Tesla's Electric Semi Truck Will Reportedly Get 200-300 Miles Per Charge (reuters.com)

According to Reuters, Tesla next month plans to unveil an electric big-rig truck with a working range of 200 to 300 miles, a sign that the company is targeting regional hauling for its entry into the commercial freight market. From the report: Chief Executive Elon Musk has promised to release a prototype of its Tesla Semi truck next month in a bid to expand the company's market beyond luxury cars. The entrepreneur has tantalized the trucking industry with the prospect of a battery-powered heavy-duty vehicle that can compete with conventional diesels, which can travel up to 1,000 miles on a single tank of fuel. Tesla's electric prototype will be capable of traveling the low end of what transportation veterans consider to be "long-haul" trucking, according to Scott Perry, an executive at Miami-based fleet operator Ryder System. Perry said he met with Tesla officials earlier this year to discuss the technology at the automaker's manufacturing facility in Fremont, California.

Comments

Lots of need for electric (semi) tractors

[mykepredko]

I can see a big need for intra-city hauling of trailers. 100 mile range (with less than 20 minute charge times) would probably be adequate and it would help build the infrastructure for electric vehicles in cities.

It also proves the technology and helps it evolve into longer range tractors. 1,000 miles is 16+ hours of driving, which I don't think is legal in most states/provinces, but 400 to 500 probably is reasonable to allow the driver time to stretch, have a meal, rest, shower while the tractor is recharging. I suspect the 1,000 mile range is to minimize fuel costs which is less of an issue with an electric tractor which should be able to plug in at multiple truck stops.

The technology won't be perfect from the starting gate, but Tesla will learn and be able to build better tractors down the road.

Re:Lots of need for electric (semi) tractors

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny thing all of you 'news for nerds' types didn't think to go actually talk to a trucker before flogging this idiotic idea. News flash: it takes more than a single well made vehicle to make an entire logistics infrastructure. And that's before you get to the hard reality that NO COMMERCIAL TRUCK will EVER sell with it has to shut down for half a day to recharge after 300 miles of driving.

I agree with you about the state of self-driving cars, but electric forklifts are in use all over the world. They don't "shut down for half a day to recharge", they have standby battery packs, and a convenient mechanism to swap out the battery into the charging area. I've seen at least ones where the battery lowers out the bottom onto casters, where it slides onto a rail on the charging rack, and where the user has to lift the battery packs out one at a time (lol), and ones where the forklift drives over the place for the battery to be deposited, disconnects, and you push the forklift onto the next fully charged battery.

If you're telling me a company that builds robotic assembly lines to assemble cars can't design a battery auto-loader/auto-charger to be installed at the owner's depot, well, I just can't believe it.

Also a diesel mechanic has no trouble dropping a diesel powerplant out of a tractor unit, dollying it out of the way, and installing a replacement. With a little bit of ergonomics a very simple battery dolly system could be designed that is compatible with the pallet jacks used at virtually every depot across the country.

Re:Not real useful

[Anonymous Coward]

I have often wondered why Tesla doesn't set a standard battery pack dimensions specification. Why couldn't you simply change battery packs like changing batteries in a flashlight or remote control. Even if the range for an electric long haul truck was 1000 miles you should be able to swap batteries packs in less time than it takes to fill a diesel fuel tank.

Re:100% completely incomptable with modern logisti

[jezwel]

Those "specialised situations" could very well be cities that no longer allow ICE powered trucks to be used within their boundaries. Have depots outside the city for ICE road-train long haul pick-ups and drop-offs, and shuffle the goods onto electric short-haul for travel to/from the final destination within the city borders.

Re:Oh for the love of... LEARN about LOGISTICS mor

[lgw]

There are other uses beside long-haul. I'd expect Tesla would go first for local routes with smaller tractors and lighter trailers: supermarket and chain restaurant deliveries and the like. A fixed route would be the easiest first market for an electric tractor - assuming it's actually cheaper to operate long-term.

Tesla could still have a nice business even if it's only suitable for 5% of semi trucks sold - but I'd be surprised if they would actually be cheaper long-term (i.e., across multiple battery pack replacements, given how long commercial trucks tend to stay in service).

Re:Battery tech still blows

[Anonymous Coward]

Charging will be dirt cheap but a new battery will likely cost 50-80k USD before subsidy and won't last long if the vehicle is used commercially, much less than a car.

$80k is about 40 trips worth of diesel fuel in Europe. If the truck can make 80 trips before the battery wears out (and that's a lousy estimate). If it costs $1k to charge the battery then parity is achieved. If it can make more than 80 trips and costs less than $1k to charge the battery, then it is a net saving.

I think a modern LiFePo battery can take more than 80 charges. I have no idea how much it would actually cost to charge a battery for one of these things, but the fact that they are going into production (and not just at Tesla, but at MAN, Mercedes, DAF, etc.) means it is already an economic win for their customers or they wouldn't be doing it. Trucking companies are not swayed by soft arguments, they are a business and they know exactly how much maintenance, fuel, carbon tax, and capital depreciation are costing them.