Tesla 'Cybertruck' has 146,000 orders despite launch mishap: Musk - CTV News

LOS ANGELES -- Elon Musk says Tesla has received nearly 150,000 orders for its new electric pickup truck since the automaker revealed the futuristic vehicle earlier this week to mixed reviews.

The Tesla CEO tweeted Saturday that the company received 146,000 orders for the wedge-shaped "Cybertruck" since is unveiling Thursday night.

Musk said 17 per cent of the orders are for the single-motor model, 42 per cent are for the dual-motor version and 41 per cent are for the tri-motor model.

The much-hyped unveiling went off script when its supposedly unbreakable window glass splintered twice when hit with a large metal ball. Some analysts panned the truck's blocky, angular looks.

Placing an order costs buyers US$100, which Tesla says is fully refundable.

Tesla has said the "Cybertruck," which starts at US$39,900, will be in production in 2021.

146k Cybertruck orders so far, with 42% choosing dual, 41% tri & 17% single motor

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2019

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November 24, 2019 at 08:15PM

Tesla Cybertruck — Pure Logic On Wheels - CleanTechnica

November 23rd, 2019 by Maarten Vinkhuyzen 

---

“Yes, that is the way to do it. Pure logic. Form follows function. The only way to solve the aerodynamics problem of a pickup.”

Those were my thoughts when the Tesla Cybertruck rolled onto the stage.

Followed by: “Will any hillbilly or weekend road warrior or mom buy it?” It is a bit hard to see this as a grocery getter or hay carrier.

This is totally Elon Musk — going back to first principles, applying them to an electric pickup truck, getting an image straight from the movies he likes. How could he not fall in love with it.

The aerodynamics of a conventional pickup truck are extremely bad. You need probably twice the battery capacity to get highway performance at 60 mph on par with a Jaguar I-PACE. That is a big No-No for Tesla.

The first design parameter for Tesla was: no open bed. The second was: no box form. High on the list would also be: Tesla cars are beautiful, not rusty or dented. Another would be that you should be able to actually use the bed for your stuff. In urban environments, everything in it that can be carried away will be carried away when you return. Cheap and easy to produce would also be on that list.

Put this list into a stupid AI system that does not have preconceived notions what a pickup should look like, and out comes the Tesla Cybertruck.

The aerodynamics are great. The bed coffer turns that open space into a vault. The stainless steel enables a unibody design that is lighter, stronger, and cheaper to make. With a relatively small battery (~75kWh), a “low-cost” version can shock the market. With the Plaid powertrain, there is nothing on the road (except other Teslas) that can compete in pure badass driving.

Turning the list of requirements (much longer than I have mentioned) into this design is pure brilliance.

I am not a car guy, I am even less of a big car guy, and I really don’t understand the appeal of those monstrosities on wheels that are the favorite grocery-getters in most of the USA. My opinion is of zero and really no value when it comes to judging the Tesla Cybertruck’s market appeal and commercial value.

This is such a radical departure from what is thought to be a normal pickup, though, that most will be unable at first to comprehend this concept. Without suggesting it will be as successful, it is like the iPhone when shown in the time of the flip-phone and Blackberry. This will need time.

I suggest some placements in Hollywood movies. Not the cyberpunk Blade Runner type of movies, but a normal romantic comedy with a soccer mom using it around the suburbs. And the privacy of the closed bed is a far better place to be seduced than the back seat of a sedan.

While being logical, the Tesla designers created a new problem for the US automotive industry. The distinction between cars and trucks, or passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles has always been based on the construction — using a frame was a truck, using any kind of monocoque or unibody construction was a car. By the logic of the standard classification, the Tesla Cybertruck is a car.

To be more precise, it is the most badass electric shopping cart.

Photos by Kyle Field, CleanTechnica

 
 
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Tags: electric trucks, Tesla, Tesla Cybertruck, TESLA PICKUP TRUCK, Tesla trucks

About the Author

Maarten Vinkhuyzen Grumpy old man. The best thing I did with my life was raising two kids. Only finished primary education, but when you don’t go to school, you have lots of time to read. I switched from accounting to software development and ended my career as system integrator and architect. My 2007 boss got two electric Lotus Elise cars to show policymakers the future direction of energy and transportation. And I have been looking to replace my diesel cars with electric vehicles ever since. And putting my money where my mouth is, I have bought Tesla shares. Intend to keep them until I can trade them for a Tesla car.

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November 23, 2019 at 12:25PM

Consumers warned against eating romaine lettuce from Salinas, Calif. - CBC.ca

Health officials in the U.S. and Canada on Friday told people to avoid romaine lettuce grown in Salinas, Calif., because of another food poisoning outbreak in the United States.

The notice comes almost exactly one year after a similar outbreak led to a blanket warning about romaine.

