Last Call: I guess the Tesla Cybertruck will float?

Colby Buchanan

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The other day, Elon Musk responded to a tweet regarding the wading depth of the Cybertruck. It’s a fair question that I was curious about myself since Rivian’s truck can three feet. Musk responded saying, “yes it will even float for a while.” I don’t really know what that means though. Floating could be an inch off the ground or it could be several feet. And I’m not entirely sure I would want my car to float if I’m crossing a deeper river. What if its trajectory got all messed up before you could get control? How long will it last? Is it supposed to float or just hover for a little before sinking?

All I’m saying is that Jeeps don’t float, and if he wants to make a good off-roader he should look generally at what they’re doing. Here’s a link to my full comparison here.

Last Call indicates the end of Hooniverse’s broadcast day. It’s meant to be an open forum for anyone and anything. Thread jacking is not only accepted, but it’s also encouraged.

About

Colby Buchanan

Colby Buchanan

My name is Colby Buchanan and I love all things car-related all the way from rusted 240sx’s to McLaren Senna’s and of course I have a soft spot for American Muscle. You can spot me in my bone stock ’06 350z named MackenZ.

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22 responses to “Last Call: I guess the Tesla Cybertruck will float?”

  1. 0A5599 Avatar
    0A5599

    Actually, any Tesla will float, if you launch it into orbit.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs3YvqvCUAE3tls.jpg

    Reply
    1. Zentropy Avatar
      Zentropy

      Wow… is that ad real? I mean, a woman lost her life in that accident. Surely VW wouldn’t stoop to such levels just to peddle more Beetles.

      Reply
      1. Zentropy Avatar
        Zentropy

        NVM… I googled it and learned it was a parody ad in The National Lampoon. I guess it’s pretty infamous, but I’d never seen it before.

        Reply
        1. Lokki Avatar
          Lokki

          As I recall things, the Kennedy’s threatened to sue the living hell out of the Lampoon and made them recall and destroy all the copies (which they -could- retrieve) of that issue. However the Internet never forgets.

          EDIT: I was wrong – it was Volkswagen who sued for use of the VW logo et al. However, the outcome was the same.
          https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/30/archives/volkswagen-settles-suit-against-national-lampoon.

          In return for the recall of all outstanding copies of The National Lampoon Encyclopedia of Humor and removal of page 29 from 10,000 hard‐cover copies, destruction of printing plates, a “forthwith” press release by the publisher and corrections in the next issues, Volkswagen agreed to release National Lampoon from all claims.

          Reply
      2. 0A5599 Avatar
        0A5599

        As noted below, it was a National Lampoon parody, but note that it closely imitated the look of VW advertising at the time.

        https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/media.arnoldclark.com/newsroom/vw-floating-article.jpg

        Reply
  2. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    Well, it’s an electric vehicle, so it has a floating ground. Floating truck, floating ground. Make sense now?

    Reply
    1. nanoop Avatar
      nanoop

      I’m sometimes amazed how well the concepts of hydraulics work for electrics: pipe diameter resistor, pressure voltage, and volume flow current/electron flow.

      Reply
  3. outback_ute Avatar
    outback_ute

    Old VWs could be made to float fairly easily, so it may be feasible depending on what the final weight is.

    Floating away on a ford isn’t a desirable feature I agree!

    Reply
    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      True that, hard to dodge rocks when you’re floating.

      Reply
      1. Zentropy Avatar
        Zentropy

        I think Musk’s comment is another subtle indication that the Cybertruck– at least in its current form– isn’t intended for production. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part.

        Reply
        1. Sjalabais Avatar
          Sjalabais

          Why would you wish for that?

          Reply
          1. Zentropy Avatar
            Zentropy

            Because I think it’s a lousy design. Aesthetically, I find absolutely nothing appealing about the Cybertruck.

          2. Sjalabais Avatar
            Sjalabais

            Others might. 🙂

  4. crank_case Avatar
    crank_case

    Most cars will float… briefly.

    Reply
    1. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      Yes, that’s exactly how I read Musk’s comment. A typical non-promise.

      Reply
    2. Rover 1 Avatar
      Rover 1

      Until they don’t.

      Reply
    3. Tiller188 Avatar
      Tiller188

      Beat me to it. […by a long ways…s’what I get for not checking in to the Hooniverse in a while!]

      Reply
    4. Tiller188 Avatar
      Tiller188

      Beat me to it. […by a long ways…s’what I get for not checking in to the Hooniverse in a while!]

      Reply
  5. Lokki Avatar
    Lokki

    I have a bit of fear of poking the hornets’ nest as – although some will say it’s just coincidence – the last time I suggested anything negative about Tesla was the last day the government allowed me to leave my house. They tell me it’s for my own safety, and I believe them. So, if I MUST leave the house, I wear a mask which hides my identity. Just sayin’.

    But: I wonder about the impact of current events on Tesla’s future. Of course all car sales are ,uh, DOWN, but Tesla occupies a niche in the market that I suspect is especially vulnerable and the CyberTruck (in my opinion) is in an especially weak position.

    To wit:

    Tesla vehicles are almost entirely a vanity purchase. Their purchasers are largely, Hell, ALL upper middle class people – a group who are probably still safely employed, but whose savings have largely disappeared into the gaping black maw of the stock market. Certainly OUR household will only be buying turnips and sensible shoes for the next few years.

    Now to address the CyberTruck specifically, first we must consider the fact that it doesn’t even exist at the moment. So a company with reduced sales and (electric) train loads of debt is going to have to raise funding to build a production line for what is quite likely to be a niche market vehicle in a shrunken niche. I would think that any available funds would be better spent on updating existing models (when was the last time anything was changed on the Model S?). Still, I’m not Elon. He may just decide that the buzz will be worth the risk, and that does tend to be his fall-back position.

    Still, I am of the opinion that, no, the CyberTruck won’t float.

    Reply
    1. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      “I have a bit of fear of poking the hornets’ nest as – although some will say it’s just coincidence – the last time I suggested anything negative
      about Tesla was the last day the government allowed me to leave my house. They tell me it’s for my own safety, and I believe them. So, if I MUST leave the house, I wear a mask which hides my identity. Just sayin’.”
      You’re not allowed to leave your house? Why not? What’s going on?

      What’s that? Lokki is secretly being punished? A giant secret conspiracy I shouldn’t be talking about, to keep him locked up? Oh…

      Reply
  6. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    Elon Musk is the same guy that said the windows wouldn’t break when you threw a steel ball at them, right?

    Reply
    1. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      And that you’d be able to buy a $35K Model 3. So I think the $39K Cybertruck will fall in the same category.

      Reply