INSANE Tesla Semi Truck Efficiency Explained | 2X FORD F-150

[@Cleanerwatt]

You can find the article version of this here: www.cleanerwatt.com/articles/insane-tesla-semi-truck-efficiency-explained

[@FalkinerTim]

If tunnels do not allow large diesel trucks due to air pollution the diesel trucks have to travel further which effectively makes their fuel consumption higher.

[@kadmow]

- Is that really a thing, for non dangerous goods loads?? - Or an imagined reality??

[@FalkinerTim]

@@kadmow Having driven an EV, I have come to realize just how smelly other petrol and diesel cars are and diesel trucks and buses are much worse. Driving a petrol or diesel car is like being a smoker, you do not realize how smelly a smoky environment is until you stop. I drive on the Citylink tunnels in Melbourne and at times the atmosphere is positively foul. Some cities are already proposing to ban diesels from the open streets and it will not be long before EV drivers call for a ban on diesels in tunnels if this is not already happening.

[@kadmow]

@@FalkinerTim : Congratulations on giving up smoking, that stuff really takes years one's life, so hard to quit, I hear. lol... so you mean you just "made facts up" (re. tunnel diesel bans- you do know all (nearly all - I reckon) tunnels have fans and extraction systems to take away the tobacco smoke - + other "nasties") ), hoping that the vocal 1% will change the law - some time in the future. - Isn't the EV installed biohazard quality air scrubber cleaning the tunnel's air for you?? - basically performing a public service. Thanks for the clean air input, I would never have guessed. Of course I love the clean air, EV driving city folk can just shift all of their pollution to the Hunter and Lithgow (NSW - other states have similarly reliable dumping grounds) - or China where nice clean tech is made using beautifully black Central Queensland coal....

[@jackylsmith8138]

No tunnels in my state ban any ICE vehicles. That ban hazardous material cargo. So even a Tesla Semi carrying HM would need to seek alternative routes.

[@FalkinerTim]

@@kadmow Thank you. You have smoked out, if you will excuse the pun, an issue which has not as far as I know been discussed and that is the difference in smell between the cabin of a petrol car and that of an electric car. In my limited experience, petrol cars have a fuggy, oily smell that is absent from an electric car. But is this just me or do others notice it as well? Worth investigating. As for your point that there appear to be no tunnels that ban diesels, I had assumed there would have been such tunnels and I am surprised that there appear to be none. Most of the proposed banning of diesels appears to be in above ground areas, some European cities and US states. Regarding tunnel ventilation, whatever the case in NSW, it has always been my understanding that the Citylink extractor fan outlets do not have scrubbers and that they concentrate traffic fumes and dispose of them in concentrated plumes. One report on air quality (disputed by Transurban and the RACV) is mentioned in the Herald Sun newspaper, "A risk assessment by CityLink contractor TransLink warns that workers could develop cancer over 15 years. The documents show workers were breathing in "extreme" levels of diesel particles and that there was a high likelihood they could contract cancer. www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/citylink-tunnel-air-so-bad-workers-may-get-cancer/news-story/8935baee0385a40fa8c52c75c8e69fb9

[@TheDenooneD]

As a long time trucker i will tell you that very rare we have 80 000 lbs loads or not very often. Lots of loads hover around 25 - 35 000 lbs and many manufacturers don't load more then 15 000 lbs in trailers. So that range should get bigger.

[@That-Guy_]

I rounded the numbers for the sake of brevity so it might look like my math it off by a bit but it's close enough. My location has 21 trucks. We run about 2.5 million miles a year. We spend $2.4 million on fuel. So if each Tesla Semi plus equipment/ upgrades was $300k to $350k and we got the 1.7kwh/mi as stated by Tesla at our power cost of $0.04/kwh we would save ,just in fuel cost, about $2.2 million/yr. That would only take about 3 years to fully pay for all 21 truck plus equipment/upgrades.

[@wolfgangpreier9160]

@@That-Guy_ Cheap electricity! We pay at least 20-25 cents/kWh in Europe (some even much more). But yes, your „back of the napkin“ math is sound.

[@wolfgangpreier9160]

Yes, fossil trucks‘s efficiency goes down with the load. Electric trucks not so much. Only if you run regularly over high mountain passes you will see a big difference. My observation in Europe is the same. Only few run full weight loads. A commercial kitchen hauled from Serbia to Limmerik in Ireland does not weigh 30 tons. A few coils of copper may indeed be heavier. Kitchens are more common than copper coils. 😊

[@jeffgorchynski]

You are a gem! One of the best tesla channels out there.

[@That-Guy_]

I rounded the numbers for the sake of brevity so it might look like my math it off by a bit but it's close enough. My location has 21 trucks. We run about 2.5 million miles a year. We spend $2.4 million on fuel. So if each Tesla Semi plus equipment/ upgrades was $300k to $350k and we got the 1.7kwh/mi as stated by Tesla at our power cost of $0.04/kwh we would save ,just in fuel cost, about $2.2 million/yr. That would only take about 3 years to fully pay for all 21 truck plus equipment/upgrades.

[@daryl9799]

That's insanity electric is the future the cost of fuel is just to crazy these days. Companies can save millions.

[@StephanRaubenheimer]

Thanks for facts, not opinions...

[@greggmcclelland8430]

Does the .04/kwh also account for the demand charges? And would your truck charging add to that demand charge or be able to happen off peak?

[@That-Guy_]

@@greggmcclelland8430 My facility pays a flat rate of 4 cents

[@bobjoned3398]

More interesting is how is your fuel tax going to be calculated.

[@thewebsir]

The cargo in the tesla truck was carying was less than 7 Tons, the concrete bricks it is carying are 500kg each, a total of 10 of them is only 5 Tons.

[@mike309saa]

except they never mentioned how much cargo it could carry at the release event. The battery alone takes up a lot of the weight and so isn't that much left before it reaches the weight limit. Other people have done the maths using the video tesla showed of the T-semi overtaking a regular semi-truck and the T-semi was clearly not hauling as much cargo weight as the regular truck.

