"Tesla semi truck set for September " Musk

I have been watching whats going on. The truck driver side of me wants to say we have many years. The logical side says the way tech has moved over the last 10 years, its not far away. The technology is there now. Look at the OTTO truck. It is pulling loads now.

With that being said I think there is one thing that will slow it down. And that is big companies. I think about it like this: I don't foresee the public in the next 30 years allowing a truck to go fully unmanned. They are going to want someone in that truck, if for nothing more than peace of mind, even tho it could very well be a false peace of mind. Now if the megas are already barely paying above minimum wage to some of these newbs and steering wheel holders out here, and then convincing a large portion to jump into LO(no jabs at LO who are making it work, I know it can be done but the majority ain't) and basically not have to worry about assets with that program but still have a "company" driver for the most part, why would they invest in the technology? Now that being said if the tech gets so cheap that when you turn your fleet over and the driver less option is the same or not much more than the regular truck, yea someone is getting screwed. But I still don't think it would drop overhead so low that everyone would convert. The small carriers have a niche and the established small carriers wouldn't be swapping to the technology I don't believe.

But who knows where this going. LIke I said take a look at "Otto" and also the technology Daimler Chrysler has. Even Volvo is developing the tech.

 

This is just a truck that runs on Lithium Ion batteries rather than diesel fuel. You still have to drive it.

This truck is not far away at all. The cars they make work fine as cars and honestly make internal combustion engine cars seem clunky and needlessly complicated by comparison.

 

Yes that is true, I didn't read the full article, that being said if you dig a little deeper, Tesla plans on getting into the "driver less" with it, as they have already started doing with their cars. There was a short piece on the radio about and I think an article about 3 months ago. But yes you are correct, the battery power tech is there. Freightliner has been testing and even selling hybrids for years, mainly to short run local fleets.

 

lol just went back and read the entire article. Very last paragraph.
"One advantage Tesla carries is that long-haul trucks are perfect candidates for its Autopilot semi-autonomous driving technologies. A truck that keeps its distance from vehicles ahead of it and stays centered in its lane takes a lot of stress off the driver."

 

Big trucks that spend most of their time on the interstate, which is a relatively closed and controlled environment, are perfect candidates for semi-autonomous driving technologies. But that doesn't mean they will be able to eliminate the driver any time soon, if that ever happens. They would have fired all the airline pilots a long time ago if they realistically could have.

 

They can't even make the electronic systems for the emission and cab controls work reliably. When it breaks all the powers in the cummins (insert any brand) company and dealer network can't seam to figure out how to keep the check engine light from glowing.

But next year they will have autonoms trucks on the road?

Not only that but it will require the shippers and receivers to be organized and efficient. Once these trucks are loaded and programmed to go somewhere they will arrive there like clockwork. If the receivers fall behind they will be in trouble in a hurry. If there are 10 places for trucks to park and unload and 20 trucks show up what are they going to do? Wait in the middle of the road with there hazards on like we do? Wouldn't that be unsafe? Who is going to fight to keep there place in line? Oh wait the carries will just let there TRUCK take care of it and whenever they want to unload it will be fine with them?

(Dispatcher /programmer) its 4:30 I have to go watch my kids flute lesson.

 

One of the issues with this truck is that you get free fuel for a million miles. They plan on using hydrogen to make electricity.

 

I don't think this truck could drive through a flash flood.

I like the idea of full power from start to top end. I dislike the lack of range. For this to work they will need to build infrastructure, charging stations.

They are touting the truck as a solution for local runs, less than 300 miles. This mitigates any advantage for the auto pilot feature. Why would I want to have a fleet of trucks that have to park for periods of time to get charged? More down time for charging than fueling.

 

It says that 100 trucks being charged will take enough electricity to power a town of 10,000 people.

So how much electricity will it take to charge 100,000 trucks?

I would think you would need to build at least 100,000 trucks to make a manufacturing parts run pencil out.

Sorry my calculator will not go that high. I wonder where all this extra electricity will come from?

Coal, dams, nuclear? Oh wait I know, windmills!

An average windmill produces enough electricity to power 332 homes. So it takes 30 windmills turning to charge 100 trucks. For only 100,000 trucks it would take 3 million average windmills turning at optimum speed.

Yea, That sounds realistic.