Tesla Semi Truck

[cmwade77]

Daimler, "who invented the internal combustion engine" (in the 19th century, but hey! That still means they are innovators!) has equipped 300,000 commercial trucks with sensors to gather data on traffic and weather. This puts them solidly at the end of the 20th century, in my mind. The 300,000 is impressive, anyway...

I guess you missed the part about the electric trucks they have on the road. I forget which US companies have class 6/7 EVs on the road as well. I wonder if Tesl@ were able to get any of the performance data from Fedex, UPS, et all trucks?

The Euro truck market's a bit different than the US. Most of their long-haul is via mostly electric train.

While putting sensors on ICE trucks is very 20th century, the point is that they're both testing long-haul BEV trucks but also leveraging their existing fleet to refine the auto-driving convoy aspects. Tesl@ are heading in that direction as well, but since they don't have an existing fleet, they have to follow their Mo del S model of using existing owners as their test team.

(Reductionism and nit picking are hard habits to break, aren't they? The TIR vid was to allow a pull-out to the big picture. Did we miss that? )

Lay's has electric semi-trucks on the road. Now, they aren't large semi-trucks, these are local delivery type vehicles, basically "last mile" kind of thing. They have a range of about 150 miles to a charge and can be charged overnight using solar power that is stored during the day. Then the next day they go back out and make more deliveries.

City of Long Beach uses several all electric Buses, no they aren't trucks, but they are heavy, have frequent stops and do about 125 miles per day. They have more on order as well.

No why do both of these do this? Simple to cut costs and be better for the environment.

 

[RegGuheert]

Tesla now claims that the semi will have a range close to 600 miles when it ships. Elon Musk responded to a question on their earnings call Wednesday regarding a recent comment by Daimler executive Martin Daum:

When asked about the comment during Tesla’s Q1 2018 conference call today, Musk laughed it off saying that Daum probably doesn’t understand the laws of physics.

Then he doubled down on his claims saying that he now thinks that the production version of the vehicle will actually have a range closer to 600 miles on a single charge.

Musk also confirmed the number of reservations they are currently holding:

During the call, Musk also said that they currently have about 2,000 reservations with deposits for Tesla Semi, but he points out that they haven’t really been selling them and those reservations have been organic from the launch and subsequent coverage.

 

[RegGuheert]

Nikola is suing Tesla for infringement of six patents related to electric semi trucks:

Fellow American manufacturer Nikola Motors alleges that Tesla violated six patents with the design of its all-electric semi truck that was first shown last year.

The patents, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office between February and April of this year, cover the windscreen, door, and bodywork design of the similar Nikola One which it claims the Tesla Semi is ‘substantially’ based on.

Nikola Motors has said that the potential patent violation could cost it around £1.5 billion, but Tesla has shot down any suggestions of wrongdoing.

‘It’s patently obvious there is no merit to this lawsuit,’ a Tesla spokesman told Reuters.

I wonder why Tesla feels the need to poke fun at this lawsuit.

 

[lorenfb]

Is the Tesla Semi really dead?

Six months ago, the Tesla (TSLA) buzz was all about the Semi. This electric truck, which CEO Elon Musk unveiled to much fanfare in November 2017, was supposed to be a mind-blowing “beast”. Indeed, Musk promised that the Semi would redefine the trucking industry.
The glitzy reveal event had the desired effect, boosting Tesla’s share price and providing a welcome distraction from the painfully slow production ramp of the mass-market Model 3 sedan. Musk promised to begin production in 2019, a pledge that was swiftly followed by a raft of announcements from numerous big companies that had placed orders.
The Tesla Semi was lauded as a massively valuable game-changer by the company’s various boosters. With hundreds of preorders on the books, as well as promises that the Semi would be more cost-effective than current big rigs, it looked like Tesla might have a big winner on its hands.

