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Tesla CEO Elon Musk ‘Dying’ To Challenge Big Three With An Electric Pickup Truck

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter on Tuesday to say that he is “dying” to build a full-size, battery-electric pickup truck to challenge established nameplates from America’s Big Three automakers – nameplates like the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. He said that Tesla will introduce the truck “right after [the] Model Y” – a compact electric crossover that could go into production in late-2019.

Pickup truck buyers being a notoriously traditional breed, its unclear whether General Motors has much of anything to worry about. First, there’s the matter of brand loyalty; Japanese automakers like Toyota and Nissan have tried for years to penetrate the full-size US pickup market in any sort of a meaningful way, and still, Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler dominate. And second, there’s the matter of powertrain familiarity; since Chevrolet first offered a hybrid version of the Silverado back in 2004, truck customers have proven resistant to the technology, tending to prefer tried-and-true internal combustion.

That’s not to say that an electric pickup truck would have no novel use, of course. Electric motors of the sort used to drive EVs tend to produce boatloads of torque from very low down in the RPM range, which would be ideal for towing. And where Tesla’s future electric pickup could make a big splash, we think, is with commercial fleets – where the low price of electrons could lend to an edge in the cost-to-operate department.

Responding to another question on Twitter, Musk said that Tesla’s pickup could be “slightly bigger” than a Ford F-150, “to account for a really game-changing (I think) feature I’d like to add.” We’ve absolutely no idea what that might mean.

At any rate, the news that an electric Tesla pickup could be on the horizon might force General Motors to look more seriously at introducing a proper Silverado/Sierra Hybrid, especially given that Ford, too, is fixing to electrify its F-150 by 2020.

(Source: Roadshow)

Aaron Brzozowski is a writer and motoring enthusiast from Detroit with an affinity for '80s German steel. He is not active on the Twitter these days, but you may send him a courier pigeon.

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Comments

  1. Everyone on this blog will argue, but Tesla can completely dominate the truck market when they enter into it. The biggest thing for truck owners is paying for the gasoline which can run upwards of $80-$120/tankful. If you were to have a 100kWh battery pack, and take an average 16¢/kWh rate, it would only cost $16. Then you could add phenomenal all wheel drive capability, which would result in a superior truck to Ford’s and GM’s. All the useful media features would just be a bonus. Also, maybe let the Truck be a Backup Battery that can connect to a construction site or the Owners house

    Reply
    1. While there’s a lot of truth to this, individual Chevy Silverado owners are most likely not jumping ship to another brand and if they did, Tesla may be one of the least likely scenarios…Like anything else, the owner will attempt to brainwash their kids to brand loyalty, if one brand is not trendy and Tesla is, the kids will buy a Tesla…

      I see at least 90% of these being fleet only vehicles, 100kWh won’t be enough for a high riding truck with any kind of tires that can handle an unpaved job site and if they want to power to the site, they’re going to want at least another 100kWh for that…Even in the future as costs go down, this is most likely going to be very expensive, $75K-$100K…

      The other thing is the competition, Ford will have something, most likely a PHEV, many think VIA Motors will go under and an automaker will buy them for pennies on the dollar and then there’s Workhorse…

      Reply
    2. Actually, I just filled my Silverado on Tuesday. At Costco in the Houston, Texas area, from nearly bone dry to completely full it cost me $44. Much of Chevy’s hardcore audience is in Texas and other similar economy states so cost/tank is not a big problem, though $16 would be a reasonably good savings. All-wheel and 4-wheel are not synonymous, but for truck buyers the difference amounts to semantics, so don’t expect truck buyers to be blown away by that. The idea of a battery PTO for construction sites is intriguing, but I can already plug a cord into my truck and run appliances, though there is definite room for improvement there.
      The bottom line is that truck buyers prefer gas or diesel because where they often are does not have a lot of trees with power sockets.

      Reply
  2. They will never be able to make enough of them and they would be too expensive.

