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Tesla Will Reveal Its Electric Semi Truck in September (techcrunch.com)
From a report: Elon Musk just let us know when we'll get a look at the electric semi truck that he's teased in the past: The Tesla transport vehicle will be revealed in September, the CEO said on Twitter on Thursday, noting that the team has "done an amazing job" and that the vehicle is "seriously next level." Plans at Tesla for an electric semi truck have been in the works for a while now: The vehicle was first mentioned back in July of 2016, when Musk revealed part 2 of his fabled "master plan" for his electric vehicle company. The Tesla Semi, as Musk called it, is designed to help reduce the cost of cargo transportation, and improve safety for drivers, according to the CEO at the time.
I say to Tesla: Reduce the complexity and(or) the gimmickry and see cash flow into your coffers. Folks, how about creating a near "normal" car with better range and more competitive pricing?
I for one know I'd be a sure customer. I also know that I am not alone. Who needs a car whose handles will pop out? These get "stuck" sometimes...and in a dusty environment, it gets worse!!
If the trailer is full of batteries you don't have room for that cargo.
It doesn't have to be "full" of batteries. If you devote 5% of the space to batteries, you can have a 1000 mile range.
If it takes one hour to recharge after 6 hours of driving, that is a total of four hours/day of downtime. With a human driver, the max legal limit is 11 hours per day of driving, followed by at least 10 hours of downtime. So the SDT has less total downtime, faster deliveries, and no driver to pay.