Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, shook the entire trucking industry last week with just one tweet: announcing that a fully electric Tesla semi will be unveiled in September.
Musk has already proven to be a disruptor in industries thought to be well-insulated against change. SpaceX shattered a lot of firsts for private companies and has even out-paced government programs to achieve goals like becoming the first to reuse a rocket booster. Tesla, once the butt of every auto manufacture’s joke, is now the most valuable car company in the world, achieving a recent valuation of $51.5 billion, just passing by GM’s $50.2 billion valuation.
News that Tesla would be developing an electric big rig isn’t a surprise. In July of 2016, Musk announced in his Master Plan, Part Deux that Tesla would be developing heavy duty trucks. Many thought it was overly optimistic when he claimed that they would be “ready for unveiling next year.” But analysts point out that much of the technology needed for an electric truck would be the same as what Tesla has been developing for its high-end cars.
Details on the Tesls truck are being kept under lock and key, with the “Master Plan” and Musk’s tweet being the only hard data available.
Tesla Semi truck unveil set for September. Team has done an amazing job. Seriously next level.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2017
What will the Tesla truck look like? What will its range be? How much will it cost? Who will be able to service or repair the trucks? What sort of autonomous capabilities will it have? Will batteries be swapped or charged on the rig? Will any carriers be interested?
We’ll have to wait until September to know, but for now, as WIRED points out, Musk has done the impossible before.
“No one’s saying working out the details would be easy,” wrote WIRED reporter Jack Stewart. “But then again, this isn’t rocket science.”
Source: truckinginfo, fleetowner, wired, teslarati, businessinsider, engagdget, constructionequipment, tesla
Just more hype from the autonomous industry. An overpriced truck that will still be full of issues, and the owners will be at the mercy of one manufacturer for parts, and more than likely Ryder will do the service. I’ve seen Ryder service trucks, what a joke. I will wager that a truck from the 70s or 80s with a mechanical motor will still be running and working long after this plastic junk has disintegrated.
Not to mention Tesla vehicles in the news have already killed a few people including an elderly man walking with a cane. Lawyers I’m sure are licking their chops. Now their trucks will be killing people, DOT won’t be liking pulling them in for an inspection…oh wait do they need a DOT inspection. The lawyers are going to ream them good
Yup, and pretty soon the only way we’ll be able to make money is by suing these companies for killing our next of kin!
What’s a few innocent lives when compared to **living in the future** y’all?? LOL.
Notice how “the future” is always just out of reach. Great if you’re selling Star Trek dreams. If you actually are responsible for moving freight? Not so much.
And if all designers and engineers were like you we’d still be crapping in outhouses and using horse and wagon to transport frieght.
The future is coming it doesn’t have to be pretty or popular as you can’t stop it. When the steam engine was introduced it was thought unreliable, dangerous and in noway could it replace horses
No one is happy with what they are seeing but we all have to adjust, either that or change careers.
I’m always frustrated to see that all the fame goes to Musk, and no one acknowledges the engineers and fabricators working behind the scenes doing the actual work of pulling off the guy’s visions. Elon Musk is an awesome guy, but there are a lot of ferociously talented people helping him.
While Musk does get the credit for the work of others, he actually is the driving force behind the company, and is very smart and knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects.
He isn’t just the figurehead, he knows what he is doing, and hires the people to help him build his dreams, and as he points out in the text, he has a great team.
If they would make a truck that was diesel electric like locomotives that would be the best of both worlds.
It would use a much smaller diesel engine connected to a generator with electric motors at all 4 drive wheels computer controlled based on traction. This would eliminate ton’s of weight no need for transmission, differentials, drive lines, clutch, etc. Instant torque and unbelievable fuel savings. The electric motors can be used for braking down hills far more efficient than the engine brakes used now, not to mention brakes would last much longer. The technology is already perfected on trains, diesel fuel is available everywhere no need for charging stations.
The truck will run on compressed natural gas and the generator is powered by a turbine. It is exactly like a locomotive and the truck will have 1000 hp and 2000 touque. I was looking at the truck 3 days ago.
https://nikolamotor.com/one
What is a “semi”? Big-trucks is what they mean, I guess.
I mean, big-truck.
