Comment by erikstarck

24 days ago

I'm as much of a Tesla Fan Boy that you can be but I have to say, the F-150 seems like a darn good vehicle and it's sad they're killing it. I especially like the V2X features.

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erikstarck

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dyauspitr  24 days ago

I have one and it is an amazing vehicle. However, what they are planning with their new EREV system coming out in 2027 seems pretty interesting too. You get your usual battery only mileage and then a generator kicks in to recharge the battery for longer trips. I would imagine it wouldn’t be required in 95% of most people’s trips but it gives folks the option n long road trips or heavy tows.

I like it because it skips the usual hybrid approach of switching over to an ICE engine that drives your wheels in a different way and simplifies things immensely.

  • jandrese  24 days ago

    I remember when Elon promised that they would have an extended range battery option for the Cybertruck, but then realized the logistics of such a thing are extremely challenging and quietly dropped it.

  • rootusrootus  23 days ago

    I like the idea of easy additional range, but I use my frunk all the time and I don't think I'd give it up for additional range that would only benefit me two or three times a year. Along with additional things to maintain.

rootusrootus  23 days ago

I don't think they're really killing it. The Lightning EREV is next, and my bet is it's almost identical to the BEV version but with an engine where the big beautiful frunk is now. Gives them something to sell the people who think they need big range numbers, but also gives them an easy path back to a full BEV. I kind of expect them to backpedal on the full cancelation and make both vehicles.

  • pbmonster  23 days ago

    > my bet is it's almost identical to the BEV version but with an engine where the big beautiful frunk is now

    Would be interesting how small and how cheap you can design a ~50kW genset to be (any smaller and you don't gain that highly coveted towing range). I don't think it's an easy task, you still need to integrate the crash compliant fuel tank, the emissions compliant exhaust system, water cooling for the engine, ect.

    It's a pretty long BOM you're adding to an already expensive BEV, so you don't really have thousands of dollars of budget to add to the production cost.

    • rootusrootus  23 days ago

      > It's a pretty long BOM you're adding to an already expensive BEV, so you don't really have thousands of dollars of budget to add to the production cost.

      Agreed. And I don't think it will be cheaper. The Lightning was already selling for less than the comparable ICE equivalent, there is no way they will sell the Lightning EREV at the same price point after adding a generator along with the associated supporting parts. I bet it will be at least 10K more, and I won't be shocked if it's closer to 20K.

    • segfaultex  23 days ago

      If I had to bet; they'll put their 3.7L V6 in and run it on the miller cycle with a fixed drive to hit @130+kW or so.

      The changes for cooling, etc. will be substantial, but the problem space is already well-known by the team, so the time to market probably won't be as long as we think.

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