[@simonreeves2017]

Hats off to Tesla for this, okay it is three years later than anticipated, but Elon is an eternal optimist with his time lines. A lot of the Semi detractors have forgotten their school physics classes. The mass of a vehicle in constant motion does not affect the energy needed to keep it in motion. Of course, in the real world the mass of the vehicle does consume energy whenever the direction of travel changes, either left to right (angular acceleration) or up and down (potential energy). But if you had a theoretical 500 mile road that was straight and level, and you travel at a constant speed, you only need enough energy to overcome resistance (Air and friction). As many have pointed out, inclines and declines proved the opportunity to harvest potential energy to charge the battery pack on the decline instead of wasting this potential energy as heat in the brakes. Overall anyone with a basic grasp of Newtonian physics and thermodynamics can see how an electric vehicle will be so much more energy efficient than an internal combustion vehicle in any application.

[@roryreddog3258]

So it would seem that “load-weight*, should have little impact on efficiency. The *additional energy* needed to accelerate to speed and travel uphills for a HEAVY load is balanced by *additional regen* captured by the additional weight. This is a closed loop “conservation of energy” system

[@rogerstarkey5390]

Yep

[@1KentKent]

Comparing MPG to MPGe is useful but you're missing the headline. What is important is comparing the cost of diesel to the cost of electricity to drive the 500 miles. The cost of diesel in California is about $5.83 a gallon, with MPG of 6.5 miles, the cost of driving 500 miles is $448. If the Tesla Semi used 850kwh, and with a supercharger rate of $.50/kwh, the cost is $425. If Pepsi uses its own superchargers the cost of electricity would be much cheaper, assuming $.20 kwh, the cost of the trip would be $170. I'm making this point because truckers want to see how they can save money, and Pepsi is going to save a whole lot of money if they charge up at their own lots taking advantage of the night time rates.

[@patricklegault6383]

there is also a difference between type of gas (gas vs diesel) they don't contain the same energy density

[@budgetaudiophilelife-long5461]

THANKS JON 🤗 for explaining … how is something that can’t be done, was done, in terms we can understand 🤗😎💚💚💚

[@BadenHealth]

It’s economy of scale. The reason why big trucks are used instead of more small trucks

[@veralto3411]

When you compare the efficiency of a freight vehicle, compare the fuel required to move a metric ton one kilometer per unit of time. You will find that a train is the most efficient followed by a semi truck followed by a family truck fully loaded. Comparing those to a Tesla electric semi would be very interesting.

[@catsaregovernmentspies]

Didn't Elon say in the presentation the Tesla Semi is cheaper per pound to haul freight than a train?

[@teranova5566]

Yes you are right, I will do it. So at the use of 1.7 kWh/mile it means 1062 kWh/1000km.Assuming the nett weight of load is about 25 tons that means the specific energy use of 42.5 kWh/ktkm (1 tone transport over 1000 km). Taking into account that in Europe trains has efficiency at 9.4 kWh/ktkm. Well the electric train is 4.52 times more efficient. Yes that is a huge number.

[@rogerstarkey5390]

@@catsaregovernmentspies That's the aim when they can convoy on FSD.

[@rogerstarkey5390]

@@teranova5566 But you have to unload the train then use trucks to distribute goods. The comparison was assuming a convoy system using FSD.

[@teranova5566]

@@rogerstarkey5390 FSD would not change anything in energy used even if it worked, but it does not yet. Tesla Semi is not for distribution, it is long haul truck for containers.

[@zaurenstoates7306]

If like to take a minute of appreciation for the cascadia evolution. 9.31 mpg with 37.9kwh a gallon is ~4kwh/mile. If the engine is 50% efficient than that's 2kwh/mile to move. Diesels are generally 40% efficient so that'd put it at 1.6kwh/mile so Tesla's number isn't so unbelievable. They do have a few things going for them too namely energy recovery and lack of need to idle that'll help improve the efficiency

[@charleswillcock3235]

One more consideration. In the UK councils in some of the largest cities have introduced clean air zones which tax Semis £100 per day to drive in if they are diesel. You do not have to mathematical genius to see that if you were paying that 5 times per week - an electric lorry becomes a no brainer.

[@SomeTechGuy666]

Fantastic analysis.

[@alyoon6590]

Well done. Thanks John

[@Indecisive7337]

Hell Fire....putting it like that it is Magic!

[@Dee-ou7vd]

Great job John.

[@ericrotsinger9729]

Ya did a good job explaining something that is mind blowing.

[@TomTom-cm2oq]

0:49 “a half ton pick up truck” doesn’t exist as far as I know. 500 kg isn’t very much weight.

[@nonesocruel]

it's hauling 10 road barriers in the preview video. Says "it's full capacity" so 10 tons , half or less of diesel. Very sketchy

[@whlphil]

So if as rumours suggest consumption is about 1.7kWh/mi then battery would be 900-920kWh. Not sure if such a large pack could take the same peak rate but 2170 has peak C of about 3 which would suggest an upto 2.7MW peak charge rate assuming a similar charge curve to 2170 celled vehicles

[@whlphil]

That’s pack size including buffer along same lines as other vehicles

[@rogerstarkey5390]

This just popped into my head, but if you have 9 (say 10) times the pack volume 1MWh and a charger of 1MW your percent "fill up" rate would be the same as a 100 kWh pack at 100kW Charger? (Assuming a "flat" curve?) So quite a low loading? When's the "bottleneck" for such a system? The cable (charger to vehicle, the connector to pack) In a car there's (possibly) a space restriction for cabling. In a truck, not so much. We now know they have an efficient cable/ connector (there's a surprise coming with that as well!) I think they might have similar inside the vehicle to minimise losses right up to the power components.

