So, hear me out...(a way to kill 2 birds w/one stone?)

[Traveler72]

Hi! Not an engineer, but I work in the EV charging industry, and have some knowledge, but I'm sure many others have more extensive and can advise, as well as if some folks from Slate can weigh in...
Now that there's only the standard battery option, how hard would it be to add a second battery up front for extended range AND to make it AWD kinda like the Dodge Hornet) during the building process? Does the design allow for that possibility? (I apologize for any and all ignorance in advance)

 

[knob]

Every car I've built came in a LEGO box, but starting a new car company sounds easier than adding a battery and second motor to this little pickup.

 

[ScooterAsheville]

For one thing it would throw off the weight distribution something awful - I'm thinking back to the tail-happy early 911 models. For another, a second battery requires more high voltage cabling, liquid cooling, etc. Packaging space is at a premium, so far better to use a better chemistry in the future. And lastly, every option you engineer into the vehicle is a heavy load on certification, crash testing, reliability testing, complexity on the production line.

OEMs go to great lengths to keep cabling short (copper is expensive and heavy). They go to even greater lengths to keep battery weight low and between the wheels.

 

[beatle]

Probably zero. Tesla was going to offer an extended battery for the cybertruck and then abandoned it. Aside from the weight penalty, you'd also be giving up all of the pickup's covered storage. This is assuming it would be low cost, but it would instead be very expensive due to the low take rate. If you just needed more range, you'd be better off with another vehicle.

The Autopian said there's likely room for a front motor at some point.

 

[Traveler72]

According to this article clip, it sounds like they might have already considered the possibility for the future, although this is dated last year (like you were saying @beatle):