    If he were going to do it, it should have come after the model S. The production problems with the model 3 shows what would have happened and would probably have been worse.

    Isn’t Tesla’s cash furness expected to run dry late in 2018, his semi deposits will be needed just to start building the factory.

    Reply
  3. You’ll need all that torque to cart around the massive battery it will need. Payload? Tow ratings? Can’t see having to have a big battery helping either.

    Reply
    1. Guessing you haven’t seen EV specs…So let’s go with vehicles that are on the road, one of the quickest 0-60s (which happens to be the cheapest) at 2.28 is the Tesla S100DL and it lugs around a 100kWh battery and it’s important to note it’s a full size sedan…They then revealed the Semi and Roadster 2.0 (which is really a 2+)…Musk claimed some incredible acceleration, for the Semi, cab only the 0-60 is 5.0 seconds (Diesel semi takes 15 seconds) when hauling 80,000 pounds (max load), the Tesla can go from 0-60 MPH in 20 seconds (Diesel semi takes 60 seconds)…The Roadster has a 200kWh battery and can do 0-60 in 1.9 seconds and Musk claims that’s the base and it will actually be quicker than 1.9…Like it or not, it’s a very safe bet the payload/towing/performance will exceed an ICE, yet my guess is it’ll cost three times as much as a base full size truck…

      Reply
      1. O-60 is ok but charging times are still slower than it takes to fill a tank of gas and in most parts of the country charging stations are rare.

        I thing too many get caught up in Elon hype and forget the things that really matter to the average driver.

        Charging times, availablity of charging and the price of the vehicle remain the limitation to the average buyer.

        2 second 0-60is nice but let’s face it most people can’t Handle it in 5 seconds now without hitting a tree.

        It is the real world lifelpstyle changing things that need to be resolved for all this to work.

        0-60 Times is just Elon’s way to say never mind the man behind the curtain because I am the great OZ. Just a distraction.

        These problems in time will be worked out but till then they will remain every viable problems.

        Reply
        1. It would appear the charging situation, speed and availability, will be solved by the time the Pickup Truck is delivered…Musk has stated during the semi event that charging speeds would be 400 miles in 30mins, that’s roughly 10 times the speed of “supercharger” charging stations now and since you can charge that fast, the chargers availability will also go way down…We can knock Tesla on a ton of items, but performance specs are not one of them…

          To over simplify this, Musk’s ego drives him to build a better pickup with better specs but it will be 2-4 times as expensive than a base ICE pickup…I’d take a Vegas bet Musk fully understands if you’re a coal roller, like rowing gears with a big loud V8 you won’t be interested is his weird/geeky/non-macho pickup and he won’t waste his time trying to convert you…He’s not building a better pickup truck for their kids…

          Reply
          1. By the time Tesla gets the 3 into full production as it is how late now. Lol!

            Not knocking performance but to the average owner and driver 0-60 in 2 seconds is not a question they was solved for them to become a adopter of the technology. Just pointing out there are still much greater needs and concerns that need to be addressed and touting the 0-60 times do not address.

            The bottom line is this. EV products are improving but still not there for the mainstream customer no matter the brand, there is still work to be done and discoveries to be made.

            Odds are we may see this truck someday but anytime soon. Tesla can hardly get their third car into production to fund their next move.

            The truck will become much like the S a toy or novelty to those who hold an interest or can afford it.

            The problem is ego. While it has gotten Elon this far he is walking a narrow ledge. Greater people have failed and there is a good chance he will to and direct his eco to other things.

            Many great people do many great things but often they do not have the need for self adulation. He does for better or worse. Time will tell if his PT Barnum channeling pays off.

            The bottom line is he is not going to make a dent in the pick up market with this truck. The headlines will be greater than the sales. In the future there will be a mix of types of power and electric will only be a part of it.

            The likes of those who go off road are not going to find a super charger at Moab. You can fill a Gerry can with electricity.

            He may or may not build a better truck but let’s let time prove this before we award him or anyone of doing this.