[@whlphil]

@@rogerstarkey5390 restrictions always tend to be the battery charge rate. The battery charge rate is set by its chemistry / thermal control. As the 2170 is pretty well understood (its peak C (charge rate) is around 3) Therefore max battery charging power is 3 x the pack size, this only happens for a brief period before pack heats up and then charge rate is slowed to keep within thermal limits.. Its a little unclear if the Semi pack is multi layer (cell on top of cells - not just one flat slab of cells like cars) if so it may be that it doesn't have the same ability to cool the pack during charging which may lower the max charge rate or the period at any given power. However could be the opposite, could have cooling plates in-between layers so may be able to use a higher C rate if cooling can be better controlled. The cable from charger is simply a thermal limit on the cable sizing hence the cooling within the new cable design. If you want more power through a cable you increase the conductor cross section to lower resistance and thus heat gain or add cooling or increase voltage as thermal limits are induced by current (use higher voltage, lower current for any given power lowers heat gain). Higher voltages have issues around insulation of the cables and associated electronics so cant just simply keep adding voltage without running into other issues. Also switchgear for rest of system starts to become an issue as not much is designed for over 1000v without getting into expensive switchgear. Also theres an obvious cross section limit to what can practically be handled by a user and what bend radius the cable can be moved to. So if you add cooling / increase voltage you can use a smaller cable thats more user friendly in terms of lifting it and moving it. Haven't had chance to sit and look at a theoretical charge curve for charging Semi, the website says 70% in 30 min so that would be 645kWh for a 500mi range although obviously it could be weasel words and the 70% could be referring to the 300mi range unit, but to give them benefit of doubt I'll assume its the 500mi.. Of course the charge rates for 300 / 500mi range could be a comparable multiple of the pack size based on the same C rates which shouldn't make much difference in terms of times (3C rates would be - 2.7MW 500mi, 1.5MW 300mi) but again then you start to get to issues with what can the incoming site supply to the charger. You're always having to balance what can the site supply, whats practical for the charger design, what can the battery take. So to go back to the 500mi Semi taking 70% recharge in 30 min that would be required to deliver 644kWh in 30 min that would give an average rate of 1244kW over the 30min period so I suspect that it may well deliver peak rates of over 2MW in order to achieve that with a ramp down over that period. Cybertruk wont be able to do much more than about 480kW if you assume 3C rate and a 140kWh pack, however if pack is larger or the 4680 can be increased to take a higher C rate, say 4 to 5C, then it could take more power. I would think the 4680 will achieve a C rate of 4-5 given its far superior thermal design and increased cooling contact area on cell can due to its larger design but thats just a guess.

[@Nill757]

“1.7 kWh per mile” That’s with a matching, aero and rolling tweaked Tesla trailer. That’s simply not going to happen at mass scale.

[@G.I.Csonka]

As semi was produced from scratch, I do not understand why Tesla is not using powerful compact in-wheel motors?

[@rogerstarkey5390]

The wheel area is a more hostile environment than tucked under the chassis.

[@G.I.Csonka]

Naturally that can be a disadvantage, but there are many advantages. I wouldn't be surprised if this solution dominates in the future. It's true, it also needs good roads. But in Europe that is not a problem.

[@michaeldagenais8003]

Yeah Tesla is quite far ahead! The efficiency is great when you add in the cleanliness/pollution factor it is a no brainer! Wish they could ramp faster! Waiting for other transport entries; Electric shipping, small haul flight, VTOL would be amazing and eventually long haul flight! The dramatic decrease in noise pollution is also a VERY positive plus! Thanks very enjoyable, nice to see a positive Tesla video!

[@carholic-sz3qv]

Nope it’s not far ahead! They just have stocked the largest battery of all those other electric ones so go think that again lol…

[@jaybui7506]

Elon Musk is an Alien.

[@bradharris1459]

I think another important aspect of Tesla semis is that the ease of use will promote more people to venture into the trucking industry...the lower cost per mile of delivery will pave the way for lower shelve costs as well as higher pay wages...cant wait to see the impact these semis have.

[@carholic-sz3qv]

Lol….. automatic gearbox trucks are also super easy to use

[@averystablegenius]

Jon, you appear to disagree with Thuderf00t's on the economic practicality of Tesla Semi. What did Thuderf00t and his 1M subscribers get wrong?

[@karolykovacs5930]

Now i can understand why was the plaid engine created. I think the use of this thing in a car is only a side benefit to have fancy sport car but the main purpose was originally to do the heavy work in the semi.

[@rogerstarkey5390]

Lesson? NEVER take a thing Tesla (Elon) does at face value. . There's always a second layer.

[@sk4lman]

Is there any numbers showing the semi's battery weight and/or its total capacity for cargo?

[@OhRonaldo]

If the numbers were accurate with 1.7KWh needed per mile, then for 500 miles 850KWh battery pack is needed. The Tesla Model 3 has an 82KWh battery pack that weighs 1,200 pounds. So 12,000 pounds for the battery pack seems like a good SWAG to me.

[@RavynArcadia]

I do wonder how cold weather will affect this. Still amazing though.

[@FlyingAceAV8B]

It will have a massive effect.

[@RavynArcadia]

@@FlyingAceAV8B well duh. But how much?

[@FlyingAceAV8B]

@@RavynArcadia We will find out once the truck ends up in the hands of the average user.

[@Apjooz]

If the truck leaves from a charge port all warm and ready, I would be surprised if it's even 3%. The inefficiencies that affect regular people in cars during winter don't really hold with semi trucks.

[@morepork559]

A nice presentation, but for the 7.68 billion people who live outside the US, US gallons and miles make as much sense as water freezing at 32 degrees - it's hard to get one's mind around the US's 18th century measurement system. Kilometers per electric liter, anyone?

[@qwazy01]

I see what Tesla did there... payload was heavy, but way less drag than a trailer. No taking anything away, Tesla has knocked this one outta the park!

[@carholic-sz3qv]

Wrong!!!

[@qwazy01]

@carholic1336 Yes you are, yes you are... I will also add it is very astute of you to acknowledge this in public as well.

[@leamgodfrey7445]

How efficient is cybrtrk guna be

[@mikeskidmore6754]

Oh Wow they went down hill 5,000 feet too .. Now turn around and see if you can make it on one battery charge going 5,000 feet uphill ..

[@roger_is_red]

the semi is mind blowing

[@quinnbat]

We needed that truck 10 year ago why so long??? Big Oil???

[@shrichaudhary]

What was the elevation change during the 500 mile trip as well as the wind direction? Both of those affect rooms numbers dramatically.

[@CL-gq3no]

I believe the elevation increased 4000 feet. No idea about wind speed.

[@johnbranca6933]

It is shown in the range chart in the video...The decrease in energy in the battery was superimposed on the elevation change chart.

