The bold statements regarding the Tesla Semi pulling full truckloads for 500 miles on a single charge have been brought into question after PepsiCo relied on limited loads.
As PepsiCo puts the first battery electric tractor to use in California, earlier reported numbers by Tesla may require revision. Recent reports indicate the Tesla Semi is being used to haul Frito-Lay products upwards of 425 miles. After completing the run of relatively lightweight chips, the battery charge was depleted by 80 percent. The company was able to recharge the Class 8 commercial motor vehicle in 45 minutes or less.
“Dragging a trailer full of chips around is not the most intense, tough ask,” Oliver Dixon, senior analyst at consultancy Guidehouse, reportedly said. “I still believe that Tesla has an awful lot to prove to the broader commercial vehicle marketplace.”
PepsiCo Vice President Mike O’Connell reportedly indicated that heavier loads carrying soda products would start out running 100-mile trips. He did go on the record indicating PepsiCo plans to integrate Tesla Semis into a “400 to 500-mile range as well.”
It stands to reason that heavier loads would wear down battery capacity more quickly. That means more frequent stops and recharging downtime. The technology platform, Electrek, appeared puzzled by the report that light loads resulted in such significant battery depletion, given the initial testing of full loads traveling 500 miles.
“But based on the information Tesla released, the truck can still travel 500 miles at 82,000 lbs total weight (truck, trailer, and load) regardless of the actual load capacity. That’s why it’s so strange that PepsiCo says it is limiting trips with sodas to 100 miles,” Electrek stated.
PepsiCo has reportedly started deploying 36 electric Tesla Semis, 15 from Modesto and 21 from Sacramento. The remaining models of PepsiCo’s initial 100-truck order are expected before the New Year.
Sources: cnbc.com, electrek.com, reuters.com
how do they do I’m Montana north Dakota in the winter when it 20 t0 30 or more below
People don’t eat chips in Montana
Oh yes, we do. All the time.
Yeah -34 in Glasgow without the wind-chill factored in today.
Batteries don’t convert their chemical energy to electrical energy fast enough on the cold, plus you gotta expened energy for heat
Not an actual issue when the vehicle is use point to point as these are. The battery is only affected by cold if it gets cold which it won’t in this use. It will either be driving or charging.
That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever read about an EV. These are not lead-acid batteries. They are Lithium based chemistries and Tesla in particular has some of the most robust cold weather EVs on the planet. I’ve had a Tesla in ND for over 4 years and it is less impacted by -30°F than any ICE vehicle made. The battery system in the Tesla Semi Tractor is even more advanced as it is targeting industrial use. Please think outside your comfort zone.
Using electric cars as the model range loss would be in the neighborhood of 30 to 50 percent (depends on battery chemistry and if you park the truck somewhere warm or not). I don’t think you’ll need to worry about seeing too many Tesla trucks for overland transport in our area anytime soon.
The Norwegians are the experts on this subject…They are 90% electric now. They say the electric vehicles have limited range in -20 temps…but they do start and can melt a foot of snow off the car in 1/3 the time as regular vehicles. They are better in cold mountain driving than anyone has ever seen before.
Soda freezes and then becomes pop.
I wonder how much Federal subsidies finaced these these runs? It takes a small substation to recharge a truck – and if the source of electricity is not renewable energy it’s far from being a Green Technology especially when you figure all the inefficiencies in the delivery pipeline to the battery- we don’t see those numbers.
Less than the subsidies for diesel fuel. Even if the electricity is being generated from coal, if you compared diesel emissions per mile vs coal powered electric per mile, it is significantly less pollution to go coal generated electric.
That is incorrect. They have already done the calculations and the EV has a much smaller carbon footprint
When you factor everything in to making the truck and especially the batteries , the diesel truck is much more efficient and better for the environment !
Blah blah.blah.
Someone got triggered by truth. Sorry about your FUD.
Actually those numbers are readily available. Charging an EV from the grid with the present mix of energy sources results in 1/6 the total emissions. And that will only improve.
Why is it people like you can’t figure out that one big power plant is a lot more efficient and less polluting than thousands of individual engines.
I would like to see a video from inside and outside the cab including showing the dashboard. I have have been around a long time and hope my company gets a demonstrator so I can experience one. Maybe MATS will have one.
Yeah they need to have test drives like mack did when the anthem came out and could test drive it around the loop at mats.
Yeah, everybody is focused on performance and its looks. But what does the interior look like? That’s what drivers want to know. That’s our office, after all m
I hope these trucks fail miserably like the Liquid Nitrogen trucks have. These idiots in Washington have no idea about what they are doing, nor do they have the working knowledge to make these decisions.
I should say have the knowledge to make these decisions regarding trucks and the trucking industry.
Those folks in Washington have nothing to do with this. The technology is being developed and built by the same people have been building trucks for the last hundred years.
The biggest energy drain for the semis is wind resistance. Heavy loads cause more battery drain while accelerating or going up hills, but that extra mass generates more energy when slowing down or going down hills.
But even if the critics are correct, and the truck can only go 250 miles, the cost per mile is still only about 1/3rd of the cost per mile of a diesel truck.
That’s only because when the current administration entered the price of diesel jumped to $5.00 and more per gallon.