Officials are urging consumers not to eat the leafy green if the label doesn't say where it was grown. They also urged supermarkets and restaurants not to serve or sell the lettuce, unless they're sure it was grown elsewhere.

The warning applies to all types of romaine from the Salinas region, include whole heads, hearts and pre-cut salad mixes.

"Canadian and U.S. health officials are collaborating to identify commonalities between the recent illnesses in an effort to identify the source of contamination affecting consumers," the Public Health Agency of Canada said on Friday.

At this time, there is no outbreak of E. coli occurring in Canada. The U.S. CDC is reporting multiple illnesses in several U.S. states. As of Nov. 22, there is one Canadian illness related to the U.S. outbreak that has been identified in the province of Manitoba. This individual became ill in mid-October.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed that romaine lettuce from the affected areas reported in the U.S. investigation is imported to Canada at this time of year. The CFIA says it has taken measures to protect consumers and is implementing new actions at the border to ensure that any affected romaine lettuce products are no longer being imported into Canada.

"We're concerned this romaine could be in other products," said Laura Gieraltowski, lead investigator of the outbreak at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

U.S. officials said their investigation led to farms in Salinas and that they are looking for the source of E. coli tied to the illnesses. Salinas is a major growing region for romaine from around April to this time of year, when growing shifts south to Yuma, Ariz.

Harvest regions now identified

After last November's outbreak tied to romaine, the produce industry in the U.S. agreed to voluntarily label the lettuce with harvest regions. Health officials said that would make it easier to trace romaine and issue more specific public health warnings when outbreaks happen.

Officials never identified exactly how romaine might have become contaminated in past outbreaks. But another outbreak in spring 2018 that sickened more than 200 people and killed five was traced to tainted irrigation water near a cattle lot. (E. coli is found in the feces of animals such as cows.)

It's not clear exactly why romaine keeps popping up in outbreaks, but food safety experts note the popularity of romaine lettuce and the difficulty of eliminating risk for produce grown in open fields and eaten raw.

Industry groups noted that they tightened safety measures following last year's outbreaks, including expanding buffer zones between growing fields and livestock.

40 people report illness in 16 states

"It's very, very disturbing. Very frustrating all around," said Trevor Suslow of the Produce Marketing Association.

The CDC says 40 people have been reported sick so far in 16 states. The most recent reported illness started on Nov. 10. The agency says it's the same E. coli strain tied to previous outbreaks, including the one from last Thanksgiving.

The CDC's Gieraltowski said that suggests there's a persisting contamination source in the environment.

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November 23, 2019 at 06:47PM

LVMH nears deal to buy Tiffany for $16.7bn - Financial Times

France’s LVMH is nearing a $16.7bn deal to buy Tiffany & Co, after the US jeweller managed to squeeze another higher offer from Bernard Arnault’s luxury group, according to people close to the deal.

The boards of both companies are set to meet on Sunday to approve the latest $135 per share bid from LVMH for the US maker of diamond engagement rings. The all-cash bid values Tiffany shares at $16.3bn and the company has about $350m of net debt.

The takeover may be announced as soon as Monday, these people said, though they cautioned that there were still a few more hurdles to overcome before a transaction was signed.

The deal, one of the biggest in the career of Mr Arnault, Europe’s richest man, would deliver the French owner of Louis Vuitton, Dior and Sephora a new brand that has a considerable footprint in the US and which is popular with Asian customers.

The two sides have been in talks for weeks since it was revealed that LVMH tabled its first offer at $120. Last week, the French group increased its offer to $130 per share and was granted access to Tiffany’s books to conduct due diligence.

Tiffany and LVMH did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More to follow . . .

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2019-11-24 14:30:00Z
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Tesla has already received 146,000 pre-orders for its divisive Cybertruck - The Verge

Two days after its big (and slightly botched) unveiling, the Cybertruck is already racking up a lot of interest. Tesla has received 146,000 preorders for the polarizing electric pickup truck, Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday. And with customers dropping $100 refundable deposits for each preorder, that’s a cool $14.6 million for Tesla’s bank account.

Tesla is offering three versions of the truck: single motor rear-wheel drive with 250 miles of range for $39,900; dual motor all-wheel drive with 300 miles of range for $49,900; and tri motor all-wheel drive with 500 miles of range for $69,900. Musk said that 42 percent of preorders are dual motor, 41 percent tri motor, and 17 percent single motor.

146k Cybertruck orders so far, with 42% choosing dual, 41% tri & 17% single motor

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2019

“With no advertising & no paid endorsement,” Musk said in a follow up tweet.

Customers preordering the Cybertruck will have to wait a while before the boxy pickup pulls into their driveways, though. Production on the single and dual motor versions isn’t slated to begin until late 2021, while the tri motor truck won’t roll off the assembly line until late 2022.

