The Tesla Cybercab is basically a 2004 Volvo YCC without a rear window?

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Zakmackraken@reddit

I’m only coming up to speed but isn’t a 2 door low coupe the least practical shape for a taxi?

And..um…the best shape for a 2 door low coupe sports car?

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JCDU@reddit

London Taxis are the best shape for a taxi. This is just Musk jerking himself off over some sci-fi bullshit he thinks is a good idea.

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nightswimsofficial@reddit

If he didn't have such a good PR team back in the day and fan boys who are too moronic to adapt their views, I feel like Tesla would be a gigantic pile of rubble by now.

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Nah when they first started they were actually pushing the industry forward because you can do that if you're a billionaire on a mission - the trouble is no-one told him when to stop with the mad sci-fi shit so Tesla have squandered the lead they had and wasted god knows how much on self-driving and the cybertruck and other gimmicks rather than concentrating on just making really good EV's, and now companies who know how to actually make good cars have worked out how to put batteries & motors into cars that were already good.

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TorqueRollz@reddit

I think it looks pretty cool, honestly. But not for a taxi. at all.

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JCDU@reddit

Yeah the shape is decent although if Tesla make it it will likely have some stupid bullshit like scissor doors that break because Musk can't leave well enough alone.

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BraveStrategy@reddit

Those London black cabs are elite and those drivers shit on everyone and everywhere else. Absolutely best functionality. Climate controlled. You can’t smell the driver. They’re protected by plexiglass AND they’re extremely knowledgeable!

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the_jak@reddit

They have to pass a ridiculously difficult exam to prove their knowledge. Gods I wish Americans valued quality over convenience.

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skucera@reddit

their knowledge.

Isn’t it “The Knowledge”?

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Las-Vegar@reddit

I don't think so, when we one is speaking about a group of peoples knowledge. Also is so important to correct such a fucked up language?

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skucera@reddit

The body of information that London cabbies are required to learn is known as "The Knowledge of London".

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Las-Vegar@reddit

Okey? So taxi driver's need the get ("their" knowledge) tested from an organization called ("the" knowledge of London). You get that grammar Changes on context, right?

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skucera@reddit

it… was a joke? You know, humor?

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Las-Vegar@reddit

What's the humor?

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FesteringNeonDistrac@reddit

I think it is, although I'm not sure if that's the official name or a colloquialism

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ukexpat@reddit

It’s officially The Knowledge.

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GarfieldLeChat@reddit

Learning the knowledge actually makes your brain bigger !!

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GadFlyBy@reddit

The Book of Dave taught me that. One if the most fucked up scifi novels I’ve ever read.

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Tough_Money_958@reddit

that's something Douglas Adams could have wrote

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turbochimp@reddit

Bit of a tangent but Will Self's book The Book of Dave is a post-civilisation novel based on the discovery of the journals of a London taxi driver and the creation of a tribal society based upon them as if it were the bible.

It's a bit mad but scratches some of your itch there. If you're not English then some of the language is a bit hard to unpick the etymology of.

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the_jak@reddit

If I’m a disciple of Pratchett and Gaiman will or help with the colloquialisms?

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turbochimp@reddit

It certainly wouldn't hurt! I've lost my copy but I think it has a glossary.

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JustaBitBrit@reddit

My uncle is a cabbie in London, and cut his teeth on the Knowledge in the late 80s/early 90s.

To say it’s ridiculously difficult is somewhat of an understatement.

He had to know upwards of 20,000 streets, and tens of thousands of landmarks from memory. The actual exam involved a proctor asking you to take them from X building to Y building (again, from memory in an exam room), and tell them exactly what landmarks are on the way, what roads to take, and what speeds you would be going on said roads.

It is unreal how difficult it is, and how much know-how it requires to pass.

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HeavyElectronics@reddit

During a couple periods in the mid to late 1980s I drove a taxicab in a small town in the U.S. I had to acquire a chauffeur's license and pass a physical exam, and I drove a fleet car that was radio dispatched. The job used to be a full time career.

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Shotgun5250@reddit

There was a time that we did. Or most of us did. It’s why “made in America” was something that people shopped around for, because they could expect that it would last longer than the products made overseas.

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JCDU@reddit

And wheelchair accessible, insane turning circle, room for the legally mandated bale of hay...

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cat_prophecy@reddit

Yeah the London taxi is designed from the ground up to be a taxi, not adapted from something else.

