By Heather Hamilton, contributing writer
In typical Tesla fashion, the brand revealed an electric semi-truck last Thursday that looks like all of Tesla’s endeavors — sleek, futuristic, and understandably cool. In many ways, the truck takes design cues from the Model 3.
CEO Elon Musk promised that the truck delivers at least semi-autonomous driving capabilities.
Design
The Verge reports that Tesla’s Semi has sides covering all electric parts, including the grille. There’s a trunk in the front containing storage and access points for service repairs, as well as flush-mounted door handles.
Under the floor of the cab are mounted battery packs, and the seat sits further forward than Freightliner and International trucks. Two rear axles with electric motors attached on either side sit behind the cab, which come from existing Tesla models. This design is meant to provide a center of gravity that is lower than diesel-powered trucks and also provide high-speed stability.
There is a passenger seat behind and to the right of the driver, which maximizes space for storage and movement inside the cab. Currently, there are no sleeping quarters, though that may be in future plans.
On either side of the steering wheel is a screen, as seen in the Model 3, though the truck’s left screen controls vehicle function and settings for the trunk, while the right screen controls navigation and radio. Tesla has said that these will be more configurable in future models.
On the outside, there are traditional mirrors, though internal screens also provide views of the truck’s sides through mirror-mounted cameras that are part of the Autopilot system. There are additional forward-facing cameras mounted at the base of the windscreen, which Tesla says will aid drivers in adapting to sitting in the middle of the cab.
Function
Musk promised that the truck has a range of 500 miles, despite early reports of 200 or 300. He also claimed that the truck, when charged for just half an hour, has a 400-mile range. Forbes reports that the truck lugs about 80,000 pounds at 65 mph up a 5% grade. The aerodynamic drag coefficient beats premium sports cars, and the thermo-nuclear explosion-proof windshield is an industry first.
Musk claims that the truck will be able to go for approximately 1 million miles without a breakdown.
Availability
The truck unveiled last week is a prototype, which means that the version eventually available to customers will be somewhat different. Tesla expects the truck to begin mass production and shipping in 2019, and several companies have already placed a pre-order.
While there is no word on pricing, Musk said that the operational costs per mile should be around $1.26. Current diesel trucks sit at $1.51 per mile. Maintenance costs and truck downtime are expected to be lower than their conventional counterparts, though the upfront cost will be undoubtedly higher, due largely to the cost of the battery.
Industry response and impact
It’s hard to say exactly what kind of impact Tesla’s Semi will have on the industry because it isn’t available yet, especially given the problems with the Model 3. The electric truck has the potential to lower leasing, insurance, and maintenance costs, particularly if they offer a leasing program to compensate for the initially higher cost of purchase, speculates Forbes.
And, in an article by an ex-trucker, MSN clarifies that this truck is not an over-the-road truck and is best-suited for line-haul (routes between company’s terminals). Jonathon Ramsey writes, “When Musk made the case for a 20% savings over a diesel truck, he based the numbers on a 100-mile trip — 50 miles out, 50 miles back. The Semi would be perfect for port work, which involves lots of waiting, idling, stop-and-go traffic, and local out-and-back trips. This first version of the Semi will not replace dozens of thousands of trucks on a huge regional or coast-to-coast runs, clocking 2,000 to 5,000 miles per week.”
Sources: The Verge, Forbes, CNBC, Business Insider, MSN
Image Source: Tesla
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