[@philborer877]

I want one to pull My RV.

[@christiansessions3292]

How much does the Tesla weigh on its own. What is the range not fully loaded? If the truck weighs 40K lbs on its own does that mean the truck has a 1000 mile range? The numbers that Musk and Tesla are putting out isn’t adding up

[@mikeoberg1]

One of the advantages in the Semi is that the use of regen braking on long downhills mean no concerns about overheating brakeshoes. The elimination of gears makes the driver experience much simpler as well.

[@daneboyd952]

Elon said the semi will never need a "brake job or pads" what a savings on maintenance and a whole day gained on productivity. That's close to a 5k per year savings alone

[@yootoober2009]

and no chance of jackknifing because Tesla has a smart Traction Control system and/or Anti-Lock Brakes... don't know if they are the same or separate systems...

[@kadmow]

@@yootoober2009 : hmm, are there regen units on the trailer- if only prime mover regen is used, the truck can still jacjknife on icy roads - the trailer brakes may still need aintenance.

[@ollikkikk3741]

I wonder if Tesla Bot will have regen. Do humans have biological regen?

[@TheBusyDaddy]

One other concern is reliability of the auto clutch system on the rear drive motors. If those failed on a down hill, I wonder if the physical braking will be enough to slow and stop the truck. Maybe there is a manual clutch activation or safety device to activate those clutches. Just looking at worst case scenarios.

[@thehoodster185]

I have a Model S plaid; is Elon saying, with proper modifications, my 3 plaid motors can haul 82k pounds too? lol

[@allterrainrandy2587]

The semi has 23:1 gear reduction on the 2 motor axle, and 15:1 gear reduction on the single motor axle. I believe the plaid has 7.5:1 reduction. The semi does have larger tires. The plaid would pull about 1/3 that weight. It would haul about 1/20th.

[@thehoodster185]

@@allterrainrandy2587 Randy, you know your shiz. thank you for entertaining my question. cheers.

[@edsta714]

If they can put anything close to that into the Cybertruck that would be crazy.

[@daryl9799]

They will there's a quad motor cybertruck coming the truck will be mind boggling.

[@carholic-sz3qv]

Nope they won’t! Lol…. The tesla semi has the equivalent of 10 model s batteries just imagine the price

[@carholic-sz3qv]

@@daryl9799 nope they won’t! The longest range one will have something like two motors and not 4 weight also counts alot

[@BillB33525]

Can't wait to see customers verify the range. Almost sounds too good to be true.

[@lancetruong4957]

They tested on the 5 freeway. Didn't u see the video?

[@vicjay1972]

@lancetruong4957 one video supplied by Tesla isn't enough. I also want to see real world truckers opinions on the Tesla Semi.

[@00NoBiTa00]

I dont think Pepsi would provide internal data that they'd tested with Tesla, and Peps would not provide in future.

[@StephanRaubenheimer]

So does the Moon Landing?

[@adam964]

This is exciting news, however I noticed that the Tesla Semi was traveling fairly slowly in the time lapse video, ie hyper-miling it. Anyone else notice that? Still very impressed by the part where it is accelerating up a 6% grade. I think the jury should still be out until some independent testing.

[@vicjay1972]

I couldn't agree more.

[@jjackson3240]

IIRC big rig speed limit in California is 60 mph(most places). He won't be able to go 500 miles in 8 hours If he's hyper-miling.

[@CL-gq3no]

How do you know how fast it's going from a time lapse? I'm assuming you are looking at cars passing, but it's pretty normal for most passenger car traffic to be going faster than semi traffic. I did the math, and 1 second in the time lapse is about 2 minutes in real time. So if you can see the same car in the passing lane for 1 second or more then that car was along side the semi for 2 minutes or more. In the video, the traffic in the fast lane doesn't seem to be going that much faster given that you can see the same vehicles long enough to follow their movements. Also, the Tesla Semi is often following the same semi ahead of it for long periods of time so it seems to be going with the flow of other semi traffic.

[@DEBOSSGARAGE]

Calculations are fine, but show the real world numbers. Cold, inclines etc. The biggest issue is the weight of the truck, which they have not mentioned yet. I imagine around 30 000 lbs. That's about 10 000 lbs more truck and less payload. Every 4 trips, the Tesla will have to do an extra trip. As diesel is used l, a truck gets lighter but the Tesla will carry that weight all the time.

[@stephenpierz8029]

This is the most complete analysis of the semi that i have seen, outstanding! I worked 30 years at Caterpillar and one of our biggest concerns was operator fatigue. This truck, with the screens and software will allow the operator to have significantly less fatigue. If you put autopilot/ FSD, the operator will make the truck incredibly safe and fun to drive. Might just start a second career driving a tesla semi!

[@tonydeveyra4611]

This is something that drives me nuts when people complain about 500 miles of range "not being enough"... last time I checked these trucks are still going to have drivers, drivers that have to stop to eat drink and use the bathroom every 4-6 hours. And it's not even really possible to drive 500 miles in that time frame. If you're gonna stop to charge the driver with food night as well charge the truck too!

[@B4ud3r]

Do it!

[@strangelet4588]

Here's another angle at the Tesla Semi. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pWTHdHeEfreAaZY

[@alexanderlopera8088]

@@strangelet4588 thank you for sharing, but Im so sorry, I tried, but I was annoid within the 1st minute. Back to my Tesla Semi

[@strangelet4588]

@@alexanderlopera8088 lol. Enjoy the delusion I guess. 🤷‍♂️

[@yootoober2009]

Drive the Cascadia the exact same route and distance as the Tesla Semi. leave 4% of its fuel in the tank and figure its efficiency.. Maybe even run the Cascadia to an exact 8-hour trip like the Tesla to see how close or far from the 500 mile destination it will be at after 8 hours, which will give you an idea how fast or slow a diesel Semi can travel in 8 hours giving you the average speed before the driver has to take the mandatory 30 min rest...no refueling till the 500 mile destination... That will be an apple to apple comparison..

[@mikeskidmore6754]

Read the Chart for Tesla it claims 300 - 500 miles.. To get 500 miles they went 5,000 feet downhill in elevation and were pulling a flat bed trailer that is easier to pull than a van is ..

