Hypothetical 2024, you receive a Tesla Semi ordered years earlier

You might want to look closer at the crowd. Reps from most of the megas and quite a few mid majors were there.

 

Sure, but what did they think of the Tesla truck? Did they actually like it? It's hard to tell whether they liked it or not due to all the absurd cheering and clapping that's almost as ridiculous as what you'd find at a Rotten Apple launch event.

 

If the service network for the semi is as bad as for the cars they won't last long.

 

They liked it enough to put in pre-orders.

Tesla has a new customer for its electric Semi — here are all the companies that have ordered the big rig

Even if it's just 5 or 10 test units, the pre-order means something. Remember Navistar/cat trucks? They literally couldn't give them away.

 

I'm wondering when we'll actually start seeing these on the road. They're just pre-orders; it doesn't necessarily mean much outside of PR speak until Tesla actually start delivering these trucks. It'll be interesting to see how they hold up in the long run.

But one thing's for certain - I don't give a crap how fast a truck can go from 0 to 60, outside of "can it do so in a reasonable amount of time". I care about the truck being able to live up to its promises.

 

Pepsico just last week confirmed they are expecting their first semi's at the end of this quarter, destined for the Modesto distribution center.

Tesla is debugging a small production line at the Nevada facotory which is expected to produce five semi's a week. The main production line is being built at the Austin, TX site. On Monday, pictures were posted of a Tesla semi charging at a new megacharger near the factory near Sparks, NV. The consensus is that the first trucks going to Pepsico will be part of a pilot project / testing / debugging phase before ramp up of the semi program in 2022

The decision to delay the ramp up for the semi has essentially been battery cell constraints. Until the new battery cell configuration comes online in volume, there aren't enough Li-ion cells to keep the Tesla car production going. As it is, the Tesla backlog for some Model S cars reached 2023 this month. So, selling one semi, or 8 or 10 cars? Not a hard choice.

Finally, the weight of the truck is not known at this time, but comments from Musk indicate it is probably around 20 to 22K.

As far as running one, ask me if I'd like to give up the uncertainly of diesel prices, the problems with after treatment systems, cold starts, and all the other joys that come with operating a diesel engine, like coolant systems, clutches, and what not. In a heartbeat.

 

I wouldn't order one unless I had a fleet.

 

I wouldn’t order one yet even if I had the money, but I’m not saying I’ll never get one. If they make it practical to drive one and it saves money I’m all about it. I don’t have a cool image to protect. I got a family to support.

 

What's the point to them? I'll pass.

 

I've done ZERO research, so:

What Range (Distance) will they Offer?
What Charging Time will be Required?
Will The Tires Be Non Air like Off Road Equipment?
Will They Be Auto-Drive or Variable?
Acceleration of a 22k Tractor combined with a 45k load should be improved yet what about a-scent/d-scent of Mountains?
Will the Trucks come with Scent elimination?
Makes Sense Right or no Sense Required?

"For A Few Cents to Dollars More"
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Right, I've Left.