Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(117,530 posts)
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 07:38 PM Dec 24

Why people love -- and love to hate -- Tesla's Cybertruck

Few vehicles in modern history have elicited as much consumer excitement and loathing in their first year on the market than the Tesla Cybertruck.

Ever since Elon Musk unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019 and declared, “It’s not going to be for everyone,” people have debated whether the eclectic pickup truck’s hulking design is ugly or stylish. That divide has only intensified since Cybertrucks began rolling off the assembly lines in November of last year.

“Man does a cybertruck ever look dumb up close,” Blake Murphy wrote last week in a message posted to Blue Sky.

-snip-

Buying a Cybertruck isn’t cheap — they're about $100,000, depending on the trim. Still, in the third quarter of this year, they were the third most purchased EV in the country, according to the Kelley Blue Book.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-people-love--and-love-to-hate--teslas-cybertruck-210258478.html

Want an electric truck? Get a Ford F-150 Lightning. They're less expensive and not as likely to rust.

44 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Why people love -- and love to hate -- Tesla's Cybertruck (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Dec 24 OP
Arnold said it best... GreenWave Dec 24 #1
Or a Rivian wintemark Dec 24 #2
Ex Quality Manager for GM yankee87 Dec 24 #3
Cybertrucks aren't built well to begin with. And are seriously dangerous. haele Dec 24 #4
That thing is just a mini-van with a laundry basket. RedWhiteBlueIsRacist Dec 24 #5
I have seen one on the road... rasputin1952 Dec 24 #6
I'm old enough to remember when conservatives absolutely hated electric vehicles Blue_Tires Dec 24 #11
Self-driving still needs a lot of work before it's perfected Polybius Dec 24 #13
In 10-20 years... rasputin1952 Dec 24 #23
Saw my first one the other day. Had "camo" paint splotched all over it. Ran a red light and took off Midnight Writer Dec 24 #7
Sounds about right . . . hatrack Dec 25 #27
For most of their owners, Cybertrucks are highly visible loyalty oaths to Elon Musk. highplainsdem Dec 24 #8
I saw one in DFW area a cpl weeks ago Beachnutt Dec 24 #9
That thing would be a complete failure Blue_Tires Dec 24 #10
Thankfully though, they are finally going electric Polybius Dec 24 #14
Who knows with Donnie...? Blue_Tires Dec 24 #16
Yip, people tend to forget that too Polybius Dec 24 #18
We'd be a global leader in the technology Blue_Tires Dec 24 #19
The mandate is not until 2035 not soon Meowmee Dec 24 #20
Yeah, I guess it depends on how one define "soon" Polybius Dec 24 #22
We Prius drivers laugh at MAGAts complaining about high gas prices". N/T rasputin1952 Dec 25 #31
Is it because it makes the car Homer Simpson designed look awesome by comparison? nt Carlitos Brigante Dec 24 #12
Think I liked the Leyland P76 better canetoad Dec 24 #15
That's hot 🔥 Blue_Tires Dec 24 #17
The Soap Box Derby downhill racers (Little Rascal's) looked better that the current monstrosity. n/t rasputin1952 Dec 25 #32
The "truck" is truly ugly Meowmee Dec 24 #21
I saw one in the wild yesterday The Wandering Harper Dec 24 #24
It absolutely sucks sakabatou Dec 24 #25
Don't forget to add in the taxpayer funding. nt rasputin1952 Dec 25 #33
Aren't car makers subsidized anyway? sakabatou Dec 26 #35
I'll have to look into that, but I believe they are... rasputin1952 Dec 29 #40
I've seen several on the road here in North Texas and they always crack me up. tanyev Dec 25 #26
Crap, soda on the keyboard! rasputin1952 Dec 25 #34
This message was self-deleted by its author dalton99a Dec 25 #28
I passed by one of SilverDawg Dec 25 #29
I don't hate them. GoCubsGo Dec 25 #30
I have never seen an uglier vehicle. City Lights Dec 26 #36
The Cybertruck Is Not Likely To Rust ProfessorGAC Dec 26 #37
The one I saw last month looked pretty rusted Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Dec 26 #38
My Post Got Sxrewed Up ProfessorGAC Dec 26 #39
"Love to hate it" is cute-washing it. I don't love to hate it. I just hate it. Iggo Dec 29 #41
Oh, I don't know, let me guess... B.See Dec 29 #42
I saw one for the first time malaise Dec 29 #43
New name for the cyber truck LetMyPeopleVote Jan 5 #44

wintemark

(33 posts)
2. Or a Rivian
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 07:44 PM
Dec 24

Rivian makes a fine Truck slightly cheaper than the cybertruck and with a better design. Plus I know people that work for Rivian in Illinois

yankee87

(2,445 posts)
3. Ex Quality Manager for GM
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 07:50 PM
Dec 24