            It used to be we awarded accolades to people after they perfect a product not before or during. Today it is all media hype and marketing to things they are still struggling with.

            It is hard to expect much soon when they are not easily solving present problems 3 years plus late.

            Reply
            1. I believe you’re on point with everything you state; as I stated in a separate comment, I do believe this is going to be for fleet sales more than anything…One key feature of Tesla Semi that’s overlooked is exposure, Walmart and Pepsi just automatically became cooler and trendier after announcing their Tesla preorders…Whether you see the Walmart/Pepsi Tesla Semi driving on the open road or sitting in a parking lot for a promo event, it brings massive exposure to the brand…Many believe the majority of the Tesla Semi’s will be used in frequent promotional events vs on the road fulltime…I believe the “weird” looking Tesla pickup truck will be “working” more collectively than the Semis…Plastering your construction/labor/etc company on the side of it is free marketing to and from the job sites…

              Reply
              1. Depends on the cost. Fleet buyers look for cheap deals that take volume to make a profit. Tesla will not provide that.

                Even many electric companies that used the Volts for PR have given up on them as even their cost was not inline with what they could do elsewhere.

                Also as long as fuel is cheap it will still beat the cost of the Tesla product.

                As for when this happens how many year will it take. Their semi is being flat bedded around by a diesel truck and the pick up is a computer generation.

                Investment will be needed soon for a S revamp as it will age quickly with the new models that are coming.

                So I would not be counting on these trucks soon or saving the company.

                Better get the 3 fixed and find a way to increase x sales.

                Reply
  4. Elon Musk’s biggest issue is volume and quality controls; Tesla sold a total of 26,150 vehicles in the 3rd quarter of 2017 while Chevrolet sold 46,441 of their Silverado in November 2017 as the be a real serious competition, Tesla would need to build 2-3 times as many vehicles and another issue is infrastructure to support the electric vehicles.

    Reply
    1. It’s still about brand, since Tesla does not yet offer a pickup truck, they’re still a luxury car and crossover company that’s more of a Cadillac competitor until Tesla starts delivering pickup trucks…

      With the infrastructure, the majority of charging is done overnight at home followed by at work where public chargers are really only needed for long distance travel…I understand many here do not believe Musk, he’s never made a deadline, axes base models prior to delivering a single model, or think they’ll go belly up tomorrow, but I’d take a Vegas bet Musk will deliver a pickup and the claims he made on the Semi…On the semi he claims 400 miles in 30mins, so due to the speed of the charging it will greatly open up charger access…We have probably 3-5 years prior to the first Tesla being delivered, there’s an opportunity to build more and more chargers…GM themselves announced they will be helping with the charging infrastructure when they announced their electrification plan…

      Reply
  5. Down here in North Florida, pickup trucks are by far the most common vehicle. And as the article says, loyalty is everything.
    There’s Duramax, Cummins, and Powerstroke guys everywhere with modified diesels. There’s 1500’s of every kind with loud exhausts and 2-inch wheel spacers that make SUVs look small. There’s the business owners who buy High Countries or King Ranches. There’s hand-me down single cabs that’ve been running strong for 15 years.

    Pickup trucks are everything around here. Nobody is going to switch from their gas or diesel powered trucks to some “city slicker” all-electric $75,000 appliance. People drive trucks for three reasons: Fun, Work, and Dependability. What’s more fun, a 6.2L V8 with Cherrybomb mufflers or an electric truck that can drive itself? The electric truck wins hands-down in the work category. But there’s no way a Tesla pickup would be as good as any gas powered truck after five years of ownership.

    There’s more to vehicles than efficiency and numbers, contrary to what EV junkies think.

    Reply
    1. “People drive trucks for three reasons: Fun, Work, and Dependability.”

      For real people, we drive trucks for only one reason: work.

      All pickups, irrespective of how they are powered, are simply tools, not toys. A $75,000 6.2 V8 lifted with cherrybombs, truck nuts, and monster energy stickers is just as much an embarrassment as you think a Tesla tuck is an appliance.