How big? They mean a truck bulit to haul semitrailers
Without an APU to generate its own electricity, the truck will not be accepted by the industry. How can a team recharge their truck? waiting 9 hrs? LOL.
There is the possibility of having solar panels on the roof or possibly a small footprint generator that can charge on the run. They already have APU’s to run HVAC units and other electrical items when the engine is not running.
I would guess this would be for the local markets, like in San Francisco or NYC, etc.
A lot of those places are putting restrictions, or giving incentives, for quiet low pollution trucks already, and this could be perfect.
As long as you have short enough runs to not exceed the battery capacity, and you have a fast charging system, it could be very useful, for the right market.
Did you miss the part where it runs on hydrogen and keeps that batteries charged at all times?
It really disturbs me deeply how excited people are to push millions of folks out of their jobs. I know it’s not happening any time soon, but it’s still frustrating.
Once upon a time railroad employees complained about how the highway system and trucks will cause them to lose millions of jobs. And before that, horse and carriage drivers complained the same about the railroads. Heck, I’m sure when the horse and carriage was invented it put a lot of people carrying stuff on their backs out of work. Progress is inevitable. The only constant is change. Well, that and people complaining about change. That’s the only two constants.
Or we could go back to having all freight move by people walking and carrying it in big backpacks. That create a lot of jobs.
Nothing here is talking about a driverless truck, this is about replacing the diesel engine with an electric motor. It still takes a driver, though I am sure it will have collision avoidance systems and advanced cruise control, but it isn’t reducing jobs any.
Vanessa where di you read that at? This has nothing to do with replacing drivers. You might want to actually read the article and look at the trucks specs again.
I believe all of the “Homers” commenting don’t understand. There are stages to autonomous driving and truck drivers, just like airplane pilots are not obsolete. Furthermore, our industry has to become more efficient while producing more. This is one way while keeping the driver in the mix.
Good thing is- no more need for ELD’s. You can take a full 10 hour break every 100miles while it recharges.
Batterry charge while truck is on move its kind of like dynamo system.
Les, try reading the article before bashing the truck. You clearly didn’t!
Electric /fuel efficient trucks are exactly why you have the ELD mandate.
Once they have an electronic log of every mile driven on the truck- it is very easy for them to tax you by the mile- which is how many European nations are already doing- and some states-(Oregon/Washington) have “voluntary option of being taxed by the mile.
Dion’t worry- once they tax big trucks this way- your private car will not be far behind- Then you can anticipate a carbon tax .
Fear mongering! You might have a conspiracy theory problem!
Seva,
Your comment is a bit short sighted. When a horse broke its leg, do you go the parts store and get a new leg? A railroad system that is miles away from civilization and unable to bring freight to your warehouse or door is not an accurate comparison either. The infrastructure is mostly designed for trucks, and Diesel engines have been operating for almost 100 years. Anyone who buys an electric truck from Tesla can’t swing into the truck pro and buy a transducer, or an 1800 lb battery. You are at the manufacturer’s mercy, and the mercy of very few people who would know how to work on them.
CNG trucks are the same way, limited range, constant refueling and low on power/ high on maintenance. It looks good on paper, but that’s hardly ever reality. Considering that his other truck costs about $400,000 and is dependent on a lot of contingencies, I don’t foresee this taking off in the near future.
Is that why major cities have cut back on diesel trucks and buses and gone to CNG. It also cost less for CNG then it does for Diesel in MPG
Here are test result compiled by Penn Stat U
http://altoonabustest.psu.edu/buses/reports/443.pdf?1470144506
A bus and an OTR rig are two totally different animals in terms of useage. Kind of like comparing Jeff Gordon at Daytona and your grandmother going to church on Sunday
Diesel locomotives actually use electric motors to power the drive wheels because electric motors have a flat torque curve . Torque starts immediately when you throttle up . I’ll bet once the bugs are worked out it could work . Toyota Prius cars while not trucks are extremely reliable and there are a lot of them out there . If this is the future so be it . We started flying at Kitty Hawk, and now we have been to the moon . Advance with the future or stay in the past . Model T , to MOPAR Demon . Flintlock to Dillon Mini gun (I want one) … Give it a chance and let’s see .
Dazzling Piazza, major cities in Pennsylvania, a state that is pushing all this BS? Get back to me at the end of the study and let’s see how super duper those buses are,mmmkay.