While the process on how much advancement with the presses in the Body Shop. Unfortunately, stainless is not good for dimensional control. Also, while I had a small part with electric start up, ended up going bankrupt.
With Musk pissing off his entire customer base, and it being a niche vehicle, but the truck is dangerous.

haele

(13,738 posts)
4. Cybertrucks aren't built well to begin with. And are seriously dangerous.
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 07:53 PM
Dec 24

I saw one up close. I shouldn't be able to see rubber between the panels and the angled edge bevels should touch all the way along the seam; no gaps showing the underlying metal holding the panel in place.
Also, the edges are really sharp where there are gaps; a person casually leaning against or running a hand along the side of the "truck" can easily rip their hand open if they aren't careful. And not a little cut, either. All the pieces are beveled. The gap between the front wheel - well piece and the side panel was somewhere between a sixteenth and an eighth of an inch.
If that truck clips a pedestrian... It's going to be a bloody mess.

Haele

rasputin1952

(83,386 posts)
6. I have seen one on the road...
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 08:01 PM
Dec 24

Last edited Tue Dec 24, 2024, 09:56 PM - Edit history (1)

In Nebraska, no less.

To be sure, Cybertrucks are more than just a means of transportation. They are, as the New York Times described it in a headline, “A Culture War on Wheels.”


Personally, I think it looks a bit like a coffin on wheels.
Which may well be appropriate if it has the self-driving mode.

On edit: I should add that it had Farm Plates, which means taxes are essentially nullified and they get a different deal in insurance.
The only thing I didn't see was a DJT Bumper sticker (I'm figuring the sticker is "licensed" by the Goomer, and you have to go through something he set up to get $50-100, just to make a world of hurting on the eyeballs even worse!

Blue_Tires

(57,539 posts)
11. I'm old enough to remember when conservatives absolutely hated electric vehicles
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 08:43 PM
Dec 24

But they're a cult so anything Elmer tells them to like, they'll like...

Polybius

(18,811 posts)
13. Self-driving still needs a lot of work before it's perfected
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 09:23 PM
Dec 24

But in 10 or 20 years, I could see it being useful.

Midnight Writer

(23,267 posts)
7. Saw my first one the other day. Had "camo" paint splotched all over it. Ran a red light and took off
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 08:04 PM
Dec 24

at a high rate of speed, weaving through traffic.

hatrack

(61,457 posts)
27. Sounds about right . . .
Wed Dec 25, 2024, 08:44 AM
Dec 25

Which reminds me, i need to get the Lot Count Project going (monitoring the number of unsold Cybertrucks at a local Eloon dealership).

Beachnutt

(8,273 posts)
9. I saw one in DFW area a cpl weeks ago
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 08:24 PM
Dec 24

painted like an American flag, it looked like crap.
Really stupid looking, I rolled down my window and pointed at it and was blantantly laughing at it.

Blue_Tires

(57,539 posts)
10. That thing would be a complete failure
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 08:41 PM
Dec 24

If it wasn't for rich Trumpers buying it as a way of showing off their MAGA politics... Ironically, I remember when those same Republicans used to get all pissy over Toyota Prius drivers doing the same thing 20 years earlier...

Polybius

(18,811 posts)
14. Thankfully though, they are finally going electric
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 09:26 PM
Dec 24

I still know a few who say they will never go electric though. One is only about 40, so he's in for a rude awakening when the only cars here in NY will soon be electric.

Blue_Tires

(57,539 posts)
16. Who knows with Donnie...?
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 09:48 PM
Dec 24

Remember, GM had the EV-1 25 years ago, but then Bush Jr. got elected so all the electric plans got shitcanned while automakers chased those sweet sweet SUV profits...

Polybius

(18,811 posts)
18. Yip, people tend to forget that too
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 09:53 PM
Dec 24

Bush set back EV's by at least a dozen years. Imagine how EV's would be had Gore gotten elected and re-elected?

Blue_Tires

(57,539 posts)
19. We'd be a global leader in the technology
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 09:56 PM
Dec 24

Instead of playing catch-up...

But as they say, elections have consequences 😕

Meowmee

(6,485 posts)
20. The mandate is not until 2035 not soon
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 09:57 PM
Dec 24

And who knows what psycho will do. You can also buy a non electric in another state. I don’t think they’re going to get the infrastructure done that needs to be done even by 2035 to be honest and they have to bring the price down. The vast majority of people where I live do not drive electric cars, most of them still drive gas cars, a small percentage drive ev, those who can afford it, and some drive hybrid.

Polybius

(18,811 posts)
22. Yeah, I guess it depends on how one define "soon"
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 10:06 PM
Dec 24

I have a bad habit of tending to use the word "soon" too loosely.

I have an EV and love it. I look forward to seeing how advanced they will get.

rasputin1952

(83,386 posts)
32. The Soap Box Derby downhill racers (Little Rascal's) looked better that the current monstrosity. n/t
Wed Dec 25, 2024, 11:36 PM
Dec 25

Meowmee

(6,485 posts)
21. The "truck" is truly ugly
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 10:00 PM
Dec 24

Actually, it does not even look like a truck. It looks like it’s made out of cardboard for a cheap scifi tv set or something like that. I saw one in person while I was shopping. Whoever designed that was off their rocker in my opinion.

