Tesla Model U (Pickup) Renders & Speculation From Truck Trend

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What will Tesla’s eventual pickup truck model look like? What sorts of features will it include? What sort of specs? What will the name be?

The commentator “igotzzoom” on the Tesla Motors Club forum, who is also a staff editor at Truck Trend magazine, recently shared an article and rendering speculating on these matters. The rendering seemed worth sharing — at least to get the ideas running.

First off, the article goes with “Model U” for the name — standing for “Utility.” That seems like a fair possibility, but I’d personally guess that a different name would be chosen (I’ve got no guesses that I would stand by though).

As far as the renders, they are certainly interesting but I remain unconvinced — they don’t seem to have quite the same design styling as Tesla’s other models have. Some things in the lines and curves doesn’t seem quite right to me. But I can’t say I could create a better rendering. (Note that the renderings are “the result of more than three months of artistic collaboration and creative imagination.”) What do you think of the Truck Trend attempt?

The article itself features some interesting speculation, so without further ado here are some highlights:

• “We expect the Model U to have an incredible frunk. Behind the ‘T,’ we expect the frunk on the Model U to incorporate commodious storage in standard form. We expect it to offer multiple USB, 12V, and 120V outlets and wet/dirty storage with a drain plug. Aftermarket drop-in accessories could include charging stations for cordless tool batteries, a refrigerator cabinet similar to that from companies like ARB and Engle, and multiple organization trays.”
• “Because it’s electrically powered, Tesla’s truck doesn’t have to rely on a conventional driveshaft and solid rear axle. For this application we expect in-wheel motors, which is the next logical evolution of Tesla’s technology. This would allow the bed to be far deeper than a normal truck’s, down to a height where tall or bulky items could simply be rolled into the bed. This would be a welcome feature for powersports enthusiasts. For models equipped with the built-in air compressor, air hose connections would be located behind a panel inside the bed for filling tires, blowing off dusty bikes or quads, or running air tools for repairs, as would multiple 12V, 120V, and 240V power outlets. We envision Tesla’s truck to be the hub of the job site. To keep from depleting the battery from a full day of using air tools hooked up to the truck and the wireless tool battery chargers, the truck will have a heavy-duty power input port to hook up to jobsite power.”

• “Everyone was wowed when the Super Duty’s 6.7L Power Stroke Diesel was updated with 440 hp and 860 lb-ft of torque and the Ram 3500 got 900 lb-ft. Expect the top-spec Tesla truck to easily have that much torque and an unassisted towing capacity of 10,000 pounds. It would be the quickest-accelerating factory fullsize truck available. A 5-second flat unloaded 0–60 time is likely.”
• “To that end, expect the Model U to have a base-level battery pack with a capacity of about 120 kWh and a top-level unit of around 160 kWh. That’s about double that of the Tesla Model S, resulting in some extra range to ease owners’ woes.” (Author’s note: I am very skeptical of this assertion, but figured it was worth including to spur conversation.)
• “We expect the starting price to be around $60,000 to $70,000 for a basic crew cab all-wheel-drive model. Tesla’s version of the King Ranch or Denali will likely be in the $100,000 to $150,000 range.”

What do you think? Are many, or any, of these speculations likely to resemble what actually ends up being released?