[@christianmohr2980]

There is a swiss company called Designwerk who modifies regular Volvo Trucks into Electric trucks with a range under full load of 760km (~470miles). They even hold two world records with driving 23h and over 1100km in one charge (empty if i remember correct) and of a battery that made a distamce that is enought to travel 3 time around the globe

[@dandy5091]

This information makes me think that there is a good chance the Cybertruck will have better towing capabilities than the F150 lightning.

[@ericogden4589]

Waaay better

[@TheBusyDaddy]

And better MPGe if the rear drive units on the cybertruck also have the auto clutch system for highway coasting.

[@francoischarbonneau9447]

Better than the F-150? That's been known ever since the unavailing of the CyberTruck, tow capacity is 14,000 lbs.

[@Species-lj8wh]

Its not the capabilities of the truck. But what its towing. The near perfect aerodynamics of the Semi will change once the trailer has been changed.

[@GntlTch]

@@Species-lj8wh Class 8 trailers are pretty standard and the Tesla semi can pull them all. Pepsi will be using their existing trailers, not Tesla unique.

[@hladick]

Problem with MPGe is it assumes that 33..7 kwh of gas can be converted to 33.7kwh of electricity. No source of energy can be converted 1 to 1 to electricity there are always efficiency losses. There is also charging efficiency that should be considered. What really should be considered is how much fuel (coal, oil, water, wind, uranium, sun) in kwh a power plant is consuming to charge a battery a 33.7kwh.

[@chriswright9096]

I'm sorry, I think you are a little confused. You introduce the concept of dumb efficiency early in the video and then completely ignore it thereafter. The only measure of efficiency that really matters is one that takes payload into account. If the 81,000lbs was all truck weight (no payload) then meaningful efficiency would be zero (run the truck but shift no goods). As we don't know the payload we cannot make any useful observation on efficiency. Now, why do we not know the payload (although we have been thoroughly introduced to the cupholders)? I suspect because it is not a good statistic for Tesla. This seems quite obvious.

[@bobjoned3398]

Is there a weight exemption for the Tesla? The max gross weight for a Class 8, 5 axle semi tractor/trailer combination is 80,000 pounds. Yes, I know you can be heavier, but that's not the average truck you see on the road.

[@jembayindirli9622]

Awesome video! Thank you for that clear interpretation of energy usage. What an incredible contrast. A feat of engineering indeed!

[@Cleanerwatt]

Thank you!

[@carholic-sz3qv]

It’s a totally stupid game of conversion! ICE have all their energy on board and have to convert them into movements while EVs have very limited already transformed energy. That’s why diesel trucks are soooo much more capable than anything electric.

[@carholic-sz3qv]

Why can’t you compare a 1000hp diesel truck with the tesla 1000hp!? Because it’s totally unfair for the tesla.

[@carholic-sz3qv]

Thé 770hp scania trucks alone has almost 4x the torque of the tesla semi and also can haul 4x the tesla load

[@pwoudenberg]

What about all the information that has recently come to light about the capacity? Tesla talks about 80000 lbs but the real cargo is only about 44000 lbs, less than a diesel semi. The video showing the Tesla semi carrying the cement barriers up the hill is wildly inaccurate as that barrier load only weighs about 5 tons in reality, yet the video promotes this as "fully loaded" implying much more. Also, a regular semi can carry 20 tons of cargo, the Tesla semi simply cannot. I'm a fan of the Tesla semi, but concerned that the numbers being used are pretty fake..

[@thenon-gaapbillionaire3306]

This whole analysis and efficiency metric is useless because it does not take into account how much actual cargo is being transported. "Fully loaded" tells you nothing about how much cargo you have. Theoretically It could only be 1% of the total weight - thus making the semi basically useless despite it's higher efficiency.

[@frankinga3120]

I agree with everything you have discussed. But I would also like to know the payload capacity of the Tesla semi. We know that the total weight was 81,000lb, but we don't know the payload weight. Some of the information available suggests that the total payload weight was about 1/4 of a similar sized class-8 semi. Can you shed some light on this?

[@wojciechkozerski7084]

This is full on gaslighting, once we get real world reviews this is all hype of comparing apple to oranges. The fact is we know how towing with current battery tech will end up. Just look at towing review of electric f150 compared to gas versions, and you can pretty much make up what this semi vs diesel semi will end up.

[@spacejihadist4246]

This was promised to be released back in 2019. The most stupidest way of transporting resources. A normal truck could carry more and travel longer.

[@nikholden4345]

Yet to be seen how much of the total gross weight is truck, in other words how much can I move, how far can I actually move it and how frequently can o do it. A pretty looking truck doesn’t make money looking pretty. And getting to the top of a hill faster while only carrying half the load and able to go half the distance isn’t going to change the freight industry. A neat distraction for sure.

[@TheFortunete11er]

Yeah I think this was busted. Define fully loaded. I think they showed that the truck was not fully loaded, the truck was carrying far less than a regular Diesel truck could carry when carrying the same type of cargo. truck shown is carrying about 6 tons, not alot. according to the video, it was one of the slowest trucks on the road. Lots of promises as usual.

[@DavidTangye]

Good analysis accept you did not factor in how much cargo the Tesla semi was actually carrying vs on a big or small diesel competitor in all your efficiency analysis. One reports says the Semi was carrying half the cargo weight or less. The cargo weight has not been revealed by Tesla, so was estimated by the public.

[@nicksundby]

So what is the cargo load of the Tesla semi? Not mentioned at the event. The video shows it carrying 5-6 tons of concrete! Is that all it can carry? Without this number your calculations are meaningless.

[@clnelson321]

Tesla Semi will save so many lives and avoid thousands of needless accidents and suffering. Trucks do massive damage when they wreck and dozens of vehicles are usually involved.

[@ryanreeves70]

Just started video but as a long time and current semi driver..this will be huge, game changer and high demand from drivers and companies. Most companies love increased profits & savings. Duh'

[@rogerstarkey5390]

I imagine you'll enjoy constant speed driving? Not having to work the gears on gradients?

