Tesla's Hardcore Pickup Truck Was Released, but the Scene Was "broken Glass All Over the Floor"
Musk recently released Tesla's electric pickup CyberTruck, which has attracted countless people's attention due to its unique design and powerful performance. At the press conference, Musk introduced the detailed information of CyberTruck and conducted interesting test experiments. But who could have expected that Musk's solemn declaration would be slapped in the face immediately. What is going on? How can this unique electric car be improved?
Last week, the well-known technology company Tesla held a press conference in Los Angeles to officially launch the long-awaited electric pickup CyberTruck.
The detailed parameters and release date of the CyberTruck were announced at the press conference, and the pre-order page was officially launched as soon as the press conference ended. The entire press conference was not long, and the release process was completed in less than half an hour, but there were many easter eggs during the period, which was full of highlights.
Click here to watch the press conference live review
A giant pickup truck that can be driven on Mars
After introducing the performance of CyberTruck, Musk began to show off the "toughness" of this pickup truck. After all, this is the pickup truck he claims to drive on Mars. Cybertruck uses "Ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled Stainless Steel" body material to ensure its safety and strength. This material is also used by Space X to build its StarShip.
At the scene, the staff conducted a sledgehammer smash test on the door of the pickup truck, and the result was that the door of the pickup truck was unharmed. Musk then used a video to show how the car body could withstand bullets.
The bulletproof feature of Cybertruck drew applause and cheers from the audience. Musk then said that such a tough pickup truck would naturally not allow the window glass to become a potential vulnerability, so the windows also use bulletproof Tesla Armor Glass. Thus, the most fun (flip) performance test began.
Bulletproof glass? The whole thing collapsed.
Elon Musk grandly introduced the superior performance of Tesla Armor Glass and began to conduct hardness tests on Tesla Armor Glass on site.
They first used small metal balls to test the resistance to falling objects at three different heights. While ordinary glass shattered at the first height, the glass used in the pickup truck was intact, which won cheers from the audience.
Musk then invited an employee to test the car window by throwing a larger metal ball at it, which led to the unexpected rollover.
After the tester's first ball slipped out of his hand, there was a huge crack in the car window, and it even looked like the contact point had been completely penetrated.
The pitcher did not seem to have expected such a result and was at a loss for a moment. Elon Musk hurried back to the center of the stage, and the two looked at the car window and laughed awkwardly. The pitcher added: I may have used a little too much force. He signaled to Elon Musk that he wanted to do it again, and Musk readily agreed, and the climax of the rollover came.
The bowler threw the metal ball at the rear window again, and this time, it also caused severe damage over a large area.
Musk could only force a smile and said, "Okay, It didn't go through... It didn't go through completely."
New research direction of bulletproof glass
In response to such test results, Musk could only awkwardly explain that he used many hard objects to hit the car glass during the test and no problems occurred. He did not know why it failed on site, and then said that he would solve it.
Speaking of bulletproof glass, it is actually a kind of laminated glass that has been processed with special technology. Usually, a layer (or multiple layers) of organic film is added between tempered glass or plexiglass to ensure that when it is impacted by bullets, it will only crack but not break.
Because bulletproof glass is made of different materials, processes, thicknesses, etc., it also has different quality standards. But it can be simply divided into three layers: bearing layer, transition layer and protective layer.
The load-bearing layer uses tempered glass or plexiglass to mitigate impact; the transition layer uses highly tough and impact-resistant organic materials, such as polycarbonate fiber, which can effectively prevent and brake impact; the final protective layer is made of high-strength, high-shock-resistant and high-toughness glass.
Given that there are more and more successful cases of AI in the research and development and production of functional materials, perhaps Musk can try to find a solution from AI.
For example, scientists from Northwestern University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) used machine learning to collect knowledge about material properties from large amounts of data and combined it with sample materials in experiments to determine the materials and processes for making hard glass 200 times faster than conventional methods.
As data is analyzed and refined more deeply, AI algorithms can find new materials with certain properties by inferring observed relationships between composition and function, such as the design of advanced composite materials based on known factors such as crack formation and propagation.
But will Musk, who has always been pessimistic about AI, really be willing to learn from AI? It's hard to say.
Mars Pickup, book now
Although it failed the window bulletproof test, this newly released pickup truck still has many advantages and is full of cyberpunk style, as if it came out of science fiction.
The pickup truck is 5.88 meters long, 2.03 meters wide and 1.93 meters high. It comes in three versions: single-motor rear-wheel drive, dual-motor all-wheel drive and triple-motor all-wheel drive. The range is between 250 miles and 500 miles, and the price is between US$39,900 and US$76,900.
Tesla announced that it expects to start mass production between the end of 2021 and the end of 2022. After the press conference, the reservation website has been opened.Through Tesla's official website, you can make a reservation by paying a deposit of US$100. Domestic users need to pay RMB 1,000.If the user who has made a reservation does not want to purchase, the deposit paid will be fully refunded.
It is worth mentioning that different cities in China have different regulations on pickup trucks on the road, and it is still unknown when Cybertruck will be seen on Chinese roads in the future.
Of course, for Musk, the most important thing is probably to make its bulletproof glass first.
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