Tesla Semi seen to shake-up trucking industry
Imagine hauling shipments up to 80,000 pounds in a truck without refueling for 500 miles on a full charge. And with Enhanced Autopilot feature, it can drive on its own on highways, with automatic braking, lane keeping and lane departure warnings.
That’s Tesla Semi, Elon Musk’s newly unveiled fully-electric Class 8 semi truck, making a major buzz in the global transport industry even before the first prototype is scheduled to be released in 2019.
Musk said the full drivetrain of the truck will be guaranteed up to one million miles but pricing hasn’t been announced.
The truck, which features a sleek, modern design with no trailer, is igniting so much curiosity with its battery that can last up to 500 miles on a full charge which would spell a lot of savings compared to the traditional fuel-generated truck.
That’s Tesla Semi, Elon Musk’s newly unveiled fully-electric Class 8 semi truck, making a major buzz in the global transport industry even before the first prototype is scheduled to be released in 2019.
The truck’s giant battery has four independent electric motors—one for each rear wheel—similar to Model 3. The battery powers can be recharged within a short period of time—30 minutes or so—with which it can travel for another 400 miles. In the United States, most freight trucks move less than 250 miles.
At the unveiling, Musk said a standard model and an upgraded version with an aerodynamics package will both be available. He said theTesla Semi could reach zero to 60 mph in just five seconds and when carrying the maximum load, it can reach that’s peed in just 20 seconds.
Though Musk’s latest innovation is not fully autonomous, it carries features that will make it very convenient to be used and ease for the driver when traveling. It also has the ability to move as a convoy using the platooning method where multiple trucks follow one human driver leader.
Orders are filing for Tesla Semi even before the first production could be released in two years time. In the United States, several companies in the retail and grocery sectors have already placed orders.
But it looks like Tesla will be the first customer with the company’s VP for Truck Programs, Jerome Guillen, announcing at the annual conference of Transport and Logistics at the Netherlands late November, it will use the electric semi trucks to carry cargo between its factory in Fremont California and its battery factory in Nevada.
Founded in 2003, the American automaker and energy company Tesla, which pioneered in self-driving vehicles, now has more than 33,000 employees with assets of over US$22.6 billion. Traded in NASDAQ as TSLA, its share prices rose by 2.95 percent to US$315.55 as of November 24.
“Tesla will be the first customer for the truck. We will use our own truck to carry cargo in the US between our different facilities. We have an assembly facility in California, the Gigafactory in Nevada, so we will use the trucks to carry things in between,” he said.
Founded in 2003, the American automaker and energy company Tesla, which pioneered in self-driving vehicles, now has more than 33,000 employees with assets of over US$22.6 billion. Traded in NASDAQ as TSLA, its share prices rose by 2.95 percent to US$315.55 as of November 24.
Analysts said Testa Semi’s entry to the market will disrupt the energy sector, the production line of semi manufacturers, including the lives of truck drivers—for the better.
