Tesla Semi Finally Revealed
 

Tesla finally debuted their new semi last night. Elon Musk claims 0.36 Cd.

After 18,000 man hours build time, I'm slightly biased of course, but I think my new truck is much more aerodynamic (0.26 Cd) and sexier.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chor...nt_34_Blue.jpg

http://www.airflowtruck.com/wp-conte...ristic-02.jpeg

Money wasted on solar panels, check.

Does anybody have any good estimates of kwH per mile for an aerodynamic LRR semi truck? The 13 MPG of the Airflow Bullet Truck implies about 1 kwH per mile. The advertised 500 mile range for the Tesla truck would need a 500 kwH battery.

A Google search comes up with the 85 kwH Tesla battery weighing 1200 lbs, so a 500 kwH battery would weigh about 7000 lbs. Add 1000 lbs or so for motors, and the drive package comes to about 8000 lbs.

Compare to a conventional truck drive train. These numbers are the best I could come up with in a quick Google search, so maybe somebody more knowledgeable could improve them.

Cummins X15 engine: 3150 lbs
Eaton AMT: 850 lbs
Two differentials: 760 lbs
200 gallons fuel: 1380 lbs
Two fuel tanks: 200 lbs
Total: 6340 lbs

If the truck is used for shorter runs and returned to the same place every night for charging, a smaller battery of 300 kwH or so may be sufficient. In that case, the electric drive train could be lighter than the diesel drive train.

An electric drive train will have performance advantages in short haul city driving. The electric heavy duty truck may not be as goofy an idea as I thought a year ago.

I actually figured it would need over a 1000 kwh battery.

These guys figured almost 1200 kwh or 12 P100D battery packs.
https://insideevs.com/tesla-semi-tru...ry-is-how-big/

Watch Tesla put touchscreens on the door so you can show paperwork, etc., instead of rolling down the window.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news...comeexperience

How much is that in Euros?

So you cannot afford to not purchase the super pickup!

Before your neighbors!1!

That's basically my chief concern!

Other things I have thought about aren't so much criticisms as they are questions.

I totally agree, but why isn't it being produced?

If Cummins is getting into EV and hybrid drivetrains, then it is a strong indicator that this is the future of hauling.

I've often believed that trucks make the most sense to make into a hybrid. Engines can be vastly downsized if electric motors are there to assist with acceleration and climbing grades. Then the motors can be used as generators to recapture energy normally lost when slowing the vehicle.

People who hold the wheel like that should be killed.

People who hold the wheel like that should will likely be killed.

Diesel mechanic gets that deer-in-the-headlights feeling.
A Bugatti is a pretty low bar (0.70 or so Cd) and a truck doesn't have zero aerodynamics, just bad aerodynamics.

Change- Get used to it. We'll also lose many McDonalds employees that take orders, auto collision repair people, insurance adjusters...

Good thing humans are programmable, and capable of endless tasks. As an IT guy, my code is constantly being updated.

You should see me navigate a hairpin at speed using 1 knee. Not justifying it, but perhaps that's 1 more reason why automation is a good thing.

I worked in parts sales for cars and trucks for fifteen years. I then went back to college to get a degree in computer aided manufacturing. Good technicians will always be in demand. We just need to keep up with servicing the new models. People were all in a tizzy when cars went to electronic ignitions. Turns out more sophistication may have doubled the way things can go bad. Good news is that you don't have to do an engine overhaul as often. Just be ready to hit the downloads on electrical motors and control circuits.

Hubs and axle bearings will STILL need to be cleaned and re-greased periodically.

They'll have to change the "book hours" on that procedure to 20hrs to make up for the lost hours on everything else.

Don't get me wrong - I think the Tesla Semi will be a great thing. And it will hasten the demise of ICE vehicles. The Semi is reported to have a 1MWh battery pack (!!) and the new Roadster will have a 200kWh pack (!) - and that means that breakthroughs in battery cells, and in making them, has happened. And we will see these in affordable EV's, soon.

You mean 200kwhr

Or 0.2MWh

About twice as much capacity as a p100 but at 4x the price

All that 'hand labor' will hasten the arrival of magnetic bearings. :(

Ooops - 200kWh.

