Reserve your TESLA ELECTRIC 500 mile range Semi today $150-$200k

Scam the battery capacity is not there yet. Musk is real good at exciting concepts and taking deposits but delivery not so much.

 

This semi will be a heartache. You cannot find a charging station big enough, fast enough to feed such a monstrosity. Save your money. If you did install one at both ends, you will learn the electric bill will exceed easily that of fuel each month.

The one scenario that will be very common if these scams are brought to fruition. Dead Battery trucks all over the USA sent on one way deliveries thinking they can get recharged to get back. There are not enough tow trucks in the entire country to handle all of them.

 

For a handful of operations, this might be a worthwhile consideration. But me thinks you better take the projected 500 mile range and maybe cut that in half for real-world considerations. Can you run the 250 mile route in one day and end up back at the terminal? If yes, then can you get the vehicle worked on in a timely manner by an authorized mechanic if something goes wrong with the power plant or drivetrain?

 

Expectations vs reality:

 

I wonder how much those batteries weigh.
It has to be more than a tank of fuel.

 

I’ve seen the trucks in the pilot program. They look nice. But it’s not ready for prime time yet.

Maybe after Musk gets funding to put charging stations at every off ramp. And a fully stocked service center in every major city.

Naaaa not even then

 

While that is true, from talk when the tractors were announced they speculate about the same weight.
The electric motors are a lot lighter than an engine and all the components to allow the engine to run.

 

They are.

Not to mention Lithium and other metals. The problem with these batteries, like the cell phone batteries in your hand, they cannot be punched. If they are, you are faced with a red thousands of degree fire that wont stop.

The only type of truck I thought something good about would be the Nickolas but frankly, I'll just die with the old Brockways, Autocars, Reos etc. You can and did run those decades without too much of a issue.

 

In all honesty they'd be better off as a local truck and either have charging stations at the yard or do what they do with forklifts in big warehouses and just swap dead battery for charged battery. That's assuming they can design the truck to swap batteries in 15-20 minutes.