      Work needs to be done in a timely and cost effective manner. Only the best, most utilitarian truck that costs less after 10 years of ownership will make the cut. On top of that, it’ll have to endure road salt, the north Atlantic, and being able to start and run as easily as it does on a 35c day as does on a -35c day.

      Riced up garbage trucks like the kind you described are insulting to have in any fleet. They show absolutely no professionalism, no tact, and respect for the company public image. They’re obnoxious, the have useless 6′ boxes, crew-cabs for a crew of 2, and never used for any serious measure of work in any capacity.

      You can call the Tesla pickup that of a ‘city slicker’, but those of us who work for a living call lifted pickup drivers who don’t work at all ‘slackers’.

      But remember those costs. You may think that an EV pickup would hurt your image, but for the real world, where the labour of your efforts is only complimented by the tools you use, the integrity of your materials, and the skill you have, cost will decide what becomes of you.

      If haven’t any skills, you know nothing of material integrity, or don’t have the right tools, you are slacker, and are unfit to dictate to the skilled trades what is best for their labour. If an EV pickup makes sense on the balance of its total operational costs, no riced up lifted truck is going to work as hard no matter how nice it sounds to you.

      Reply
      1. Oh that Tesla is perfect for fleets. But you’re missing the point. I’m saying that people buy trucks for any of those three reasons (fun, dependability, work). jacked up trucks on solid axles and big tires are fun dependable vehicles. A brand new stock F-150 is a dependable work truck. People don’t just buy trucks for work. There’s high schoolers and college kids that I’ve seen driving square body long bed crew cab F-350s around because they like the trucks. My dad works at a grocery store and he bought his truck because it’ll last forever and it has room for the family. There’s five diesel performance shops within a 25 mile radius of my house, and four of them are always full of off-road toys. And every time I go up through Georgia and the Carolinas, I see the same thing.

        Trucks were created as work tools, and they still are. But over the years, people have grown to like trucks for their capability, looks, and big engines, and they’re having fun with trucks. It’s no different than Mercedes-AMG taking luxury sedans and turning them into some of the highest performing cars on the market.

        My point is, the pickup truck market is bigger than hard working individuals who need dependable vehicles to get their jobs done in a timely and efficient manner. There’s truck enthusiasts now, and they have a say in design and sales. If GM and ford thought that trucks were for just work, they wouldn’t offer high-end trim levels with the latest entertainment and safety technology and plush interiors.

        Reply
      2. At this point the Tesla pickup is nothing but vaporware!

        Reply
    2. Both of you are correct as people drive trucks for all the given reasons and about a dozen more U.N. named.

      The one reason they do not drive them for generally is to save the planet.

      The Tesla if it ever comes to market will be like the H1 Hummer or the Ford F550 pickup version a novelty for the high end buyer.

      It will not be for the average buyer unless it comes so late to where they are cheaper to build.

      But as we have seen there is a limit to the high end market. Lincoln has failed twice and Cadillac once. The Denali and King Ranch have hit the sweet spot unless it is a one ton.

      The bottom line is that trucks are many things to many people and that is the appeal to all of them.

      Reply
      1. They done many studies, the average person who purchased a $70K+ EV including Tesla or even a Caddy PHEV, really don’t care about the environment …It’s more a side benefit, not a primary reason…Most Tesla buyers like the status it brings them above all, then the acceleration and autopilot…A lot of them already own multiple cars and huge “un-green” mansions…

        Odds are the people buying the cheaper EVs often with like 100 miles of range are the minimalists living in tiny houses…

        Reply
    3. As I’ve stated in previous comments, if Musk’s speculative idea is to provide ample power to the work sites is true, it’s almost exclusively going to be used purchased by fleets who use generators on site…So even when we say people use their trucks for work, if they’re part of a fleet, the laborer doesn’t even own the truck nor may have any input over what the fleet operators decide to purchase…Companies generally buy whatever’s the cheapest in the long run, the wildcard here is if a 2 or 3 Tesla pickup can provide power to a site for a shift, is that cheaper than 3 ICE pickup, its fuel, maintenance, generators and generator fuel?