Thus, it should perhaps come as a surprise that the Tesla Semi received no mention whatsoever in the company’s Q1 2018 update letter. Why would this potentially revolutionary vehicle get no love at all?
Phil LeBeau - CNBC LLC
With the Tesla Semi, how many reservations do you guys now have approximately? And where are you in the process as far as the development and the rollout of the first model in terms of timeline, when you guys expect that to happen, et cetera?
Elon Reeve Musk - Tesla, Inc.
I actually don't know how many reservations we have for the Semi. About 2,000? Okay. I mean, we haven't really tried The dearth of orders admitted to by Musk on the latest earnings call bears out our original reservations about the project.

It now seems evident that Tesla has abandoned the Semi project – or at least put it way back on the backburner. sell the Semi. It's not like there's like an ongoing sales effort, so sales – orders for Semi are like opportunistic, really companies approaching us. Yeah, it's not something we really think about much.

Or just a misreading of the tea-leaves?

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4172159-tesla-semi-dead?dr=1

 

[RegGuheert]

Is the Tesla Semi really dead?

Tesla Semi only dies if Tesla dies. IMO, the value proposition for the Semi is better than what exists for a car.

There is a reason Elon Musk has been sleeping in the Fremont Factory: He is running out of time to ramp up the Model 3 production. He incorrectly imagined that the automation would just work, even though that approach has always failed in the past. They still haven't managed to achieve the throughput of factories that crank out most of the other cars on the planet. Since the line cost more to build and has a lower throughput, Tesla's production costs are certainly higher than comparable vehicles. That means massive losses at this time.

I doubt Semi will get much of Elon Musk's attention unless and until the Model 3 starts paying some bills in Fremont.

 

[lorenfb]

I doubt Semi will get much of Elon Musk's attention unless and until the Model 3 starts paying some bills in Fremont.

Yes, I totally agree, i.e. article didn't have much substance - like some (Nikola lawsuit). Thought I'd throw it out there, though.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I doubt Semi will get much of Elon Musk's attention unless and until the Model 3 starts paying some bills in Fremont.

Yes, I totally agree, i.e. article didn't have much substance - like some (Nikola lawsuit). Thought I'd throw it out there, though.

Noting like crap blog posts (not articles) from short sites. By hey, why not it's not credible so throw it out there and index it more for them that's what they want.

 

[lorenfb]

I doubt Semi will get much of Elon Musk's attention unless and until the Model 3 starts paying some bills in Fremont.

Yes, I totally agree, i.e. article didn't have much substance - like some (Nikola lawsuit). Thought I'd throw it out there, though.

Noting like crap blog posts (not articles) from short sites. By hey, why not it's not credible so throw it out there and index it more for them that's what they want.

We know Elon's multitasking is limited, but we still hear (CNBC - Squawk Box this AM) about LA tunneling continuing progress
versus the Semi or recent M3 production news releases. Guess Elon is as concerned about his travel time from SpaceX to LAX
as the M3 production or Semi status, right?

 

[EVDRIVER]

Not the point. You know what I’m referring to enough said.

 

[jlv]

Is the Tesla Semi really dead?
Or just a misreading of the tea-leaves?
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4172159-tesla-semi-dead?dr=1

Or, just FUD. The most important quote from the article:

Disclosure: I am/we are short TSLA.

 

[lorenfb]

More competition? And from an oil company:

Tesla's latest competition in making efficient truck to crisscross country: Big Oil
• Shell's energy-efficient AirFlow Starship begins its cross-country trek May 18.
• The aerodynamic truck, equipped with solar panels, aims to break the record for trucking fuel efficiency.
• Tesla is working on an electric truck, but the need for power and infrequent stopping make long-haul trucks difficult.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/11/shell-has-a-plan-to-match-tesla-with-energy-efficient-long-haul-truck.html

The AirFlow Starship's 5,000-watt solar panels provide energy for electrical components such as lights and wipers. Other than the aerodynamic design, the hybrid electric axle system and custom automatic tire inflation make the truck more fuel efficient. Open-grill shutters allow air to cool the engine, and they automatically close to reduce drag when cooling isn't needed. The boat tail design on the back also reduces drag.