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domalino@reddit

Designed from the ground up based on 300+ years of history. If you look at a 17th century Hackney carriage and a London black cab, apart from replacing the horse with an engine it’s pretty much the same shape.

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happystamps@reddit

I did a lot of work on the new London Taxi. That turning angle is truly incredible-if you sit on the wrong side of the back seat, you go backwards at first on a full lock, really makes you queasy.

The side loads acting on the wheel involved in working at that angle are also insane, and took a lot of development to make all the links and mounts strong enough so they wouldn't bend or break stuff.

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chris_ngale@reddit

I'm so glad we ended up with these and not those hideous Nissan van disasters!

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NachoNachoDan@reddit

wait what now about a bale of hay?

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rlnrlnrln@reddit

ThIs guy doesn't know about the bale of hay

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n_choose_k@reddit

Probably doesn't know how to use the three shells either...

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PolyDrew@reddit

angry upvote

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PointyDogElbows@reddit

I've only seen the London cabs in various short films, but they do seem very spacious inside.

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BraveStrategy@reddit

They’re the best. They have either tons of cargo room or fold down chairs so you can fit more people without getting another cab. Definitely purpose built!!

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Phendrana-Drifter@reddit

Glad I don't get taxis if they shit on everything

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BloodWorried7446@reddit

A London cabbie finds their way around London better than any google map.

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7LeagueBoots@reddit

The tests needed to become a London taxi driver are insane.

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Riverrat423@reddit

I think a minivan is the best design for a taxi. They have passenger room and cargo space for luggage.

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Double_Anybody@reddit

I heard something like 90% of Uber rides are single passenger so it makes sense.

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M1RR0R@reddit

Could've made it easier to get in and out of. What about cargo? Where would I put a suitcase?

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ocmaddog@reddit

Well that will come in handy when they have to manufacture it with a steering wheel because they can’t get Full Self Driving to work

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josherman61791@reddit

Honda CR-Z would have been a terrible taxi.

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JuneBuggington@reddit

Yeah seems odd but i imagine there isnt supposed to be a driver so probably works in 90% of situations

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Upper-Coconut5249@reddit

The back seats might be computing power

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yarrpirates@reddit

That's a fucking stupid shape for a taxi. Getting in and out will be slow and awkward without a back door.

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monbis@reddit

Yup - also it’s so low slung that it’d be hard to get in and out of , especially for people with limited mobility.

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monbis@reddit

Yup - also it’s so low slung that it’d be hard to get in and out of , especially for people with limited mobility.

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BadgercIops@reddit

also it's not colored yellow which is the color that all taxis are SUPPOSED to be

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lasskinn@reddit

The gimmick is that you sit in the front, i guess.

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yarrpirates@reddit

Oh, because it's a robot car? No driver? That's cool, I guess. No controls on the dash means more room. Although I'd prefer a sort of moving loungeroom approach, this is probably more easy to build safety features into.

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robotzor@reddit

Getting in has access for days. It's Model X-like in that the whole door swings up and open. There is no back.

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michaelflux@reddit

It’s not that they’re stealing/copying, it’s simply that when you optimise for the same factors (aerodynamics and crash/safety regulations), you end up with the effectively the same shape, which is why more or less all of these cars look the same going back as far as late 90s with the first gen Honda Insight.

Same reason why all commercial airplanes look approximately the same - all optimised for aerodynamics + capacity.

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plumbbacon@reddit

Why does a taxi need to worry about aerodynamics? These are meant to be city cars. They should be shaped like a London Taxi.

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michaelflux@reddit

Air doesn’t appear only at 60+ mph. Any reduction in drag = increase in range = increase in number of hours a taxi is on the road instead of at a charging station.

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plumbbacon@reddit

Of course But it doesn’t really matter to a vehicle below 25 mpg.

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qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit

This is demonstrably false

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SjalabaisWoWS@reddit (OP)

You're definitely correct and I'm not really here to drag Tesla down. It's just a very, very striking similarity from size to some of the design elements, right down to the choice of colour. The YCC looks less "20 years old" today than it did yesterday.

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Wonderful_Relief_693@reddit

Omg I can’t un see it

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SirGirthfrmDickshire@reddit

Not gonna lie. I'd totally drive that Volvo, and swap it with Tesla badges.

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koenienl@reddit

The best electric cab already exists! https://www.levc.com/

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SjalabaisWoWS@reddit (OP)

Owned by Geely which also owns Volvo. The circle is completed!