      Also as I’ve stated above, Tesla is fully aware if you like rowing the gears on a loud V8 you won’t like his geeky looking, possibly self-driving, truck…

      Reply
  6. Here is the unvarnished truth.

    First off Tesla is lacking Capital. They are burning through 1 billion dollars a quarter and they are lacking income to sustain them.

    The S money seeded the X model but the X failed to fund the seed money for the 3. This lead to them presenting the car to move to production 3 years ago. Since then the production has been filled with failures and delays. This has lead to them hemorrhaging money for a good period of time as S sales have slowed.

    Some of the market watchers have been watching to see if Tesla will be up to full production by the end of the first quarter of 2018. Right now they are starting to build but no where near needed production numbers to negate the losses.

    The new Porsche is nearing production and will take many S model sales. The Bolt is doing well at the promised $35k price as the 3 is being found to be closer to $50k and will not be $35k.

    The Tesla pick up will be a niche model if it even makes production. It will not be cheap and to be honest most of the most anti EV people are truck owners. They are not a prime segment for EV ownership or interest.

    The bottom line in how many years Tesla been around and they have not even in total built half a years production of what GM does in half ton trucks alone.

    Right not if the went full production today it would take them 3 years plus just to build the pre sold 3 models.

    What this announcement is that Musk is deflecting from the issues Teska is suffering. Word just leaked out that they were being investigated SEC on violations. At this point they were cleared on the Sale of the 3 but the SEC is not releasing info as it appears that there may still be an ongoing investigation on something. Musk never reported the investigation.

    Might Note Goldman Sachs triggered the investigation and they along with Morgan Stanley were th e prime underwriters for Tesla stock.

    Like Tesla or not the reality is this is only going to get tougher as the balance of building the company with income issues and retaining investors as they tire waiting for a return. This while the rest of the cash flush industry moves into Teslas little pond.

    It will be interesting as this moves forward.

    In the short term Ford and GM have little to worry about with a Tesla truck.

    Reply
    1. You’re pretty much spot on yet there are some omissions…Tesla has little trouble gaining additional rounds of funding time after time…There will also be the Model Y pre-orders which could bring additional funding and also Solar City products…However, if they run out of money and cannot get more funding, they usually file for BK11…If they cannot recover, the brand doesn’t die, they get acquired for pennies on the dollar…Since the brand and EVs are red hot, the brand will most likely stay alive.

      I 100% agree the Tesla pickup will be an expensive niche product and poses little threat to legacy makers pickup truck offerings…

      Reply
  7. How sad how much attention the media give to Tesla and Elon Musk on all his dreams.tYet GM get awards from Kelly Blue Book that doesn’t get any media attention. I’m begetting to think President Trump is right about our manipulating media.
    Possibly the most honest car in America, the Chevy Impala delivers on every promise it makes.

    Standing all alone at the top of our Expert Ratings for full-size cars with a solid 9.0 on a scale of 10, the 2018 Chevrolet Impala continues to earn its stripes and reassure its owners that they made a smart car-buying decision. This is the fourth year in a row that the Impala has won over our editors’ heads and hearts to capture the Best Buys recommendation and award.

    For the new year, Chevrolet continues to up the Impala’s game in subtle but effective ways. Every model gets the “Why-did-I-ever-live-without-this?” features of keyless entry and push-button starting. An 8-inch touch-screen display — with a cleverly concealed storage space behind it — makes using the already user-friendly Chevrolet MyLink infotainment system even easier. Chevy has also upgraded the base Impala LS’s interior fabric and added a standard rearview camera.
    All of GM SUV’s also got awards. No one writes stories about Bolt sales either.

    Reply
    1. Every single light duty vehicle received a gov’t mandated rearview camera for MY18, the better question is ask is why did GM withhold the giving the LS a standard camera until the mandate?

