Photo: Prajwal Ullal via Behance
Tell us when you're finished laughing so we can actually talk about this rendering. Yes, it's a little absurd - maybe even very absurd at this time - but do you think tractors will continue to work on diesel engines forever?
The diesel made a lot of sense for farm work due to its high torque delivery at very low rpm, but do you know what does an even better job at that? Of course you do, we've been banging on about how EVs have their max torque available from zero rpm for years, which means probably even your dog knows about it.
However, the electric powertrain does pose a few problems if it's to make its way onto the chassis of a tractor. For one thing, it'll be heavy, and you don't want heavy equipment compacting the soil you work so hard to keep aerated. On the other hand, big diesel engines are heavy as well whereas electric motors tend not to be. Plus, tractors are among the few vehicles that will sometimes have weight added on purpose - the counterweights placed on its front end to offset the weight of the equipment they carry. A clever designer could easily find a way to replace those with batteries for increased working time.
Another problem is the inability to recharge the vehicle in the field. You can strap a tank on a pickup and fill it with diesel, drive out in the field and refuel the tractor to minimize downtime. You won't be able to do that with an electric tractor, and even if you had a mobile battery or a generator, it would take time. That's one issue that won't be solved that easily and is probably why we'll continue to see diesel tractors for the time being.
At some point, though, Musk is going to get tired of eating cucumbers that were sowed using diesel tractors and have his team come up with an electric one. It's similar to Porsche's or Lamborghini's stories, only in reverse.
When it does, we could see the Tesla Cybertruck design making a comeback, which is what Prajwal Ullal, the author of this rendering, also seemed to think back in 2019 when he designed the Cybertractor. John Deere has taken the bright green, Case the red, Kubota the orange, New Holland the blue, and JCB the yellow, but no tractor manufacturer has yet called dibs on silver. The path is clear, Elon. And the cucumbers are dirty.
However, the electric powertrain does pose a few problems if it's to make its way onto the chassis of a tractor. For one thing, it'll be heavy, and you don't want heavy equipment compacting the soil you work so hard to keep aerated. On the other hand, big diesel engines are heavy as well whereas electric motors tend not to be. Plus, tractors are among the few vehicles that will sometimes have weight added on purpose - the counterweights placed on its front end to offset the weight of the equipment they carry. A clever designer could easily find a way to replace those with batteries for increased working time.
Another problem is the inability to recharge the vehicle in the field. You can strap a tank on a pickup and fill it with diesel, drive out in the field and refuel the tractor to minimize downtime. You won't be able to do that with an electric tractor, and even if you had a mobile battery or a generator, it would take time. That's one issue that won't be solved that easily and is probably why we'll continue to see diesel tractors for the time being.
At some point, though, Musk is going to get tired of eating cucumbers that were sowed using diesel tractors and have his team come up with an electric one. It's similar to Porsche's or Lamborghini's stories, only in reverse.
When it does, we could see the Tesla Cybertruck design making a comeback, which is what Prajwal Ullal, the author of this rendering, also seemed to think back in 2019 when he designed the Cybertractor. John Deere has taken the bright green, Case the red, Kubota the orange, New Holland the blue, and JCB the yellow, but no tractor manufacturer has yet called dibs on silver. The path is clear, Elon. And the cucumbers are dirty.
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