It’s all part of the same game plan that will not work. The technology is still years behind for any alternative fuel.
It’s a shame that people really believe the propaganda.
Finally someone who can do math and not just hate on it with zero understanding lol
Tesla stated one thing. Actual test outside of Tesla proves opposite. Weird 🙂 Electric vehicles should remain as four wheelers not heavy duty trucks. Diesel truck engines will and have to remain in use for a long time. Even those 100 miles trips will be phased out after gov subsidies run out.
You won’t see actual diesels used in short haul instances at all. They are dramatically cheaper both and fuel costs and maintenance.
And then long-haul you will see range extended hybrids as pure diesels will not be able to compete. There’s a reason locomotives have been diesel electrics for decades.
That’s not going to pay the bills a driver has it sucks
Let’s talk trucking ROI. 🚛💰 A typical class 8 diesel semi truck in the U.S. averages 6 miles per gallon (MPG) with a useful life of 750,000 miles. Diesel currently costs $5 per gallon. This means a company will spend $625,000 over the life of the truck on diesel. These trucks are only 35% efficient (that’s being kind), which means a company will waste 65% of their money and fuel over the life of the vehicle. That’s $406,250 up in smoke! (well, heat and smoke to be exact 😉)
Economies of scale. There are 3.9 million class 8 trucks in operation in the U.S. Annually, each one travels about 62,000 miles, which racks up a $201 billion bill in fuel. Therefore, each year the trucking industry wastes 26 billion gallons of diesel and $131 billion dollars. Much of it contaminates the air our children breathe, in the communities we live in. We then pay for these diseases with our tax dollars to the tune of $800 Billion per year. 🤯
On the other hand, electricity in the U.S costs 16 cents ($0.16) per kW on average. The Tesla Semi consumes 1.7 kWH per mile. Over the same 750,000 mile distance, the Tesla Semi would cost $204,000 to charge. It has an efficiency of 80% (being conservative) therefore only $40,800 is wasted and no direct emissions are created. It also has a 1 million mile battery warranty. Even when powered by natural gas plants, much less pollution is emitted and these power plants are typically located far away from cities.
Total savings:
-$202,000 over the life of a truck.
-$136,000,000,000 (billion) annually in US fleet cost.
My intention is not to alienate the trucking industry, but to bring awareness to the economics, waste and impact on our air quality.
Energy costs trickle into every product and service in our lives. The more energy we conserve the better our economy and quality of life will be.
The future is bright. Amazing times we live in. 😁
Full disclosure, I work for Tesla, but not in the Semi Program. The number check out. I encourage you to research them yourself.
I`m certain the area, urban, with frequent stop and start intersections would make a huge difference. Also geographic areas that have a lot of steep hills would tax the battery life more. I presume when Tesla ran a fully loaded 80,000lb truck for 500 miles it was probably on relatively flat roads without any stop lights.
YeH it is because they know the heavier the load the faster it will drain the batteries
So what do you do when the California Governor says No charging or air-conditioning due to power shortage days ? It happened last summer. Will PepsiCo stop delivering products ?
I think the 100 miles range quoted with Pepsi was a misinterpretation as they meant the vehicle only needed to drive 100 miles to make the delivery not the vehicle could only drive 100 miles with that Pepsi load! The 500 mile range test with 41000 lb total load with an elevation of over 14000 ft has shown that.
Hauling potato chips?? Might as well have an empty trailer!! Corporate people just go along to protect their jobs, I don’t see any owner operators beating down the doors of Tesla or any other EV companies to buy these trucks.They are on the front lines having to account for everything, as opposed to the being subsidized by the government pushing this experiment, let’s face it, that is what this is, an experiment like mice in a lab!!
The next step is to replace the drivers. They will need someone in the cab just in case, but you can bet that person won’t make the same money as a driver would.
There is a real conversation about autonomous driving and traffic accidents in America. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I do want American companies to lead not follow.
Looks like there may be some great opportunities in Austin for Tesla Semi drivers. Check the job postings. Car haulers from Gigafactory to the Hutto rail yards.
Half of these comments are borderline-illiterate, so that’s great.
It makes sense to test incrementally. The increased mass is likely not going to present too much of an issue on flatter roads. I’d be interested to see how performance over I-10 from Yuma to El Centro is.
What people forget about with charging vs fueling is that eventually you could install chargers at loading docks and be charging while unloading/loading. That’s 15-20 minutes saved per leg if you’re going less than 500 miles to the next destination. Also, since it doesn’t require supervision, that wouldn’t be considered duty time for the driver. That can add up
Why do you hope it fails?
In the New York City tri-state area I dare venture there are tens of thousands of tractor trailer rigs that do not venture more than 500 miles a WEEK.
I want to see all EV’s stripped of all items that were made with petroleum products and an honest list of how much petroleum was used to make each piece on the vehicle.
There is nothing green about EVs except the cash going for false advertising.
Yeah, wind drag is a huge factor here, which will be the same no matter the load. Bringing the load up to speed is energy intensive, but a lot of that energy can be recaptured when slowing back down to a stop.
I personally think the hybrid trucks where the wheels are electrically driven and a smaller diesel motor helps maintain the battery have already proven themselves as a much more efficient system. We might just have to wait until the energy density of batteries gets better before we go fully electric with semis.