[@Aerostealth]

Nice try but you neglected charging efficiency. That brings the Tesla Semi up to around 22 or 23 mpg-e. Diesel has 137,000 btu per gallon so you are wrong there too. I do appreciate your attempt however.

[@Cleanerwatt]

Yes, please see my pinned tweet. I am working on another comparison video (this time vs EV semi trucks) and I will note that Diesel correction. Nonetheless, the 33.7 kWh calculation was fine vs 1/2 ton trucks.

[@That-Guy_]

I rounded the numbers for the sake of brevity so it might look like my math it off by a bit but it's close enough. My location has 21 trucks. We run about 2.5 million miles a year. We spend $2.4 million on fuel. So if each Tesla Semi plus equipment/ upgrades was $300k to $350k and we got the 1.7kwh/mi as stated by Tesla at our power cost of $0.04/kwh we would save ,just in fuel cost, about $2.2 million/yr. That would only take about 3 years to fully pay for all 21 truck plus equipment/upgrades.

[@Aerostealth]

@@That-Guy_ you are misleading people.

[@That-Guy_]

@@Aerostealth How? Those are the numbers off my fleet reports. They are not perfect since I did a quick estimate but when I get a chance I will do a more detailed run through for a presentation for my National Manager.

[@Aerostealth]

@@That-Guy_ thank you.

[@WJV9]

Elon Musk's 500 mile test was not a fair test, since Fremont to San Diego is most flat roads and also downhill most of the way. That is also in a warm climate so if you move that truck over the mountains in the winter my guess is you would be lucky to get 250 miles due to battery degradation in cold weather plus climbing hills and mountain passes will also use more energy due to high current draw by the motors. I realize that downhill will allow regen to battery BUT, remember the Second Law of Thermodynamics means that you will never get all the energy back used by climbing a hill, my guess is you will be lucky to get 70% of the energy back.

[@knightwing4]

I dont it will eve get 70% back on the down hill.

[@TheCardinal365]

Wonder if Tesla will make medium and small truck chassis. Can't wait to see what they reveal next.

[@whlphil]

I'm hoping that the CT will use a casting for the lower body frame / battery pack edge and that it will be designed to take a couple of different upper body designs that would be very exciting!

[@TheCardinal365]

@@whlphil would make a lot of sense 👍

[@robkeshav800]

Well presented Jon. Very concise & well articulated. All this innovation from Tesla and SpaceX is mainly due to the fact that Elon does not take "It can't be done" from his engineers. Who was that CEO who said that he would buy two Tesla Semi if they can achieve 500 mile range? Hope he honors his bet!

[@magallon643]

The Ceo of Daimler a Mercedes Benz Co.

[@silaszebedee9331]

Elon is late to deliver products and the products miss features that he promised. That is because "it can't be done".

[@silaszebedee9331]

Elon is a salesman that drives up the value of the stock with BS presentations.

[@lancetruong4957]

@@silaszebedee9331 Unlike Nikola, Elon always deliver real efficient products.

[@yootoober2009]

If Elon made fools out out of Russian rocket scientists and engineers proving he could make his own rocket engine to power his own reusable rockets, why would he pay attention to those fools who said he couldn't make electric vehicles fast, cheap, and mass producible... and God wannabe who said Tesla Semi "will Never Happen... and Daimler German physicist and head of Trucks "HERR Daum" - “If Tesla really delivers on this promise, we’ll obviously buy two trucks - one to take apart and one to test because if that happens, something has passed us by,” Daum said. “But for now, the same laws of physics apply in Germany and in California,” he added. Ouch! Take that, Elon!

[@johnnyforeigner11]

This will annihilate all other heavy duty truck manufacturers.

[@alexkimmerly9490]

You only speak of power efficiency -- there's some advances in time efficiency (get up to speed faster -- carry more speed up or down hills -- easier hookups) that offset the charging time. This is before time saved on maintenance or future savings from autonomy.

[@rogerstarkey5390]

"free stop" for the driver.

[@beanbruh6641]

Cleanwatt: Tesla has given there first Tesla semi to Pepsi me:pepi💀

[@AmericanRoads]

Using terms such as "fully loaded at 82k lbs gross combination weight" is rather deceptive. What I want to know is: how many tons of CARGO was the Tesla Semi hauling along that route? The more practical efficiency metric for a semi should be tons of cargo/gallon. The more cargo a semi can haul per unit of fuel, the more efficient and cost-effective it is.

[@bluetoad2668]

The Tesla Semi launch must have shocked legacy Truck makers with their 'token' BEV Truck efforts. They must have been dreading it. The game has changed, forever.

[@rogerstarkey5390]

I've seen numerous comments stating "But already have trucks!!!!" When you post the specs, they never reply.

[@Robert-cu9bm]

@@rogerstarkey5390 Tesla hasn't given any specs that matter.

[@castletown999]

Good explanation of MPGe - I have always wondered about that. But it is only of academic interest it seems because the price of a gallon of gas vs a "gallon" (37.9 KwH) of electricity are very different. What really matters is how far the vehicles can go per say $100 worth of fuel. It would be interesting to see your analysis expressed in those terms. For example how far can a Tesla semi go for $100 vs a Freightliner diesel or an F150. Yes you would have to use some averages for fuel prices, but it would still be an interesting comparison on a relative basis. When you look at it that way the efficiency becomes interesting as an explanation of the differences.

[@thomasgade226]

Electricity price varies a lot more than even the diesel. Consumer price can be 14c, 2017 solar was 7c, today's solar can be 4c, peak price can be $1. Truck fleets need multi-year fixed cost.

[@standardloginname]

You're using the imperial gallon, eh?

[@FrunkensteinVonZipperneck]

@@thomasgade226 "multi-year fixed costs" are available to truck fleets. Charging at the (not micro) chip factory, I'll bet Frito-Lay has locked in electricity cost.

[@FrunkensteinVonZipperneck]

@@standardloginname Not even us Canuckleheads use Lucas Electrics or imp. gals.

[@castletown999]

@@FrunkensteinVonZipperneck True I bet. But it would be good to know what the actual costs are to Pepsi. What rate did they actually lock in for power vs what they actually paid for diesel. Probably impossible to find out, but if you could that would tell you the real-world impact of the Semi. In the end that is what really matters.

