July 26, 2020 by Paul Fosse
After Elon Musk mentioned that Tesla was working on a couple more vehicles, a compact car, and a “high-capacity” vehicle, my mind started to think about how this van-type vehicle could use all the technologies Elon has mentioned in several interviews. First, let’s cover the basics that I’m 99% sure the vehicle will have. I got some of these ideas from one of my Cybertruck articles. After that, I’ll take things in a slightly different direction than our previous “Tesla Cybervan” article.
- All electric, zero emissions, silent.
- Quick
- Excellent handling
- Distinctive style
- Leading security
- Seats for 10 to 15 adults.
- 400 mile range
- Leading efficiency, around 100 eMPG
- Ultra low maintenance costs
- Full self-driving ability
- Over-the-air updates
- Tesla App Store enabled
- 15,000 pounds of towing capacity
- Competitive purchase price on much lower gas vans, total cost of operation a fraction of the competition
Now fresh out of that box, it would be a highly desirable vehicle for those with large families or to operate a large-capacity robotaxi or an inter-city shuttle. Like a base vehicle, it could sell up to a million a year, as people (especially Americans) like a vehicle that can transport their belongings and tow their toys. The Off Road Edition adds the following features:
- Adjustable air suspension with 15-inch ground clearance and excellent approach angles
- All drive wheels
- Off-road tires
The Camping and Home Office option would have the following characteristics:
- Rooftop solar panels and foldout solar panels to use while parked. This vehicle could operate for long periods without charging, whether you are driving it or using it as a home.
- Tesla’s heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) system that is highly efficient and uses the Octovalve, which can optimize the thermal temperature among the truck’s main thermal components:
- Engines
- Transmission
- Battery pack
- 2 or 3 zone passenger compartment
- Refrigerator: The residual heat from the refrigerator would be used to heat the components that need heat.
- Oven: uses residual heat if available
- Power Generator: If excess residual heat is available, it would be used to generate electricity
- Thermal Storage Tanks: These tanks would be used when the temperature is good right now, but it is expected to be too hot or cold in the future (checking the Tesla weather app and vehicle owner’s calendar to see where it will be traveling) the upcoming weeks). You may not need to warm up right now, but you may need it this weekend when you go to the mountains for skiing, for example.
- Evaporative cooling option for more efficient cooling in low humidity environments.
- Ability to create fresh drinking water from the air using the HVAC heat pump
- Murphy sleeping bed
- Home office setup to work
- Mobile internet connection using the global Starlink internet service
- Mobile bath and shower option. Of course, this toilet and shower would turn the wastewater into clean drinking water.
- Microwave oven
- Mobile washer and dryer. Of course, it would collect the residual heat from the dryer and the water from the washer and dryer, and turn them into clean drinking water.
Those options would mean that you can replace a home for many people. You would need a place to park your truck, but you don’t really need connections for water, power, or sewer like a traditional RV. I listed a monthly fee of $ 99 per HOA for the fee to park it somewhere. This is much less than what trailer parks charge, but since it needs fewer connections, trailer parks would have to lower the prices of Tesla vans. Instead of buying a car and a house, you can buy this truck and use it as your home and car.
Special options for getting around
The Tesla Cybervan would also be designed to navigate tunnels built around the world by The Boring Company to avoid heavy traffic in many urban settings. For long-distance travel, you can take your Cybervan in a HyperLoop tunnel at about 600 MPH or in a SpaceX spacecraft to go anywhere in the world in about 30 minutes.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon option really adds some distant capabilities. With this option, you can load it onto a SpaceX spacecraft and it will be airtight so you can take your vehicle to the moon or Mars. It will have air locks so you can get in and out of the vehicle. This version will cost much more and it will not have the normal doors since it could not use them in those hostile surroundings.
I had a lot of fun speculating on how the Cybervan could combine the features of the HVAC system, The Boring Company tunnels, the SpaceX Starlink internet service, HyperLoops and SpaceX spacecraft for flights targeting Earth, Moon and Mars. What do you think I did right or wrong? What ideas do you have for the Tesla Cybervan?
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About the Author
Paul Fosse Software engineer for over 30 years, he first developed EDI software and then developed data storage systems. Along the way, I also had the opportunity to help start a software consulting company and manage the portfolio. In 2010, I became interested in electric cars because gas was becoming expensive. In 2015, I started reading CleanTechnica and became interested in solar energy, mainly because it was a threat to my investments in oil and gas. Follow me on Twitter @ atj721 Tesla investor. Tesla Reference Code: https://ts.la/paul92237