For a second, I thought maybe I was wrong about the aliens and they had finally invaded and decided to do something about the current situation here 😹

24. I saw one in the wild yesterday
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 10:22 PM
Dec 24

trying to run over a couple little kids and their dad crossing the street.
I'm exaggerating slightly.
Its horn sounded like a dystopian police truck

sakabatou

(43,504 posts)
25. It absolutely sucks
Tue Dec 24, 2024, 10:27 PM
Dec 24

It looks like it came from an early 90s 3D game. It's made out of stainless steel, which can rust. Said body is hard to fix, a may need parts to be replaced entirely.

The windows are supposedly bullet resistant. However, this begs the question, how are you supposed to get out if you're about to go underwater? You can't break the glass with a tool. Instead, you'd have to wait until the cabin fills with water (unless you can somehow find the emergency release, which isn't obvious).

It's heavy, so it's hard to stop on wet/slick surfaces. It weighs A LOT (over 3 tons).

rasputin1952

(83,386 posts)
40. I'll have to look into that, but I believe they are...
Sun Dec 29, 2024, 02:38 PM
Dec 29

but not to the extent Tesla is.

What made them groundbreaking was the same way Ford did it, mass production with cost/profit motive.
Ford was incredibly stingy, but, we can thank him for charcoal briquets. The sawdust from the wood of the cars and wheels was burnt, then compressed in the little things we chuck into our grills and enjoy in parks and homes across the nation.

tanyev

(44,963 posts)
26. I've seen several on the road here in North Texas and they always crack me up.
Wed Dec 25, 2024, 08:35 AM
Dec 25

I have this urge to record some David Attenborough style narration and blast it from a speaker whenever I see one.

Observe the right wing jackass in his native environment. See how he inflates his armor to make himself look important. The armor may look fierce, but is actually cumbersome and impractical if there were a genuine threat. But the high visibility makes it easy for other species to avoid this annoying creature, allowing him to maintain his belief in his invulnerability.

Response to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

SilverDawg

(864 posts)
29. I passed by one of
Wed Dec 25, 2024, 09:02 AM
Dec 25

those beasts in traffic the other day and it is one UGLY vehicle. I gave it a hearty “YUK” as I drove by.

GoCubsGo

(33,327 posts)
30. I don't hate them.
Wed Dec 25, 2024, 09:12 AM
Dec 25

I consider them an object of amusement, and deserving of all the ridicule the get. They're not worth the energy it takes to hate.

ProfessorGAC

(71,160 posts)
37. The Cybertruck Is Not Likely To Rust
Thu Dec 26, 2024, 02:44 PM
Dec 26

It's made of N-304 stainless steel. It takes pretty extreme conditions for the chromium & nickel oxides on the surface to be stripped away allowing the iron to oxidize.
That said, the choice of that grade of SS is questionable for the parts of the country that use salt to keep roadways safe in the winter.
N-304 & chlorides do not play well together.
The result could be microscopic cracking, that could reduce tensile strength with no indication of that compromised state.
Also, when cracking occurs, nickel & chromium can be "extracted" when there is raid or road moisture which has a pH of under 6. The result is nickel chloride (green) & chromium chloride (purple). Put purple & green together and we get brown.
Rust is not a likely issues, but that doesn't mean substantial issues don't exist.

ProfessorGAC

(71,160 posts)
39. My Post Got Sxrewed Up
Thu Dec 26, 2024, 02:50 PM
Dec 26

Everything after "pH" did not post because I used a "less than" sign.
I edited it.
If you go back you will understand that you're probably not looking at rust.
Still unattractive, but not rust.
I've worked on dozens of stainless steel applications. Learned more about metallurgy than I ever anticipated.

B.See

(4,123 posts)
42. Oh, I don't know, let me guess...
Sun Dec 29, 2024, 03:36 PM
Dec 29

because it's BUTT-ugly?
because it looks like a dumpster?
because it looks like something Hitler would pull up in?

because they've had serious problems with steering, braking, sealing, noise, and suspension? https://www.techspot.com/news/99016-cybertruck-had-fundamental-design-flaws-according-recent-tesla.html

because they've had seven recalls this year alone? including for unexpected acceleration, front windshield wiper failure, truck bed trim that could just fall the fk off, display failure on rearview camera, pressure warning light issues, and possible loss of DRIVE POWER??

Every Tesla Cybertruck Recall That's Happened Since the Vehicle Was Released - CNET Tesla's truck now has seven recalls in 2024.


Tesla recalls all 3,878 Cybertrucks over faulty accelerator pedal - TheVerge

That's a helluva lot of money to pay for something that may turn out to be little more than a big frkn PAPERWEIGHT, and an ugly one at that.



Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Why people love -- and lo...