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Elon Musk has unveiled the Tesla Semi Truck. It supposedly boasts a single-charge range of over 500 miles, more than what analysts had expected. Tesla could begin producing the vehicles by the end of 2019 (assuming it isn't delayed):
The truck can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in five seconds without a trailer, and in 20 seconds when carrying a maximum load of 80,000 pounds, less than a third of the time required for a diesel truck, he said.
He gave no price for the truck but hinted that it would be costly. "Tesla stuff is expensive," Mr. Musk said, drawing another cheer from the crowd, gathered at an airfield outside of Los Angeles. But he also said the electric truck would be less expensive to operate, in part because it has fewer components that require regular maintenance (no engine, transmission or drive shaft). Instead, the truck, called the Tesla Semi, is powered by a giant battery beneath the cab. It has two rear axles, each outfitted with two electric motors, one for each wheel. Its acceleration and uphill speeds will allow it to cover more distance in less time than diesel trucks, he added.
As a result, Tesla is estimating it will cost $1.26 per mile to operate, compared with $1.51 a mile for a diesel truck. The cost can fall further — to 85 cents a mile, according to Tesla — if groups of trucks travel together in convoys, which reduces wind drag. "This beats rail," Mr. Musk said.
In typical Tesla fashion, the truck is a sharp departure from industry norms. The cabin is spacious enough for a driver and passenger to stand. The driver's seat is in the center of the cab, not on the left side. It is flanked by two laptop-size video screens providing navigation and scheduling data as well as images of blind spots and other areas around the truck. It will be equipped with radar sensors, cameras and processors to enable drivers to use a version of Autopilot, the advanced driver-assistance system featured in Tesla cars such as the Model S and the new Model 3.
Tesla will also produce a new version of the Tesla Roadster that can go from 0-60 in 1.9 seconds.
Also at BBC, TechCrunch, and Firstpost.
Pre-conference coverage at Bloomberg
Previously: Tesla Sued Over Alleged Racism; Deliveries Pushed Back; Semi Truck to be Unveiled
(Score: 5, Interesting) by RedBear on Saturday November 18 2017, @09:06AM (4 children)
That seems like a pointless loss of functional flexibility that would cause a drastic price increase. Battery costs are still the main expense in an EV, even for Tesla. The semi already has a 1,000kWh battery (I've heard) that will require new Tesla "Megacharger" stations delivering 1.5MW to charge in a reasonable time. As it is designed it will handle deliveries up to 250 miles from origin without needing to recharge until it returns. It's not really made for long-hauling as much as it's made for the kind of local and regional route that around 80% of the trucks on the road are actually doing. Making it only useful for hauling full containerized loads wouldn't make much sense. But when the charging network is built out sufficiently even the long-haul routes will be do-able. 400 miles of range after a 30-minute break is nothing to sneeze at.
But what's just as interesting as the vehicle itself is Musk saying that every Tesla Megacharger station for these trucks will be completely solar powered, off-grid, and backed by the industrial Tesla PowerPacks, with a guaranteed network-wide energy cost of 7¢/kWh. So if you have a fleet of Tesla semis they will be powered completely by sunlight (which you can brag about to your clients, and they can brag about to their customers) and your "fuel" costs won't be fluctuating the way diesel costs jump around from year to year and region to region. For trucking companies with routes that can be handled by this vehicle, it would seem to be a no-brainer to make the shift. Fleet operators all over the country are probably creaming their jeans over the idea that they would be able to predict per-mile fuel costs accurately years into the future. That's impossible with diesel.
Imagine all the routes across mountain ranges where diesel trucks can only do 40mph on the way up and a Tesla semi can maintain 60-65mph all the way to the top, and then the Tesla maintains speed down the other side by using regen braking instead of burning up brake pads. On certain mountain routes a Tesla semi with its insane torque (unaffected by elevation) will be able to get the load to the destination in half the time of the best diesel truck available. And then return with another load. Recharge, rinse, repeat. Cha-ching! That's money in the bank for the trucking company. And the costs they were presenting during the event were supposedly best-case for diesel and worst-case for the Tesla semi. In a lot of applications the cost savings could make it ludicrous to continue to choose diesel.
The Tesla semi won't be a perfect fit everywhere, but it will absolutely murder diesel trucks in many areas. The only question is whether Tesla can really make a truck that will have minimal breakdowns for a million miles, as they are promising, and if they can build out the Megacharger network fast enough. The demonstration of their windshield not even cracking when hit with a trailer hitch was also very interesting. I want to know more about that glass they're using.
¯\_ʕ◔.◔ʔ_/¯ LOL. I dunno. I'm just a bear.
... Peace out. Got bear stuff to do. 彡ʕ⌐■.■ʔ
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 18 2017, @10:07AM (1 child)
80% of the world's freight moves in 40-foot containers. Another 10% goes in 20-foot and 53-foot containers. Lots of the rest goes nicely on flatbeds. There are even tank containers.
Another trouble with the fifth-wheel coupling is that Tesla can't usefully put stuff on the back. Tesla wants to have cameras and radar for self-driving features, but the back becomes a huge blind spot when it is supplied by a cheap-ass third party.
(Score: 3, Touché) by MostCynical on Saturday November 18 2017, @02:06PM
You do know trucks drive *forward*, don't you?
The human drive may have to park, reverse into docks, and similar, but driving down the highway, even changing lanes, is done now, without sensors or cameras on the trailer. If a human with mirrors can do it, ir and laser and whatever sensors mounted higher, further out (where you can't put mirrors, let alone a driver), means this thing will be fine hauling any old trailer (stopoing distances may be impacted)
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday November 18 2017, @02:51PM (1 child)
Maybe. We'll see what sort of heating problems these vehicles develop.
(Score: 2) by RedBear on Monday November 20 2017, @03:38AM
Well, I am looking forward to seeing real-world stress tests of 80k loads back and forth over the Eisenhower Pass. But I'm optimistic based on the demonstrated towing capabilities of the Model X. Bjørn Nyland, of YouTube fame, has been towing a lot of heavy things since he won a very early production Model X. His only major problem in 100,000 kilometers with the vehicle was finally tracked down to an abraded CANBUS wire that was installed improperly. Certainly things heat up while towing up a slope but the vehicle's cooling system seemed to handle it well, ramping down from maximum very quickly after the vehicle stopped. The design of Tesla's cooling/heating system is quite advanced.
If Tesla can't take their experience with people towing 5,000 lbs with the Model X CUV and make a semi that won't overheat under real world loads, they deserve to fail. The trucking companies operate on such slim profit margins that they won't stand for an incompetently designed vehicle. I'm confident Musk understands this, and the compactness of the EV drivetrain leaves plenty of room for heavy duty cooling options. We'll see in 2.5 years how they hold up.
¯\_ʕ◔.◔ʔ_/¯ LOL. I dunno. I'm just a bear.
... Peace out. Got bear stuff to do. 彡ʕ⌐■.■ʔ