TEASED! Is Tesla Ready To Disrupt ANOTHER Transportation Sector? Elon Musk Gives The World A Glimpse At Its First Semi Truck

Electric vehicle automaker, Tesla Motors, may be onto something else. While the company has explored a variety of different business opportunities, it seems like the next big thing could be the semi truck market. 

Elon Musk teased an image of an all-new Tesla-built semi truck at a Vancouver TED talk he was giving.

So, what else did he have to say? We know he's a man of few words [insert eye roll here].

According to reports, Musk noted that his company's creation would "out-torque any diesel semi," it will be nimble "like a sports car," and "if you had a tug of war competition, the Tesla semi will tug the diesel semi uphill." 

This all sounds good and well but I am more curious about the powerplant this type of rig would utilize. And, how many miles it would achieve. Perhaps this is why Tesla made sure to build out its electric charging infrastructure cross country?

As always, the Tesla story is to be continued.

MDarringer - 4/30/2017 4:53:54 PM

+6 Boost

[Insert triggering comment here.]

SanJoseDriver - 4/30/2017 10:39:19 PM

-5 Boost

Premium cars in S-class price range, grid storage, home battery storage, and likely roofs starting this summer.

Hauerg - 5/1/2017 1:26:59 AM

-5 Boost

Ask ULA/Boeing/Lockheed what they think about spacelaunch before Elon and today.

Mercedes quitting their hydrogen plans.
VW HAVING to spend 10 bio on electric car development.
...
Just starting.

MDarringer - 5/1/2017 8:53:18 AM

+5 Boost

All of the imagined disruption is in the heads of breathless fanboys, but any empirical examination of facts says otherwise. Musk is excellent in saying that he has conquered something and his kneeling pleasure givers say amen. Fact does not have any purpose in Musk's world, though wide-eyed exaggeration does.

SanJoseDriver - 5/2/2017 9:32:52 PM

0 Boost

I agree it is not a luxury car, but a premium car. Sales of S-Class, A8, and 7-Series all dropped after the Model S hit mass production... coincidence? Even VW cancelled a new Phanteon due to the Model S.

SanJoseDriver - 4/30/2017 10:47:35 PM

-3 Boost

I'm guessing they will use three Model S/X rear-motors for the powertrain, one at each axle. That should be enough for about 1,500 hp and 2,000 ft/lbs of torque. For the battery I am going to guess 500 KWh for about 500 miles of range. Anything bigger would be too expensive and anything less would make the Semi pretty useless for long distance travel. Even then I'm concerned 500 miles is not enough to make it practical long distance.

atc98092 - 5/1/2017 8:16:47 AM

+4 Boost

Considering most over the road trucks have large enough fuel tanks to go close to 1000 miles without refueling, 500 would be far too short a range. With these trucks, I expect the torque rating will be much more important than HP, so perhaps the motors can be configured for less HP. Maybe this might help with range, but I admit I'm not up on the latest EV motor design.

MDarringer - 5/1/2017 8:50:50 AM

+3 Boost

An EV truck would have tremendous down time when it needs recharging and that is not desirable. The entire time it would be sitting there charging, it would be losing money for its owner. Semis are not limited by fuel, but by driver time. I know several couples who truck together and split the driving so the truck can roll longer.

SanJoseDriver - 5/2/2017 9:40:17 PM

0 Boost

Drivers are now temporary, I give it five years at most until fully autonomous semis hit the road. I feel bad for truck drivers, job markets are going to get interesting.

As for charging, right now it would take almost 3 hours to fill up a 500-mile semi at a supercharger. If Tesla releases 350kw charging, it will still take about an hour--that might be bearable. 1 hour downtime for 500 miles of driving, what do you guys think?

SanJoseDriver - 5/3/2017 10:17:25 PM

0 Boost

More info was revealed on the earnings call today. The new assumption is that it will use at least 6 (!) Model 3 motors. It was also confirmed that it can be used for long-haul routes.

SanJoseDriver - 5/5/2017 10:04:26 PM

+1 Boost

28% gross margin, that is the opposite of bleeding money. Most of the margin is going into CAPEX for expanding capacity.

7msynthetic - 5/1/2017 10:19:36 AM

+5 Boost

Semi trucks are in the very extreme category due to their high payload, steep grades etc.. Looking forward to seeing those batteries overheat pulling 25,000 lbs up a 10% grade at 100F. Elon needs to develop an F150 alternative first to get an idea how it will last in the construction world.

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 5/2/2017 9:41:10 PM

+1 Boost

Think outside the box. Maybe it will be the brand's first Hybrid vehicle.
Which would make a lot of sense considering the sensible comments made about range, distance and required torque.

SanJoseDriver - 5/5/2017 10:07:52 PM

+1 Boost

That would be a huge shock if they added a range extender of some kind given the company's mission statement. If they wanted to, they could give it about 1k miles of range but it would add $150k to the price of the truck.

I just found out it takes 20-30 minutes to fuel a semi at empty. If Tesla can do a Semi with 500 miles of range and 30-40 min of refueling time, that might do the trick. Alternatively, they could but batteries in the cargo trailer, allowing trucks to refuel just by swapping trailers.