Tesla should make this electric van, rendered by a visual artist, based on the Tesla Semi right now. In fact, it should have made it four years ago.
A Tesla electric van, minibus, or people-mover has been in the works for a long time.
In the “Tesla Master Plan Part 2,” CEO Elon Musk talked about two new segments Tesla is looking to electrify:
In addition to consumer vehicles, there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport. Both are in the early stages of development at Tesla and should be ready for unveiling next year. We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate.
That was back in 2016. The automaker did end up unveiling the Tesla Semi, which was plagued with delays, but it is now finally making it to volume production.
The “high passenger-density” vehicle was never unveiled.
Tesla has talked about it several times. There were rumors of Tesla working on one for the Boring Company, but if it was true, they have yet to make anything public.
In 2021, Musk even talked about Tesla building an electric van with a solar-powered deployable roof. It also hasn’t happened.
Now, Dominic Brinkmann, a young visual artist from Germany, has imagined what a Tesla electric camper van could look like, and it’s pretty dope:
It’s obviously heavily inspired by the Tesla Semi design, but I think it looks awesome.
Dominic even came up with an online configurator with some specs for the Tesla van:
With over 400 miles of range, it might be a bit on the optimistic side, but one can dream.
Electrek’s Take
This makes so much sense to me. I previously reported that I believed one of Tesla’s biggest weaknesses is that, unlike most other automakers who are able to juggle several new vehicle programs at the same time, Tesla focuses just on one, and sometimes, it is the wrong one.
I positively reviewed the Cybertruck, which I find to be an interesting product with its drive-by-wire, rear-steering, 48-volt architecture, and so on. However, it certainly caused this “gap” between “growth waves” that Tesla blames for its lack of growth at the month.
It created a 5 to 6-year gap between new high-volume vehicle programs.
I think a highly configurable electric van platform would have been a better product to work on. Tesla could have started with a similar commercial version for cargo – taking advantage of its electric powertrain expertise.
This would have the potential to be popular in all of Tesla’s markets, including North America, Europe, and Asia.
Top comment by Swallow_Doretti
Tesla making a full-size van to compete with something like the Ford Transit is laughable. The Transit's success isn't just about the vehicle itself, but the massive ecosystem Ford has spent decades cultivating around the product. A single plumber can work with a trained service advisor to build out a custom-spec van using a variety of third-party upfit suppliers with which Ford has relationships, then finance the whole build through Ford Credit. A plumbing company can do it with 20, taking advantage of dedicated sales and service advisors to ensure customer satisfaction and maximum uptime. Same with luxury shuttles for movie stars, or RVs for the #vanlife crowd, or even cutaways like ambulances.
Tesla's culture -- derived from Musk's belief that he's the smartest guy in the room, despite all evidence to the contrary these days -- is simply not set up to work the way the corporate van customers demand.
Tesla could have secured a delivery van deal similar to Rivian with Amazon.
Then, the automaker could have introduced different passenger configurations and even a camper version like these renders. You slap a few solar panels on top and you have an awesome vehicle.
Between the commercial versions, passenger versions, and camper versions, this could be a vehicle program in the several hundred of thousands of units.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments