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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: 2, Funny) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday November 18 2017, @12:13PM (7 children)
I once drove on a two-lane highway alongside truckers outside of Mobile, Alabama in weather that was so shitty that even maximum windshield wipers couldn't prevent the heavy rain from obscuring my view.
I was driving a small car, and big-rigs were passing me left and right at 90 miles per hour like a walk in the park even though I was white-knuckled scared-shitless. The problem with California faggots, especially those with too much rigteous indignation on their hands, is that they believe that they know fucking everything from their safe little comfortable vantage points, and that they can magically apply their silly mentality everywhere else.
Sure, their trucks would work from Menlo Park to Sunnyvale, but I doubt they'd work as succesfully anywhere else.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday November 18 2017, @01:16PM (1 child)
Hah. You Silicon Valley fucks can mod me down all you want. But I won the battle. You will lose the war!
Best of luck to you, bitches: I will fight you until my dying breath!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 18 2017, @05:07PM
Meds, don't forget to take your meds!
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 18 2017, @02:24PM
> big-rigs were passing me left and right at 90 miles per hour like a walk in the park
Visibility is much better from a higher vantage point. While the lack of visibility from-the-rain is about the same for everyone on the road, the spray-from-vehicles is much worse closer to the ground.
(Score: 3, Informative) by bzipitidoo on Saturday November 18 2017, @05:55PM
A pity those trucks weren't more aerodynamic. More aerodynamic vehicles kick up less spray and wind. And your car would have been affected less by the buffeting if it was more aerodynamic.
So easy to improve aero that a private citizen tinkering in his garage can drastically improve it, even on the best cars available in the US: http://aerocivic.com/ [aerocivic.com] Look at the underside of almost any car, and you'll see all kinds of things that stick out and add to the drag.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 19 2017, @04:33AM (2 children)
I'm wondering if he's thinking ahead and whether these things have slide-in battery packs.
I can see a driver pulling into a depot, grabbing a sandwich and refilling his thermos, and by the time he's back to his rig he's got another 500 miles of range replacing the depleted thing.
I was driving a small car, and big-rigs were passing me
Tim "The Toolman" Taylor: "This needs MORE POWER."
http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=dragstrip+electric.car [google.com]
The biggest problem those guys have is keeping the wheels from smoking.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 20 2017, @01:13AM (1 child)
> slide-in battery packs.
Just in case you check back, this might work in CA and the SW. Here in the NE USA, we have salted roads and things get really ugly in the winter. I don't give battery replacement much of a chance in this part of the world, too much contamination. Not to mention the problem of standardizing battery packs, when the different manufacturers are still improving them with every generation.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 20 2017, @06:39AM
too much contamination
I would expect the battery compartments to be a sealed thing.
Weatherstripping on doors of buildings keeps out the nasty stuff.
Car trunks stay dry.
Passenger compartments too.
I don't see this as being any different.
in the NE USA
Yeah, that will have to be considered.
The initial development is all being done in The Sun Belt.
I expect subsequent generations of the tech, however, to be suitable for wider use.
(The first automobiles were open configurations, unsuitable for winter up north.)
standardizing
Again, second-generation stuff should iron out the fine points.
(The wide adopttion of the IBM PC architecture a few years after the birth of the personal computer was actually an anomaly for an industry.)
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]