Tesla delivers its first electric trailers – Picture and sound – News

Tesla delivered the first production versions of the Semi truck. It happened Thursday night during an event at the gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada. The truck, which runs entirely on batteries, is expected to have a range of just over 800 kilometres.

The trucks were delivered to Pepsico. This company ordered it in 2017, the year in which the Semi was introduced, immediately 100 trucks. The importance of using the Semi was highlighted during the presentation by, among other things, pointing out the fact that trucks combined make up 1 percent of all vehicles in the United States, but are responsible for 20 percent of all emissions of vehicles.

Tesla also specifically addressed the earlier claim that a range of more than 800km is possible on a full charge. To that end, the company showed data from a 500-mile test drive from Fremont, California to San Diego. That run started with a 97 percent charge, and by the time it got to the final point, there was still 4 percent left. According to the manufacturer, the Semi can achieve efficiencies of 2 kWh per mile, which could save trucking companies $70,000 a year in fuel savings depending on electricity prices. A 1 megawatt charging technology is used to quickly recharge the battery.

Three electric motors are used for propulsion, which in effect are comparable to the Plaid versions of the Model S and Model X. One motor in the Semi is used for normal highway cruising speeds for maximum efficiency, while the other two motors are used for torque to accelerate. This acceleration was also briefly discussed during the presentation. In short Screen shows how a loaded semi-trailer weighing 36,287 kg on a mountain road with a 6% gradient easily overtakes an ordinary diesel truck.

Necessary information was also missing from the presentation, such as data on the specific battery pack used by the trucks. Five years ago it was said that a fully loaded semi-trailer can accelerate from standstill to 100 km/h in 20 seconds, but now this information has not been repeated. For example, it has been pointed out that regenerative braking is present; Musk said that as a result, the Semis come to the bottom of a hill with cold brakes, which he says is highly unusual for trucks. No information was provided during the presentation on the current price, which was originally set at $200,000. Also nothing was said about the Semi’s exact weight.