This piece is for car enthusiasts because it is a mysterious design, and for non-enthusiasts because this might be what companies’ trucks would look like in the next 10 years.
-By: Bumblebee
On November 21, 2019, Elon Musk, an entrepreneur, unveiled a seemingly deformed truck following his dream of about 4-5 years; a cybertruck. This birthed a whole new revelation which could be a game changer to modern car production. A first look at the car (a cross-over between sport cars and conventional trucks) would leave a distasteful taste in one’s mind. Firstly, the design of the truck appears to be a poor imitation of cars in an arcade game, or an adaptation from a movie like “Blade Runner”, which in fact was produced within the same perimeter. Another look may project the car like Mar Rover, the vehicle used in the exploration to the moon (Apollo mission).
An unveiling ceremony usually either leaves the audiencae awed or disappointed. In the case of Cybertruck, it was a mixture of both. If you were present, you would have been starstruck even if you a star-gazer. The ceremony was not close to perfect, though many people were present. Musk appeared to be stuttering for the larger part of the time he spoke. Tests were carried out both in videos and in front of the crowd. In a notable video test, The Cybertruck is seen dragging a Ford F-150 effortlessly uphill in a tug of war. This led to two things; massive comments and retweets on Twitter, and Ford’s request for a rematch (which Tesla promises to fix for another date). Another takeaway was the shattering of one of the car windows during a live durability test to prove if Cybertruck was truly a shatterproof vehicle. This incident happened to change the narrative. Tesla’s defence of the incidence was that the basement of the window was damaged during a strength test for the door with a sledge hammer made from cold-rolled steel.
Tesla’s goal in developing the Cyber truck is to provide a sustainable energy substitute for fossil-fuel-powered trucks. This objective is in line with the sustainable development goals of the United Nations. However, this might not draw any notable commendation or recommendation from stakeholders at the next climate action summit scheduled to hold this week.
Notable features of the Cybertruck include: The truck will use self-levelling suspension which compensates for variable loads, and some models will have all wheel drive. Other standard features include on-board power inverters for supplying both 120-volt and 240-volt electricity, allowing use of power tools without a portable generator. The exterior is bullet-resistant against a 9 mm calibre bullet as well. All vehicles will also come standard with Tesla Autopilot, and will have the hardware capabilities for fully autonomous operation. Cybertruck boasts of a top speed of 175 to 210 km/h and a payload of about 3500 pounds. It comes with 3 model varieties which go for as low as $39,900 and as high as $69,900. It also comes with Cyberquad, an ATV (all-terrain vehicle), to charge the batteries since its all-electric. The assembly production is expected to start in 2021, with more configurations in 2022. About 146,000 pre-order requests were received 2 days after the unveiling, according to Elon Musk, and this number has been surging ever since.
Critically looking at all the factors and specifications which collectively point out several questions or suggestions, the unveiling date coincided with the date the movie Blade Runner is set in. One may then ask, is it not so a long shot attempt to imitate in real life, a movie you love? Or what is the basis of the idea of using cold-rolled steel? Isn’t this an economic attempt to support the Mars colonization mission? The Cybertruck has Unibody construction termed “exoskeleton” like most passenger cars, rather than the body-on-frame construction which is typical of trucks, as a standard vehicle frame would conflict with the underfloor battery pack. It will use an unusually 3-mm-cold-rolled steel. The panels can only be bent along straight lines, resulting in a very distinctive faceted design which has been called low-poly. This material is the same material SpaceX used on the Mars rocket prototype because it distributes stresses more evenly and allows for interior volume.
With all these specifications and designs, journalists who covered the event claim the prototype is far from being complete as software, dash board design, and side mirrors are not yet in place. With Mr. Musk known for not always keeping to deadline, we all can only sit back and hope Cybertruck will be released on the advertised date.
