Tesla Electric Truck: What We Know So Far

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Yesterday evening the Tesla electric truck was unveiled during a live-streamed event at their design studio in California. Tesla have named the truck ‘Semi’, and claim that it is the safest, most comfortable truck ever. With four independent motors providing maximum power and acceleration while still requiring the lowest energy cost per mile.

Elon Musk has arguably been the most prominent face of electric vehicles, through his company Tesla. Tesla have had some great success with their cars, and now it seems they are moving into trucks as well. The company claims that their Semi truck is far more efficient than any diesel-powered truck currently on the market.

Tesla is offering a guarantee that the truck will not break down for one million miles, that just shows how confident they are in their new Semi truck. There are some notable features that aid in less damage to the truck, such as the fact it has a reinforced battery which helps to prevent damage upon impact, plus the fact the windshield is made of impact resistant glass, and the fact there’s only one gear on the gearbox. With one gear, you’re not continually shifting and putting strain on the gearbox, so it’s much less inclined to break.

Tesla also said:

Jackknifing is prevented due to the Semi’s onboard sensors that detect instability and react with positive or negative torque to each wheel while independently actuating all brakes,

Which is great news, as jackknifing trucks have caused a number of accidents, and even deaths, over the past decade.

Tesla Electric Truck Specifications

Here’s a breakdown of some of the key features we learned about during the unveiling:

  • Up to 500 mile range with a single charge
  • A 30 minute charge can add 400 miles range when using a Megacharger
  • 0 – 60 MPH in 5 seconds without a trailer
  • 0 – 60 MPH in 20 seconds with a trailer and 80,000 pounds of cargo
  • Can travel in a convoy where one Semi will lead the other Semi trucks autonomously
  • Impact resistant glass for the Windshield
  • 4 motors on the rear axels
  • Less than 2 kWh per mile

The Drivers Cabin

Semi Cabin
Source: Tesla

The drivers cabin is probably one of the most impressive features of the vehicle. To start with, there is enough room for the driver to stand inside the cabin, and rather than having the driver seated on the left hand side, Tesla have positioned the drivers seat in the centre of the cabin, ensuring the driver has greater all-around visibility.

Inside the drivers cabin, you will also find two large touchscreen displays. One positioned on either side of the drivers seat. These displays can provide access to things like navigation, external cameras, and blind spot monitoring.

The Semi also comes with built in connectivity, ensuring the trucks can communicate effortlessly and integrate with the fleet’s management system to help with scheduling and routing.

Drivers Cabin
Source: Tesla

The Tesla electric touch also comes with other advanced high-tech features, such as cameras on the outside of the vehicle to help with manoeuvring and monitoring blind spots – providing alerts to the driver when it encounters a dangerous situation. The truck also has Enhanced Autopilot which deals with automatic braking, lane keeping, and lane departure warnings.

It certainly sounds like Tesla have taken safety seriously, and when you have a truck this size, it’s nice to know that these measures are in place to minimize any chance of a road traffic accident.

Helping The Environment

Elon Musk cares about our environment, thats part of the force driving him and Tesla with their electric vehicle production. Commercial vehicles are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. When I say major, I mean major. The US Department of Energy states that 80% of all goods in the US are transported by class 8 trucks, and that these trucks account for 22% of total energy use in transportation. That means they burn through approximately 28 billion gallons of fuel each year!

On a worldwide scale, class 8 trucks are responsible for 7% of greenhouse gas emissions, and get through 17 million barrels of oil per day! I know it’s a long way off, but if electric trucks do gradually replace all of the diesel trucks on the roads, that would have a huge benefit for our environment, reducing current greenhouse gas emission levels by 7%!

Tesla Electric Truck Price

There are currently no details on how much the Tesla electric truck will cost, but you can reserve one now for a $5,000 downpayment, and they expect production to begin in 2019.

Conclusion

The Tesla electric truck – Semi – looks amazing, and is full of advanced high-tech features to keep the driver, cargo, and other road users safe. Not to mention the fact that it’s electric, and has a great range, and incredible recharge time. The Semi is certainly going to be popular with transport companies who want to lower their operating costs. With reservations being made for $5,000 and production starting in 2019, it probably wont be long until we see the first Semi trucks on the road.

To see the full details of the Tesla Semi, check out the official company webpage.

The Tesla Roadster

Tesla Roadster
Source: Tesla

During the event yesterday, when the Tesla electric truck – Semi – was announced, Tesla also unveiled their new supercar; Roadster.

The Tesla roadster is apparently the quickest car in the world, with record-setting acceleration, range, and performance. Boasting a 0 – 60 MPH speed of just 1.9 seconds, and a top speed of over 250 MPH, with a 620 mile range on a full battery – it certainly does sound impressive.

The Tesla Roadster base price is $200,000 with a reservation price of $50,000. There’s also a Founders Series price of $250,000 for which the full amount must be paid upon reservation.

It’s a beautiful looking car, and is the first supercar that Tesla have made. With the speeds and features this car comes with, I can imagine it will be one of their most successful models yet. Not only is it faster than diesel/petrol vehicles, but it’s cheaper to run too. One can imagine how much it costs to travel 620 miles in a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, but with the Tesla Roadster, you can cover 625 miles on a single full charge.

Fore more information on the Roadster, check out the Tesla Roadster page on the company website.

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