Tesla Semi

I am as well looking into electric for the future but one has caught my eye, the Nikola One. It’s still untested but has greater potential.




I think Budweiser and Ryder have jumped on board on Nikola So you will see these on the roads Within 2 years.


Anheuser-Busch orders hundreds of hydrogen trucks from zero-emission startup Nikola

And supposedly they have 11 billion worth of orders.

 

Are the aliens they have hidden under the airport nice?

 

I can neither confirm or deny anything pertaining to that.

 

I am just astonished to see these ugly as hell trucks to be able to roll. Nonetheless, they do roll. Is it realistic to suppose these will become any competition to regular trucks in the next 10 years? I don't know how it is designed but least in theory, there is not that much to break in a electric motor - not as many parts, no gear box (I suppose...so correct me If I am wrong) so the maintenance may not need to be as demanding. As far as the infrastructure for recharging, that's the least of the problem, if the operational cost will be so much less than in regular diesel trucks - it will pop up out of nowhere in no time. For instance, look how fast they upgraded truck stops across the country with def pumps. It will of course not going to be as simple, but nonetheless possible. The only problem I see as hard to overcome is the battery capacity which is still too low.
I know these trucks promise one thing....Riddance of those darn APUs and noisy idling. Quiet nights at long last.


Added these questions to those more technically educated:
Am I correct to assume that technically, the electric motor can be small enough to place at the very drive axle and produce enough torque to rid of drive line and gear box?
Also, the whole large hood and motor compartment is actually no longer needed, other than serving as an aerodynamic shape?

 

Batteries and solar are getting better quick so you will probably be seeing those two stuck together. Them trucks will probably be used for local deliveries where they can be recharged everyday. On a electric motor the acceleration can be fast if set up correctly and just think you be saving the planet that is trying to kill you.

 

The numbers I have seen say that an electric truck will have 78% less moving parts than an internal combustion truck. No engine, clutch transmission, drive line or differentials. Just four electric motors inside the wheels. One of those goes out, dismount and put another one on.

How fast? I think 10 years to 30- 50% penetration is probably realistic. The reliability is higher, and the cost is lower. Once you start using 60 to 70% of your total electricity use in vehicles, you have to switch to a smart grid, where the vehicles are charged when electricity is available, and actually feed the grid in times of high demand. The cost of renewable energy is dropping so fast that the gap between fossil fuel and electricity cost will continue to widen in favor of electricity.

I think you may be underestimating the magnitude in change in the infrastructure. When my son and I calculated the numbers, one Tesla semi fast-charging is roughly equal to the daytime, off peak, consumption of 3,000 homes. 20 of them fast-charging at a truck would equal the use of a good sized town. The long term solution is that those trucks parked at the truck stop will each have to be plugged into a slow charge system -- NOT CHEAP to install at least 480V at each parking spot. And no bets how many ways Swifties will find to destroy them!

 

The question that was first asked was about the sensor that used to be on the ramp to EB 6th Ave from SB I 25, there used to be one someplace else too. They stopped that program years ago, it was the precursor to the rapid screen program. It's not twice in 8 hrs, it's twice within 12 months, at least 14 months prior to your renewal.