 

[EVDRIVER]

The solar panel thing is funny, consider the cost benefit based on todays panel prices and technology and the reliability of them on a truck trailer with all the vibration and exposure.

 

[GRA]

Is the Tesla Semi really dead?
Or just a misreading of the tea-leaves?
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4172159-tesla-semi-dead?dr=1

Or, just FUD. The most important quote from the article:

Disclosure: I am/we are short TSLA.

While useful info, are we to automatically infer from this that anyone who is short or long on Tesla is so biased that they're incapable of arriving at rational conclusions? Or should we instead evaluate the strength of their arguments, while taking into account that their financial interest may (or may not) be affecting their opinions?

 

[lorenfb]

Or should we instead evaluate the strength of their arguments, while taking into account that their financial interest may (or may not) be affecting their opinions?

Couldn't be stated more logically. You'd think most would.

Disclosure: I am neither long nor short TSLA.

 

[lorenfb]

The solar panel thing is funny, consider the cost benefit based on todays panel prices and technology and the reliability of them on a truck trailer with all the vibration and exposure.

1. The implementation most likely is just a proof-of-concept and whether a certain mileage could be achieved.
2. Just like with the SEMI, that product's viability and cost projections are based on future technology/costs.
3. I doubt it's much of a Tesla threat, i.e. just that others are "thinking" too.

Hey, a future design of that truck might use Tesla PV tiles, right?

 

[EVDRIVER]

Yes it proved you can put solar panels on a truck, but I think we knew that when solar panels were made and we know it makes no sense. The mileage that is quoted is also very ambiguous as it is talking about more than one vehicle and it’s not validated and it’s on flat ground unden who knows why conditions. But it’s great for oil company PR. We already know trucks can be more aerodynamic and if the economics make sense they implement the changes. Not exactly a Tesla truck competitor.

 

[AndyH]

The Shell truck's a joke of a publicity stunt.

Luigi Colani's been doing aero semis since the 1970s. I bet his 80s designs without hybridization would give Shell a run, and his 2007 designs would probably beat Shell's truck in fuel efficiency.

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/trends-innovations/reinvent-18-wheeler1.htm

He also got under the hood to tinker with the engine. He improved upon a 2005 Mercedes-Benz semi by adding a direct-injection, turbo-charged diesel engine to the vehicle. The result? It had almost 150 more horsepower than the original engine and consumed 30 percent less fuel [source: Discovery].

Still, he remained unsatisfied. In 2007, Colani and Siemens collaborated on a new truck. This semi is perhaps more appropriately referred to as a cockpit: The enclosed space is raised above the semi's frame and holds one person. What's more, the truck lacks a steering wheel -- it's driven entirely with a single joystick. The whole semi resembles the head and beak of a predatory bird in flight. With this incarnation, Colani's design managed to reduce fuel consumption by 50 percent [source: Discovery]. That reduction comes exclusively from exterior aerodynamic changes, without any modifications to the engine.

 

[LeilaniMcintosh]

The time has come to revive this thread, guys! So, what's new about the truck?

 

[cwerdna]

https://insideevs.com/news/633419/tesla-semi-details-frito-lay-visit/ points to
https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/tesla-semi-interior-review/ with some details and interior pictures.

 

[GRA]

Saw two Tesla tractors coming the other way as I drove through Escalon on the way home Thursday. Frito-Lay has facilities in both Manteca and Modesto, so presumably they were enroute to/from one or the other. One was white, and the other was painted in pale Frito-Lay markings. IIRR neither was pulling a trailer. Definitely weird-looking from head-on.

I also saw my first Cyber-truck in the past week, although I'll be damned if I can remember where or under what circumstances. Not having the slightest interest in them probably explains my memory failure.