Has anyone mentioned the 5-second 0 - 60? I am not sure how much that matters to anyone here, but other people seem very excited about that.

According to https://itstillruns.com/car-vs-tract...r-6579130.html, a semi without trailer can do 0 - 60 in 10 seconds, it takes 20 seconds with an empty trailer, and 35 seconds if fully-loaded.

Perhaps the Tesla could hit 60 with an empty trailer in 10 seconds and 17.5 with a full load, but would it?

People commented in this discussion that fast acceleration is irrelevant to trucking often prevented by the computer.

Still, wouldn't it be nice to be behind a semi that accelerates decently? :)

As someone who drives a truck, actual acceleration is nearly meaningless to me. At best something of a side bonus. Much more valuable is how well it can climb with a load. That right there puts money in a driver's pocket when terrain is involved.

It is not just the acceleration power that is important here. The Tesla truck does not need to change gear, ever. That will save a lot of time in town and in undulating terrain.

I see trucks, stopped at a traffic light, miss the next green light all the time.
The 'green wave' is tuned for cars, not for slowly accelerating trucks.
A fast accelerating Tesla truck may save one minute per traffic junction...

It’s not ever going to be an efficiency to accelerate a big truck stoplight to stoplight to aid traffic flow.

As above, it’s about a higher average mph. The time from taking on the load until delivery. Signature to signature.

Cutting the hills down to size would be the greatest aid to average mph past lower traffic volume. If greater acceleration is available, then it’s use on the highway is where it matters.

Operating a big truck is about being smooth. Missing “the green light wave” is consistent with this. It’s too much mass to contend with. Empty, I’d think I’d want a limited rate of acceleration control applied. Throttled back. There’s no good reason to do otherwise, as wear on tires, brakes etc isn’t justified, nor is hotdog driving.

Same for other vehicles. 0-60 in 12-seconds has always been fast enough for personal transportation.

Expect that sort of thing to happen. A “fuel efficiency standard” for electric vehicles.

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As someone in the heavy truck industry we see fatigue failures in various components on older trucks all the time.

More acceleration means either more weight or more structural failures more often.

Assuming of coarse the truck isn’t built of some sort of super metal or composite.

Foamed metal

The parts will look beefier, but weigh less and be stronger.

I think fatigue failures are mainly due to lots of changes in load rather than the load in itself. As the Tesla truck won't change gear, it would see less frequent changes in load.

Four motors driving each rear wheel directly and independently will further lessen the strain on the frame compared to one big frame mounted engine and gearbox.

A maximum braking event brings many big rigs frame and xmbr s up into the yield zone and that is “as designed “

These trucks ladder frames aren’t made to last much more than 10 years in most cases.

Re rails and gliders are common in the industry for this reason

So yes heavy, steady braking or acceleration will cause accelerated wear unless it’s in the design case.

Pepsi reserved 100 trucks: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/12/tesl...ks-so-far.html

Here you go: https://youtu.be/oJ8Cf0vWmxE

https://battery.real.engineering/

How do the numbers in those calculations compare to your Airflow Bullet Truck? They use 7.2 m2 frontal area, 0.35 Cd, and 0.00633 Crr to calculate 947 kwH for 500 miles range.

Having the battery packs integrated into the frame should increase it's durability/strength ala Tesla's current vehicles.

To put the demand for batteries into scale: Tesla is making a big deal out of it's BigF'nBattery that they installed in Australia for grid storage.
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https://www.greentechmedia.com/artic...try#gs.ZoGYEGw
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This is just 120 trucks worth of batteries. Our proven Lithium and Cobalt reserves are going to go fast. Grid storage should probably find another more abundant chemistry to save the high performance cells for transportation..

Lithium and cobalt production will increase if demand is there, and grid storage will choose the most cost effective solution to the problem.

You would think that at some point they would start recycling lithium batteries, but "The average lithium cost associated with Li-ion battery production is less than 3% of the production cost." https://waste-management-world.com/a...ling-challenge

I feel the ultimate energy storage device for transportation is a tank of gasoline.

phys.org:Cheap, sustainable battery made from tree bark tannins

I feel that the ultimate energy storage device is a reactor of plutonium. Better yet, perhaps, antimatter.