Tesla's electric semi has caused quite a stir in the trucking industry. Some truckers have mixed feelings about this. The brand-new all electric semi packs a 300-500 mile range. So why are the trucks so popular within Tesla communities? We found building a truck requires ticking more than a few check boxes, and Tesla ticks them all.
One key factor is the vehicle will be significantly cheaper to run per mile compared to the LNG and Diesel competition. Electric Vehicles have a few critical advantages. One of those being regenerative braking. Electric vehicles have the ability to capture other-wise lost energy and put that into a battery. Below we included a chart created by InsideEVs just to show where the competing manufacturers are at in comparison to Tesla with solving this problem.
Electric vehicles vastly reduced cabin noise helps with improving comfort levels. The consensus between truckers seems to be they like the idea of a quiet truck. Also, this becomes a huge plus for trucks with multiple crew members, giving the resting party a bit more rest. Something that can also help productivity with rigs running country-wide.
Semi Trucks can be very dangerous vehicles in certain conditions. Wintry conditions, rain, and even tornadoes have played havoc on truckers in the past. Tesla's design looks to be a ground up innovation on the semi-truck. Giving the ability to prevent jack-knifing and roll overs. Both being a truckers worst nightmare.
Something else truckers can look forward to, is reliability. The vehicle manufacturer has taken some of its cues from the aerospace industry for the designs. They decided to give the semi truck multiple redundant motors, in the case one motor fails the others can still operate independently to continue the journey. Giving the truck more than one motor also makes for an over all more efficient drive train.
The most recent internet spotting of the new prototype semi-truck involves it being stuck on the side of the road in Missouri. I see it more as a good thing the company tests the semi truck in prototype form to work out all the bugs, before handing a vehicle over to a customer. So do you like Tesla's Semi Project? Do you think it can be a gamer changer? Let me know in the comments.