Tesla recently unveiled its fully electric heavy duty truck after months of delays and teasers. The Tesla Semi features striking looks and is an ambitious challenge to the haulage industry. In unveiling the all-electric Tesla Semi, Elon musk fulfilled his promise to enter the long-haul transportation sector. What this means for the industry is uncertain, but Tesla’s truck has a lot of potential if it delivers on the company’s promises. A stunning piece of machinery, the Tesla Semi boasts an all-star set of performance specs and stats.
Tesla Semi : A High-Performance All-Electric Truck
By all intents and purposes, the Tesla Semi truck is without doubt a high performance, all-electric heavy duty truck. As the performance stats below show, the new truck is designed to maximise power while keeping energy consumption low. With a claimed $200,000+ in fuel savings alone, presumably annually, companies are already queuing up to place their orders.
Consequently, Tesla is already reporting its first sales of the Tesla Semi. In the days following the Semi’s unveiling a Canadian retailing giant has placed an order for 25 trucks. In addition, Tesla will also be working with American grocery chain Walmart in trials of the new truck.
It would seem the truck’s reported saving on fuel costs and safety are already attracting the big customers Tesla will need to buy its Semi. Initial results show interest in the electric truck is strong and likely to rise as more becomes known about the truck.
Tesla Semi Performance Specs
The initial report looks good. Tesla has clearly been working hard to create the ‘Tesla’ of trucks, so to speak. So far so good. And for those wondering what’s under the hood and how much horsepower it creates, check out a brief overview of the Tesla Semi truck’s performance and specs below:
Details provided by Tesla claim that the Semi has an energy consumption rate of around 2kWh/mi. A drag co-efficient of 0.36 means that the Tesla Semi will be able to go from 0-60 mph in 20 seconds. That acceleration rate is calculated with a load of 80k lbs. In terms of range, Tesla says that the truck can achieve between 300 and 500 miles per charge.
Astonishingly, that range can be achieved by the truck even on a 30-minute fast charge! Those charging points are reportedly going to be solar-powered Megachargers.
Finally, the power-train. There are four independent motors situated on the rear axles. These use very little energy yet can still provide the acceleration and power required by the heavy duty vehicle to both haul heavy loads and cover long distances on electric power.
The Future of Heavy-Duty Trucking
In addition to the above impressive performance stats and specs, Tesla Semi’s also have another trick up their wheel arches. The company lauds its Semi’s “Badass performance” for its quick acceleration even when fully loaded. In addition to all this, the trucks seem to have the ability to travel in a convoy formation, something that will help operators make further savings.
Once again Elon Musk is on the brink of disrupting yet another industry. The company has already become one of the leading makers of electric cars. Tesla’s consumer models have limited self- driving capabilities, and the Semi will most likely do so too. If not, then that capability will be something that Tesla can activate once regulation hurdles are cleared. In addition, Elon Musk and Tesla have previously signaled their intention to test autonomous electric trucks on public roads.
That would suggest that once the law changes and the technology is in truck operators will be able to rely more on self-driving capabilities. The Tesla Semi will bring some serious competition for traditional heavy duty vehicle makers from now on. Thankfully, many of them are working on electric vehicles of their own in order to compete. From electric cars to all-electric Semi trucks, its game on, it would seem.
