.

    Rental might be a “different” option than buying a newly produced 2.7 metric tons truck?!

  • romwell  7 years ago

    >those are literally the three things that are a major pain in the neck for me [sedan]

    Never been a problem for me with a Honda Fit, at it's a subcompact with a footprint of a VW beetle. The seats fold down almost into the floor, giving me plenty of cargo space.

    My friend had a minivan with folding seats, he used to carry his enduro motorcycle in it.

    I have a hard time believing anyone living in a city needs a truck for anything except work.

elihu  7 years ago

Not everyone who buys trucks uses them as work trucks, but for the people who are looking for work trucks, why wouldn't they use this truck?

  • bradlys  7 years ago

    You'd need charging stations - an added cost/inconvenience to the ordeal. I don't know if you've been around many job sites and/or locations where they might store the trucks - charging infrastructure isn't there. It's going to vary a lot on the company though - tbh. Work trucks have so many varied uses that it's hard to say. Some people take their trucks home - but then they're not gonna wanna charge at home because then that costs them $$$ and tracking that expenditure might be annoying every night. (Versus filling up whenever you need and saving the receipt or using the company card) This is presuming they can charge at home - which some workers won't be able to.

    The other part is that work trucks need good integration with tools and tool storage. You need to be able to add tool storage/access on the sides of the truck. If you can't do that - it's going to eliminate a lot of the market for a work truck. But - of course - that's just ONE type of work truck. (One where a person is getting out and doing manual labor with tools - electricians, plumbers, general handymen, etc.)

    Other types of work trucks are basically completely different and require an entirely different bed. And the Tesla here definitely won't work with those. (Think flat bed trucks used for hauling)

    I think the idea of this being a work truck is a silly idea. I don't know why anyone is thinking this would even be a remotely good idea considering you can't mount anything to it.

    An article with an image of various types of work trucks: https://www.worktruckonline.com/343935/comvoy-launches-as-on...

    Just imagine trying to make the Tesla fit those use cases like outlined there...

    • ogre_codes  7 years ago

      > You'd need charging stations

      A lot of work trucks drive less than 200 miles per day. Being able to keep them plugged in at night and start every day at 100% charge is likely more convenient than having to stop at a gas station and fuel up for most plumbers/ electricians/ framers.

      > The other part is that work trucks need good integration with tools and tool storage.

      This is a much bigger issue and it fully depends on use. There are bed sliders which would help a bunch.

      Also, lifting things out through the side of the truck bed is very much a thing and it's basically impossible with this design.

      > I think the idea of this being a work truck is a silly idea.

      For some jobs it would work fine, but for a large chunk of professionals the design is too out there to be useful.

    • elihu  7 years ago

      Tools can be put in either the cab or the bed, and presumably both can be locked. I can see where some people might not like the high side-walls on the bed where you can only really get stuff in and out through the back.

      I suppose Tesla could possibly add a tool storage frunk in the front if they thought it was worthwhile and they can spare the room in their design.

      Pickup trucks in general are sometimes criticized as not being great work trucks [1], and I generally agree -- I think it's an awkward form factor and would probably rather use a large van for most of the things people use pickups for, but clearly people still buy them and many of them are used as work trucks. Many people also buy them and don't use them as work trucks. Making a pickup truck that people could use for work or for non-work is consistent with Tesla's goal of getting as many electric cars on the road as they can.

      [1] https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2015/04/28/what-does-your-wo...

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