[@MichaelGreenLagos]

Remember diesel uses electric to pump and the transport by truck and by ship and refinery and pumping out of the ground and the environmental impact pollution

[@CiaranMcHale]

Jon, I am subscribed to a few KZbin channels, including yours, that focus on various aspects of investing, innovation and sustainability. I show some of the more insightful videos to my 10-year-old son because I want him to grow up with a knowledge of these subjects. I recall him laughing with glee when watching one of The Limiting Factor's videos about Tesla's gigacasting and excitedly saying, "Daddy, by the time other companies get a gigacasting machine and can do this, Tesla will have made theirs even better, so the competition will never catch up". I look forward to showing him this video because I suspect he will have a similar reaction when learning about the relative power efficiency of the Tesla Semi compared to diesel Semis and pickup trucks. So thanks for the providing such insight in a simple to understand way.

[@de-bodgery]

HOW do you know that the GVW was nearly 82,000 pounds? This was never said!!! All they say is "fully loaded" and that was a box trailer and you are NOT told the actual weight of anything. AT BEST you can assume they are implying that they meant 82,000 pounds GVW, but they never said this! I think you are making a false assumption!

[@aponce16]

The thing that you are missing is this, it maybe a combined weight of 82 thousand pounds,but, of this 82 pounds how much is the weight of the cargo.that’s the part that lying Elon never mention anywhere and toy don;t know either. I bet you the weight distribution is more truck battery less cargo. A lot less cargo. Whisk means Elon’s magic truck is a crap. You can not violate the laws of physics. Well, he does, constantly using some fine BS.

[@huepix]

You keep saying 82000 lbs. That's the gross weight. You avoid specifics about what the weight of the semi is, and what payload they can carry. The F-150 towing 4tons is a poor comparison. The 500 mile range limit is problematic. Especially considering the recharge time. Mentioning a 70% charge on the fastest charger (not yet available) is deceptive. This knockes 30% off the range lowering it to 350miles. And the top 30% (that you've declined), produces more range than the bottom 30%, so this may even halve the range. And a standard charger will take several hours to charge. So i guess if you ignore the more than twice empty curb weight, short charging, severely limited range, limited payload, limited infrastructure, then maybe you've missed the point?

[@dumwaldo]

the core problem that you failed to ADDRESS IS THAT A TESLA SEMI CAN ONLY carry one quarter the load or a diesel semi. it would take the tesla truck 4 trips to transport the same load completely revering the efficiency and making the Tesla semi about half the efficiency of a diesel semi. its not like these are recreational vehicles, they are for a commercial purpose and the tesla has fallen very flat just as predicted. the tesla showcased with a full load and gross weight of 82,000 lbs had less than 5,000 lbs load weight on the trailer. a diesel semi with a gross weight of 80,000+ lbs would have around 20,000 lbs of cargo.

[@JessicaTranaker]

How many tons can it load? never mind what it cosume fully loaded. How much dos it load? A scania R 540 with an average fuel consumption of 25.14 litre/100 km and an average speed of 80.42 km/h, it can have a load in Sweden of 50 metric tons. so how many tesla trucks is needed to move 50 tons?

[@luisPcordeiro]

Very nice video. Thanks. I just wished the US would embrace the metric system. Mixing "kilo" watts with miles sounds weird. Don't be almost the only country not using the metric system. Even your scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson advocates for the metric system. Look up on KZbin.

[@markumbers5362]

Here is another efficiency the Tesla semi has that I have not heard anyone talk about yet. It's not an energy efficiency it's a manufacturing one. Because the driver is seated in the centre of the cab there will be no need to produce two different versions for left hand and right hand drive markets. An incredible saving on tooling costs and closing and reopening production lines. Just keep pumping the same product out for everyone.

[@Robert-cu9bm]

Considering the majority of the world is left hand drive, and countries that are right hand drive this truck wouldn't suit. This it's not really a saving, just a gimmick.

[@markumbers5362]

@@Robert-cu9bm Gee what a well thought out comment. I suppose it's only 163countries and territories and over 2 billion people, Among others including India, Japan, Indonesia, The UK , Australia, New Zealand etc. And shutting down production lines and tooling up costs nothing too. Clown.

[@Robert-cu9bm]

@@markumbers5362 I see India running out and buying millions of these🙄. Won't work in Australia because the distances are too vast, and carry more weight. Won't work in the UK or Japan as it is a bonneted truck, so it's too long for their roads. Maybe NZ. I'm sure Tesla is rushing to get into that market.

[@markumbers5362]

@@Robert-cu9bm Jesus mate get a life. LOL

[@Robert-cu9bm]

@@markumbers5362 When you lose an argument, resort to insults👍

[@jeanious2009]

4:50….lets assume this chart is accurate…..the number is more like 2.2kWh per mile on the Tesla semi. So that said for it to travel 20miles it would require 44kWh which is way more than 1 gallon of gas. Then keep in mind ELECTRICITY costs for delivering that power to the SEMI, it won’t be cheap and it will NEVER BE CHEAP so don’t let the con man lie to you and say that with the years to come the electricity fuel will become cheaper. SO MANY ISSUES WITH EV’s, bigger and more batteries to move heavy loads which equals to a REAL FUCKING TICKING TIME BOMB. Once these battery short out or get in an accident it will FUCKING BURN at over 1000 degrees Celsius which then will require at least 2-3 FIRE TRUCKS fully loaded with water. Now imagine two or three EV’s getting into an accident, YEAH MY POINT EXACTLY!!! Can’t wait for the BRIGHT future ahead.

[@timclifton5951]

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do a comparison between the ***Tesla Semi and the GM Hummer EV***. I would LOVE to see how Tesla's EFFICIENCy stacks up to an EV light truck. i.e., just how more efficient Tesla's engineering is compared to what you would think a 'general' EV light truck is.

[@TeslaEVolution]

Matt, this is great, but also keep in mind that the Tesla Semi "Tesla Model S Plaid motors" ONLY weigh about 90lbs/each!!! Whereas a regular DIESEL SEMI Engine weighs about 3,000lbs, so about 30x less, yet performs better, way better. Amazing engineering. Alien technology? ; ) Magic? No: Just Tesla.

