Tesla Semi with 500 miles range is ready for orders

14 May 2022
After a very long wait Tesla finally opened up order books for the Semi and released some technical specifications together with prices ‘ let’s have a look at those.

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Answerfish, 16 May 2022500 miles and then a charge but where? Back at the home terminal or at the destination that is... moreTo start off yeah, charging will be limited to a few routes but as the fleet grows I'm sure Tesla will do what they are really good at - expand the charger network really fast. They have a lot of experience in that.

Alex, 16 May 2022Actual hauling weight may be 50%. Charging to 100% will take 3 hours at best. Fast charging ... moreI made a mistake in my last reply - you are absolutely right about the weight of the truck and the load - Semi is rated for 80,000 lbs total, including the truck and load. The 600kWh battery pack weighs 8,000 lbs (3,629 kg) so that alone is 10 percent of the total weight. For comparison a "traditional" unladen truck with sleeper cab weighs about 25,000 lbs, lightest and shortest cab probably weighs around 10,000 lbs - I guess if Tesla manages to keep the weight around 25,000 lbs it won't be much of a difference.

Iain, 16 May 2022A tonne is 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) A ton is 2,000 pounds. The article reads like it was... moreIain - the tonne was intended ;) thanks for explaining

Anonymous, 15 May 202280,000lbs is 30 tonnes, not 36. The maximum weight of a semi truck with load also just so happ... moreMy bad - I should have explained it better, I'm sorry! Here goes:

We have three different tonnes :)
- A TONNE is metric and it weighs exactly 1,000kg (or 2,204.62 lbs)
- A TON can be "short" at exactly 2,000 lbs (or 907.1847 kg) - this is the US ton
- A LONG TON (imperial ton) is 2,240 lbs (or 1,016.047 kg)

Sorry about the confusion - I'll refer to it from now on as "metric ton"

So - 80,000 lbs is 36,287.4 kg which makes it just over 36 metric tons. And you are absolutely right - we don't know the weight of the truck itself hence the 80,000 lbs limit can mean anything, let's hope the truck won't weigh half of that as someone already sugegsted.

Alex, 16 May 2022Actual hauling weight may be 50%. Charging to 100% will take 3 hours at best. Fast charging ... moreI believe the actual cargo rating is 80,000 lbs. I see people say that the range is not enough but in US the truck driver can only for 60 hours in 7 consecutive days, in Europe it's 9 hours a day - that's about 500 miles a day, you can push it, you can juggle your hours and the rest but still overall your daily is around 500 miles or a bit more. As for low temps charging and performance - again it's all about hours. In freezing temps with snow and ice you won't do much more than 200 miles in allotted time. It's all down to changing the way we drive and I know a lot of truckers are worried about their pay, I worry as well. Companies will benefit from electric trucks but will they pass on the savings?

nick4wheelin, 16 May 2022If most otr drivers can do 600-650 miles a day but have plenty of fuel left over for idling pr... moreYou're absolutely right - it always boils down to infrastructure. A while back Elon was floating the idea of trucks handing over the load along the route, say at designated depot where driver that just brought the load in can rest and recharge, while the load carries onto destination with another tuck. Once the initial truck is charged up it goes back to its origin with another load. Can you imagine the logistics change needed for that to work? BUT it can work. I know truckers get paid per mile they drive but the running costs can be halved - can the drivers get paid more? Unlikely knowing the reality. The world is changing and as much as we dislike it we gotta go with it, emissions or not - we are running out of dino juice anyway (apparently)

  • Anonymous

You just lost so many customers by only putting one seat up front

  • Isu

I want trying to driving

  • Anonymous

MaxMcDee, 16 May 2022Hey Trucker - if you 600 then 500 mile trip sure is shorter but it means less driving and than... moreLess miles less money the hell with more rested driver

If most otr drivers can do 600-650 miles a day but have plenty of fuel left over for idling probably (1500 mi range) traffic, inclement weather, or waiting to load/unload I don't see a max of 500 miles being good enough. However if you are a regional driver who will be taking the truck back to the company yard everyday then it may work out. Don't forget to plug it up!

The 300 mile range loaded truck, that's kind of ridiculous. As the batteries get older 300 mi will become unachievable. I don't know where you're going to find a mega charger or whatever they were calling it for semis on the open road. Until there is good infrastructure and an extremely fast charge, there's not much to talk about for a lot of truckers out there.

  • Alex

Actual hauling weight may be 50%. Charging to 100% will take 3 hours at best. Fast charging takes 1hour up to 70% or 350 miles range. Cold weather goes down to 250 miles. Constant fast charging will reduce the capacity of the battery permanently. They need to be parked away from other vehicles or be placed in special fireproof separators.

  • Iain

Bobby bones, 16 May 2022Actually it's 40 tons, 2000 pounds=1 tonA tonne is 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) A ton is 2,000 pounds. The article reads like it was originally written in another language and translated to English so it’s difficult to know if tonne or ton was intended. That being said, 80,000 pounds is, indeed, 36 tonnes.

  • Bobby bones

Anonymous, 15 May 202280,000lbs is 30 tonnes, not 36. The maximum weight of a semi truck with load also just so happ... moreActually it's 40 tons, 2000 pounds=1 ton

  • Bobby bones

Anonymous, 16 May 2022Took $100 some time ago. Nice design, now when they crash they're gonna get squashed like the old cab overs🤣🤣

  • Answerfish

MaxMcDee, 16 May 2022Hey Trucker - if you 600 then 500 mile trip sure is shorter but it means less driving and than... more500 miles and then a charge but where? Back at the home terminal or at the destination that is equiped to charge it. This is only going to work for very specific routes. Not a game changer.

  • Anonymous

Took $100 some time ago.

Trucker, 16 May 2022I'm a otr trucker and most are not going to like this truck. I personally think it looks ... moreHey Trucker - if you 600 then 500 mile trip sure is shorter but it means less driving and than in turn means more rested driver. More rested driver more safety :) ATM you have to do 600 miles a day to make trucking viable, with the electric truck and lower costs that is no longer a must. Wallets will speak here, having a truck that pays for itself in 2 years makes huge difference - you know that 😉

  • Lamia

Tesal's are awesome I have 6,789

  • Trucker

I'm a otr trucker and most are not going to like this truck. I personally think it looks great. However, the range is very limiting and really a obstacle to overcome. I drive up to 600 miles a day. Many drive more. I see only local drivers interested in this truck.

  • Anonymous

If you drive your Tesla truck to the Texas Highway Department inspection station to take your driving test, where does the examiner sit?

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