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koenienl@reddit

But still a better cab than the one from Tesla

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SjalabaisWoWS@reddit (OP)

Yeah, of course, purpose built to accommodate any kind of customer. I'm not sure where Tesla is heading with the above, but I suppose it's for 1-2 people in inner cities. A different idea, really.

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koenienl@reddit

So basically Elon wants to make a cab that has no features people with a cab need?

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JJ_0241@reddit

YCC means Your Concept Car

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Audience-Electrical@reddit

Thanks for reminding me how cool Volvo is.

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MichaelTheLMSBoi@reddit

Wheres the fucking wimdow

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Jlx_27@reddit

Its just Tesla being forced to show off things they may never actually put on the market. The event came with a fine print that basically explains all these products may never see the light of day in the form shown or at all.

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herodesfalsk@reddit

Visually similar but not at all the same. The proprtions on the Volvo is much better

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95yells@reddit

the volvo looks better imo. the tesla is too thin and looks weird to me because of that

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nightbell@reddit

A dead ringer! 2004 Volvo YCC

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513_broken_prophet@reddit

He's done away with all the talent Mark Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard brought in and cultivated, and they're now down to a mix of China level content recycling and shitty memes as production vehicles.

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MajorEbb1472@reddit

It’s fugly is what it is.

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doob22@reddit

Don’t worry, the actual production version will be even shittier

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SjalabaisWoWS@reddit (OP)

Well, I'm not even saying it's shitty, it's actually pretty hot.

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Jabba_the_Putt@reddit

Tesla has ripped off more than a few designs sadly

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CerberaSpeed12@reddit

I just notice a resemblance between Model S and Alfa Romeo Visconti, can you explain me about the rest?

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HeeHeeMean@reddit

what? no dude they don't look the same at all apart from both looking wacky

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Ruepic@reddit

I honestly don’t see the resemblance, other than the silver door handles.

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yiliu@reddit

Lol, what? More than other car companies? Tesla are just about the most unique cars on the road, while most cars look almost indistinguishable. The frickin cybertruck is unique-looking to the point that it's ridiculous. Inside their cars, they did away with all dials, buttons and levers, so the interior is completely unlike other cars--much to the annoyance of drivers.

Of all the car companies on earth, Tesla is just about the last you could scold about copying. I get it, Musk is a fucking tool, but that doesn't mean that literally every complaint about anything he's ever touched is accurate.

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gthomps83@reddit

I drew that Cybertruck when I was eight years old and discovered protractors, so I think you’re right.

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BavarianBanshee@reddit

Americans will do literally anything to not use trains.

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Rogue-Squadron@reddit

Good god just when I thought Tesla couldn’t produce any car uglier than the cybertruck

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Flapu7@reddit

Not really

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LordBunnyWhale@reddit

How can something look this mind-numbingly boring and agonizingly hideous at the same time?

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pun_shall_pass@reddit

I understand the people who say the cybertruck looks bad. But this looks genuinely nice and sleek

Are really going to tell me that this looks "agonizingly hideous" to you with a straight face? Really? The BMW M3 exists and you say this is hideous?

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OkiDokiPanic@reddit

Aside from the stainless steel making it look unfinished and the lack of a rear window, those hubcaps are probably the ugliest ones I've ever seen. They legit look like the underside of a cooking pot lid.

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plumbbacon@reddit

Why do you care what it looks like? You don’t own it. You get in it to get home from the bars.

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robotzor@reddit

It must be exhausting to hate everything all the time but people here do it for free nonstop

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the_jak@reddit

Well it is an Elon musk product.

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connectedLL@reddit

Looks like a 'car from the future' in a 80's/90's movie depicting our dystopian future.

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701_PUMPER@reddit

Please tell me I’m not supposed to get in and out of the back of that thing. Fuck that.

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SjalabaisWoWS@reddit (OP)

You're not, it's self driving and you're supposed to sit up front.

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OkiDokiPanic@reddit

I would rather walk along the freeway than get into a self-driving Tesla. Seems safer.

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morbiiq@reddit

That's one way to say "vaporware"

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OkiDokiPanic@reddit

Yup. Can't wait for the Thunderf00t video about this one\~

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neophlegm@reddit

NEXT YEAR. DON'T YOU WORRY... THEY'LL BE COMING NEXT YEAR

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crashdout@reddit

Why does a robotaxi have a steering wheel?

Will I be taxiing myself around suddenly have to grab the wheel when the FSD tries to throw itself under a bus?