      The mainstream media, including non-automotive outlets, writes more stories about Bolt EV sales than any other GM model sales…lol…Yet to your point the Bolt sales are not stellar as GM decided to put the powertrain into a subcompact that looks like a minivan, imagine how sales would have been if it was put into a RWD ATS?

      Reply
  8. You cannot dominate a market if you can not mass produce your product to the majority. So no, Tesla will never be able to dominate anything under its current production model. Have they pushed the Big 3 to rethink consumer mass production of cars, trucks, and SUVs? Sure they have, but dominate? No Tesla does not dominate anything when their sales will always be limited under their current production model. Sales dominate, innovation awards do not.

    Reply
    1. You don’t have to mass produce things to be successful. Simply make a better quality product and sell at a higher ATP. The cash flow will be better than selling many thousands of the same thing for a lower price. Why do you think GM kept GMC if they have Chevrolet for trucks but they still dropped Pontiac?

      Because profits are more important than total units sold.

      Reply
      1. I didn’t say to be successful. I said to dominate a market. Yes you do have to be able to mass produce to dominate a market. If you can’t build enough of a vehicle i.e. Model 3 because you are using Model X money to build them and Model X wasn’t as good as you hoped you are not being successful nor are you dominating market shares. GM is forecasted to produce 22 new all electric vehicles by 2025 and 2 additional all electric vehicles by 2019 excluding the Bolt. Unlike Tesla who over promises and under-delivers, GM will have an all electric pickup truck by 2025. Tesla still has to figure out how to get the money to build this unicorn all electric pickup truck. Elon can promise whatever he wants to people, he’s a businessman, its what businessmen do to promote product interest. But he doesn’t have the manufacturing means to deliver on those promises.

        Reply
  9. I’m about as scared of Tesla as I am of North Korea. Niether will do shit. I find it HILARIOUS that a company that can not even meet their production targets or build quality cars has the balls to threaten any of the well-established “big 3”. Especially in what we do best: BUILD TRUCKS!

    Reply
  10. Tesla’s biggest problem is Musk’s super, over-inflated hubris.

    First, that sound you heard when Musk pulled the sheet off of his semi was the industry-wide yawn. Freightliner/Daimler, VW, Cummins, Kenworth, Peterbilt, Volvo/Mack, etc. are, and have been for years, very quietly developing alternative fuel power plants (all electric, Hydrogen Fuel Cell and CNG-Electric Hybrid, ultra-efficiency ICE, etc.). Some of these trucks are already on the roads and others are quickly coming. The most important thing, though, is that they all will be selling to Walmart, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and the breweries almost as soon as Tesla goes into receivership. Musk’s semi and pickup truck promises are the manufacturer equivalent of a man hanging over a precipice grasping at blades of grass. Stick a tag on the big toe and pull the white sheet back over Tesla’s head.

    Second, did someone say Workhorse W-15. Here is the link: workhorse.com/pickup/. “Electric pickup truck with extended range”. It is a hybrid with (I am quoting CNET, ‘Workhorse W-15 electric pickup truck comes to CES 2018, January 9, 2018’) an 80-mile range, with a gas generator to extend the range to 310 miles. The W-15 should scoot to 60 miles per hour in 5.5 seconds, thanks to the 480 horsepower. Payload is decent at 2,200 pounds and the W-15 can tow 5,000 pounds. Workhorse will deliver a fleet order of 5,300 units at the end of 2018, with consumer orders coming in the first half of 2019. The W-15 will start at $52,500 but there’s a $7,500 tax credit as well as local incentives (end of quote). And yes, they are also taking orders now. Plus, GM, Ford, and Chrysler, as well as the Asians, Germans, Brits, and Italians are also developing product. By the time Musk gets his Tesla pickup to market the reaction will be something like, “Oh look. A Tesla pickup. How quaint.” Already Tesla’s advantage of surprise has been blown and we will soon enough be thinking of it as an “also ran”.

    Reply

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