I don't not believe you.

What happens when the battery goes bad or the electrical system shorts out?

If Teslas claim to be maintenance free, and actually are, and you spend virtually nothing on maintenance, then sure that's pretty cool--although I wouldn't bank on it.

There are a lot of them around here and we don't even have a dealer yet. In process.

 

I haven't included cost when crap breaks. I imagine it would be expensive and most of the really high mileage Tesla's have had something break but all cars break with age. I'm just providing the theoretical maintenance costs if nothing goes out of whack. I have a 8 year, 120k mike powertrain warranty that includes battery. The only really expensive cost of a Tesla is the battery. I imagine I'll get rid of the car before then as I never keep my cars past 100k miles. I like new stuff.

 

I had a tranny flush ONCE in all the cars i’ve owned, and that was because i voluntarily chose to put in an upgraded torque converter.
i’ve never had coolant changed, diff fluid changes, never even had spark plugs changed even in cars with well over 100k mi.

so i’d say you exaggerate. if i kept my cars 10+ years then maybe some of those would be at least a good idea but in general, new ICE cars are NOT expensive to maintain unless you do a load of driving then gas adds up.

And yes, i know people with solar who charge their cars, don’t pay for gas or much for electric, etc. sounds good except there’s still the monthly loan cost for the solar, or the loss of investment opportunity if someone just bought the whole thing in one chunk.

i’m not very interested in buying a car again (would rather lease). Tesla leases apparently suck so that kinda rules me out there. But a big advantage to leasing is that by only financing the depreciation i am free to invest the difference between that and what would be a buy payment amount and if it does well, as the stock market has in past few years, my ICE lease may end up costing nothing compared to buying anything!

 

If you lease every 3 years, then you have to do no maintenance on the ICE. I keep my cars for 5-10 years and drive 15-20k miles a year. The EV will save me a ton of money. If I get an M3 or a M340 and did the math for 10 years, getting the Tesla makes a ton of sense. Everyone has to do their own math but no lease scenario in the same class as the model 3 Performance makes sense in the ten year period given the miles I put on.

 

That depends on maintenance-intervals, oil-change requirements (which may vary), and whether the factory-maintenance is free or not during those 3 years.

I don't see a BEV, including the Cybertruck, as entirely free of maintenance, either. Tires will still have to be rotated and/or regular intervals, wheels aligned (especially with the crap roads we have today), wiper blades changed, etc..... and a number of other items. Brakes will last a long time with BEVs because of the regenerative-braking-effect, but eventually, the pads will have to be replaced as well.

 

He's talking a 3 yr lease. Under normal driving one doesn't need to replace tires and brakes. The other issues you mention are small potatoes. So, i see it as maintenance free for 3 yrs.

 

Just had my tires rotated at Discount for free. The brakes last over 100k miles (I rarely touch my brakes during commuting). Of course you have to change tires every 20-30k miles and wipers every year or two like every car. Maybe brake fluid after 3-5 years even with little brake use? Overall though, so cheap to run the car.

 

Lol I drive an almost 16 year old LS430 and I pay nothing for maintenance other than oil changes once a year. And a TB every 120k

Repairs I pay nothing in because nothing ever breaks.

I would rather drive my old V8 LS over a Tesla any day of the week if we are removing value of the car driven from the equation. (I.E. I couldn't go trade the Tesla in)

 

More power to you. I never said EV is for everyone. Tesla's are for people that want daily commuters with crazy speed or a premium car with little running costs or hipsters that want to save the planet I guess. I'm just pointing out that there are definite advantages of an EV that ICEs don't naturally possess. We'll see if these advantages carry over into the pickup world.

 

Any 'innovation' good or bad will have trouble getting going. I use pick up trucks daily this 'could be' a winner. except for one major draw back. 'Depend ability'. I wont saying it wont haul a load, it can't take a rough road, or even have the power to get out of a bad muddy or icy, spot I'm talking about the quick run for materials. or a on the job injury. or even the occasion weather related well were here and the weather is not going to co-operate.

I need the on demand ability to hop in the truck and go get stuff some jobs I do are 3 hours out in no where from home base and materials are 4 to 5 hours away, round trip you can plan all you want. There are times when the Good ol Chevy is,( or Ford as on of my partners says) the only way to get the job done. If your even 3 hours out you can't just get in go get stuff turn around come back finish that days work and go back that's over 600 miles, Yes this doesn't happen a lot but the 300 mile one does.

I don't have the time to sit and let it charge and still get the job done before weather sets in or a timeline kills the profit on a job. A quick change battery would help. but between flagstaff Az and St George Ut. Where I do most of my work. there are not a lot of charge stations. let alone Gas stations. That elusive roof trim panel that wasn't delivered or rebar chair. or Simpson bracket that wasn't in the specs.
I'm not saying there isn't a market for this rig. There is but where I'm at, for me this out fit even back in SLC it would have to have a 1000 mile range before I would think about it. God bless him for even trying to hit the truck market bravo.

Trucks are Still a part working mans life. it's an extension of their tool box ( or a rolling tool box) Maybe down the road I would consider this other then a toy hauler. I just don't want to pull the damn thing back to town on a trailer, or with my can am because the employees ran the battery down using the compressors and saws on the job. I would still need to haul up a Generator either way. I could either charge up the truck or run the equipment Hmmm.
Enough of my rant.

Good Luck Tesla on this endeavor.
And the Aztec Delorean matting? Nice tribute to two bad Ideas.

 

My father in law was over. We showed him the Tesla truck on the You Tube, the Delorean was immediately mentioned. Haha Great post BTW Try towing something though more than one state, it is never gonna happen in a Tesla truck. Downtime for charging it way too long. I still think the concept truck is pretty cool.

Best Tesla Cyber Truck memes

https://www.motortrend.com/news/we-f...n-the-internet

 

Thanks for acknowledging that. Some people get offended if you don't like Tesla or EVs.

I'm just not on board for EVs because I don't really care for them, and I'm sure Evs will be forced on me by the time I'm old, so might as well enjoy the good 'ole smooth V8s I have while I can.

 

My initial impression to the truck, was one of shock. I heard Musk talk about the polarizing looks, seen the artist impressions and all that, but I wasn't prepared for what rolled onto stage. I gave it a day or two, then took a look at more conventional trucks, and realized they were utterly boring and unimaginative, by comparison (IMO). I still like vehicles like those coming from Rivian, but I feel like they should take more risks, given the engineering benefits and packaging of BEVs. Either way, it's a good time to be alive, with all of these innovations coming at us.

Otherwise, the specs of the Cybertruck are nice and I'd take one in matte black. On the same note, a coworker of mine spends roughly 10k annually on just fuel costs, using his truck as a daily...he's showing some real interest in this vehicle, and it's clear why.

 

Not at all. Your input greatly appreciated. And welcome to CL and Car Chat as a new poster.

 

My current car is the first one i’ve leased. Before that i’ve typically kept a car about 6 years with one 8 years and about 115k mi.