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RemoteLocal@reddit

Wow.. at this point I'm waiting to hear Moscow muskie stole from his own children..

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apuckeredanus@reddit

Looks like the tesla photo was taken at the universal back lot

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Higdec@reddit

Close, Warner Brothers backlot:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm29x5ke9jdo

The Real Tesla subreddit announced it a while back but I can't find the post right now.

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BadgercIops@reddit

why did they choose the WB backlot? so Elon can hook up with Zaslav in the same bedroom?

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SokkaHaikuBot@reddit

^Sokka-Haiku ^by ^apuckeredanus:

Looks like the tesla

Photo was taken at the

Universal back lot

^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.

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saliczar@reddit

Bad bot

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HairySquatchBalls@reddit

Waymo is out there doing real world testing and carrying actual passengers. I see them all over Phoenix.

Meanwhile Tesla is releasing pretty pictures.

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GadFlyBy@reddit

What do groups of three people do?

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AtomicBombSquad@reddit

The skinniest one sits on the fattest one's lap.

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eppic123@reddit

Good luck getting a family and all their luggage to the airport in that thing.

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hitliquor999@reddit

My thought exactly, they act like nobody takes a taxi to/from the airport.

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Joncka@reddit

The Volvo looks like a modernized Saab Sonett.

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SwornBiter@reddit

“Designers: Watch a load of 10 to 20 year old Sci-Fi movies, and make me some of that!”

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cgieda@reddit

I'm pretty sure those where based on Model 3's

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walkingoogle07@reddit

Ok, so we went from ps1 to ps2 level graphics

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aspen74@reddit

Dunno, to me it looks they merged the worst parts of a Model Y and a Cybertruck together.

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ScottaHemi@reddit

I like the design, it looks cool.

but it should be a production model 3 based sporty coupe. not a freaking taxi...

you want a taxi make a small MPV, like the Canoo EVs or something.

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Less_Party@reddit

Didn't Volvo (or Polestar, which is Volvo wearing glasses and a fake mustache) have their own concept without a rear window like last year?

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Bamres@reddit

I didn't know about this Volvo concept but was thinking that the design reminded me of polestar or something other than tesla

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Lapis_Wolf@reddit

At least it looks somewhat more in place than the Cybertruck.

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dallatorretdu@reddit

if they make it longer it morphs into an Aston

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Icy-Creme@reddit

Looks more similar to a terrible mockery of the VW XL1

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SjalabaisWoWS@reddit (OP)

Yeah, it’s similar to the 2009-2016 design, but the VW hid its real wheels and was much lower and longer. Imho, the YCC carries stronger similarities.

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SjalabaisWoWS@reddit (OP)

its real wheels

Proof reading. Rear wheels. Aerodynamics explains a lot of the design, but there are a few elements here...and the colour, not least! :P

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Living_Bumblebee4358@reddit

In the world of "Artificial" "intelligence", BEHOLD: the imaginary wheels.

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Icy-Creme@reddit

I can't wait to see this become a fustercluck like the Polygone-awry

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M4NOOB@reddit

They did make it look better than the Volvo though. I kinda like it, they should release the Model 3 Cybertruck mashup as a regular car and not robotaxi

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zilog88@reddit

To be fair YCC concept is 20 years old as of today. I'd say it's a praise to their design, that tesla took almost all of it and it doesn't look off nowadays.

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SjalabaisWoWS@reddit (OP)

My thoughts exactly. Which is why it fits this sub so well, a rather obscure concept car sort of resurfacing - despite the obvious aerodynamic restraints shaping most of it.

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TreyUsher32@reddit

No joke I thought those pics were of the same car at first view LOL thats crazy

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CatOnKeyboardInSpace@reddit

Not really r/WierdWheels material.

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SjalabaisWoWS@reddit (OP)

It's two concept cars, which have their own category here, and comparisons between them is what we do here all the time, at "wierd" wheels.

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cat_prophecy@reddit

I'm getting more /r/ShittyCarMods vibes.

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AggressorBLUE@reddit

Tesla CyberTrunk?

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TheGrammatonCleric@reddit

Terrible for over function going on here. Why does it need to look like that if it's self driving? Just make a nice big cuboid.

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SjalabaisWoWS@reddit (OP)

All the existing self driving transport devices do look like cuboids. I guess Tesla's mantra remains S3XY? You're right, though, the only rationale for this design is aerodynamics, which doesn't matter much for city cabs at low speeds.

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