Tesla uses preorders for its forthcoming vehicles to generate excitement and provide a short-term revenue infusion, which helps provide a cushion for the cash-strapped automaker. And Musk likes to tout preorder numbers to juice more sales. For example, the company received 276,000 preorders for the Model 3 a few days after its unveiling in 2016; a few days later that number grew to 325,000.

To be sure, Tesla doesn’t always release its preorder numbers. The company has yet to reveal how many customers have put down deposits for the Model Y, its electric crossover.

The Cybertruck is no Model 3 or Model Y, but the respectable number of preorders indicates that Tesla is still has its fingers on the pulse of what customers want to buy. That said, the Blade Runner-inspired design of the truck has been wildly polarizing to say the least.

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2019-11-24 12:55:51Z
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7 funky features on Tesla's Cybertruck - Fox News

The electric Tesla Cybertruck may have outlandish styling but, at heart, it's still just a four-wheel, four-door pickup that you can read more about by clicking here.

That said, it does offer plenty of features you won’t find on many other mass-market trucks, and not just its battery pack. Here are a few of the standouts:

IT LIGHTS UP

Along with its full-width LED headlight bar, there’s an auxiliary strip for off-road driving hidden at the top of its windshield, just below the unique peak in its roof.

IT’S MADE FROM SPACE AGE MATERIAL

The Cybertruck’s body is constructed of thick sheets of the same 30-times-cold-rolled stainless steel used on the SpaceX Starship. Along with being scratch- and dent-resistant, Tesla claims it can withstand a 9-mm. firearm round. (Then again, it said the “Armor” windows were super strong, too.)

IT’S A YOKE

Instead of a hoop, the Cybertruck has a steering wheel modeled after the type on an aircraft yoke with grips at 9 and 3 o’clock.

IT’S GOT WINGS

Along with a covered bed with a trunk in the floor and a “frunk” under the hood, each of the rear roof buttresses hides storage compartments beneath butterfly doors.

YOU CAN STEP ON IT

The powered bed cover is strong enough to walk on and fully retracts into the space between the bed and the cabin when it’s opened.

IT GETS DOWN

The Cybertruck will come with an optional Cyberquad electric ATV that you can drive into the bed using a ramp that extends from the tailgate as the pickup’s standard air suspension system squats.

IT HAS A SIX-PACK

Like some traditional trucks, the Cybertruck has three-across front seating thanks to a center jump seat that turns into an armrest when not in use.

IT COOKS

Tesla will offer a camping package that includes a polygonal tent to match its styling, a raised sleeping floor for the bed, and a slide-out electric stove that runs off the battery pack.

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2019-11-24 12:08:10Z
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Cybertruck: Tesla truck gets 150,000 orders despite launch gaffe - BBC News

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Tesla has received almost 150,000 orders for its new pickup truck, boss Elon Musk has said, despite an embarrassing hiccup at its launch.

Mr Musk was caught out on stage when the windows of the Cybertruck shattered during a demonstration supposed to show their durability.

Tesla shares dived 6.1% after the event on Thursday and several bad reviews.

With its distinct angular design, the electric truck was greeted with cheers but also bemusement.

But on Saturday Mr Musk tweeted: "146k Cybertruck orders so far, with 42% choosing dual, 41% tri & 17% single motor".

The demand had come despite "no advertising & no paid endorsement" for the truck, he said.

No date has been given for the Cybertruck's release, but analysts said it would not be ready before the end of 2021 at the earliest.

• Tesla's new pickup truck smashed during demo

The industrial-looking vehicle is covered in stainless steel alloy and will be able to go from 0 to 100km/h (62 mph) in about three seconds, Mr Musk said in his presentation in Hawthorne, California.

However, some analysts are concerned about the futuristic design, with Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds' vehicle marketplace saying: "It looks like a truck version of the DeLorean from Back To The Future."

The launch event's "fail" happened during a segment displaying how the truck's stainless steel exterior, and metal windows, could withstand bullets and sledgehammers.

Tesla's head of design, Franz von Holzhausen, proceeded to throw a metal ball at the front left window, causing it to smash.

He repeated the move on the rear left window and the same thing happened. Mr Musk was heard to swear before joking: "Room for improvement."

On Friday Tesla's share price dived by 6%, slashing Mr Musk's personal net worth by $768m (£598m) in a single day, according to Forbes.

The pickup market represents a significant opportunity for Tesla as it improves its battery technology, meaning carrying heavier loads over long distances is now practical.

According to vehicle marketplace Edmunds, large trucks have accounted for 14.4% of new vehicle sales in the US up until October, compared to 12.6% in 2015.

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2019-11-24 10:10:57Z
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