[@WillN2Go1]

Amazing. December 1, 2022 the diesel semi tractor died, just as ICE cars died when the Model 3 was released. I had no idea just how efficient it is. What I noticed: cost same range as diesel rigs, maintenance: incredible savings (diesel rigs need brake jobs all the time), longevity: should be a lot better than diesel rigs, operating costs: less (you report it's a lot less!) The only reason every new diesel rig purchased won't a Tesla Semi is: availability, infrastructure not yet in place, and if you need a rig for remote routes. [ Efficiency: For my Model Y Long Range (28,000 miles, two cross country round trips) I calculated my 'mileage' based on the cost of energy I use against the current price of gas (U.S. average even though I live in California.) I consistently get between 50 - 60 MPGe$ which is great. ( I don't drive slow. My Prius V gets about 40 MPG) Of course my calcs don't compare joules, just cost/miles.] I watched the video of the Semi's trip to San Diego, and I've driven all the possible routes many times, but I couldn't tell that they'd stuck to I-5. I didn't recognize the 'Grapevine' (Tejon Pass 4144' (Tay-HONE) [ It's great to see the regen on the graph.] I think the Semi just passed the last big gas station/restaurant complex at the base of the Tejon Pass grade: kzbin.info/www/bejne/faXKkox7nZKkic0 (I found it impossible to tell that they'd just gone up that steep grade.) I routinely drive that grade in my Model Y at 70 mph -- easy, most cars back off a bit, and the semis (diesels) drop to low gears (also they're required to travel in 1-2 lanes and go slower.) Seeing the video of the Semi going over the Donner Pass 7000' (loaded with Jersey barriers) in the snow was a better view of how effortlessly an EV climbs a grade. Those grades are where the other truckers are going to want a Tesla Semi.

[@gxd4b1]

I love how this guy doesnt mention once how much actual cargo .. how much weight of that cargo .. it can carry. And to correct anyone before they bother replying .. if your answer is 82,000 lbs, then need to go back to school so you can learn English and then understand what the ACTUAL figure Im after is. In fact .. I'll even dumb it down for the owner of this channel and most of. you ...... lets say I invented an electric truck .. lets say it can go 500 miles ... and its total weight before I put any cargo in is 81,999 lbs ... how many people are going to hire me to haul a couple of bags of chips around, because thats all I can carry before I go over the weight limit. Here is a hint as to why the owner of this channel isnt that smart. He kept saying 'fully loaded' ... define fully loaded ... because my vehicle, carrying around 2 bags of Doritos could also be counted as 'fully loaded'. So stop saying fully loaded .. stop saying 'gross weight' ... start saying .. HERE IS THE ACTUAL WEIGHT OF THE CARGO YOU CAN CARRY FOR 500 MILES.

[@doolittlegeorge]

*"why it NEEDS to be more efficient"* as you rightly point out given the *WEIGHT PENALTY* a pure BEV always begins...and ends with. Long $mmm 3m the Company that saved Tesla when this nameplate first came into being with the Model S and looked doomed from that start. Long $pg proctor and gamble strong buy

[@gottliebdee263]

I might have missed it but certainly Musk is incredibly disingenuous, question is - is the channel just as bad? He made a HUGE deal about a 80,000 pound truck being faster and more efficient/economical/etc/etc than the diesel truck. However example for you all; Supposing the Tesla semi weighs 60,000lb UN loaded but the diesel truck weighs 20,000 UN loaded. You can see that the Tesla needs to make three trips to the single trip of the diesel truck. Three times, the drivers, three times the wages, three times the hardware....................... See what happens when people data and detail from you? The comparison with a pick up is just ridiculous. So many other factors involved that make a mockery of the comparison. The F150 is made to be a pick up, that is to say X% of it is designed for passengers, X% of it is drive train and the list goes on. Also, they are harping on about drag and comparing to a Chrion. A Chiron for gods sake. A vehicle that has completely different requirements for airflow. Is efficiency important? Yes, of course - but at 250mph so is a stable vehicle.

[@nlanni]

I really like Elon and am accustomed to his dry dissertations - just the facts. The sense I get this person is he perceives himself as a Tesla, or maybe just EV, evangelist. It's kind of off putting for him to continually repeat how efficient the Semi Truck is. So what if it gets 22 MPG it can go 500 and has to charge and I'm reading it take anywhere from 1 hour (top off) to 12 hours. And, comparing it to a petroleum based truck - newsflash - petroleum based vehicles will be around for a long into the future. Moreover, even though Elon's new Semi is an EV, it's really hydrocarbon/petroleum based, at least until we can start harvesting solar energy directly from the sun the way Asimov suggested with massive solar arrays in space and beam the electricity down to earth via microwaves. I know Elon has talked about massive arrays in the deserts. Short of something like that, we will never be able to produce enough EV power for large scale petrol to EV vehicle conversion through any means currently available. Right now we use exactly the amount of electricity we produce. That's why Elon has been selling Mega battery packs to utility companies because our electrical grid is straining to keep up. Anyway. I think Elon's new Semi is a great advancement. Congrats Elon! BTY: CO2 concentration is the earth's atmosphere is 0.04% with 90% of that produced by the earth's own processes. Humans account for around 9% of 0.04% - about 0.0035% of the earth's atmospheric CO2 concentration is attributable to human activities - a ridiculously small number. Elon's correct of course, pursuing alternative energy sources is forward thinking because raw hydrocarbon/petroleum materials won't last forever!

[@eugenechambers3403]

When l think of really heavy towing l think in tons, 2 thousand pounds = 1ton..Although 82 thousand pounds and 41 tons are the same, tonnage means more to me...Guess I'm old school. Pickup trucks are rated in tons or were. lol tons just sound BIGGER TO ME 41TONS YEAH

[@BlondieSuperdog]

Hello Guy 150k for the low end Tesla with 300 Kwh battery correct? So you have to figure your actual route which I dont know but that figures 119,000 miles per truck. Averaging 350 miles a day. Which suggests what 8 hours a day? So if your range on the 300 Kwh battery is actually 50 miles towing 40 tons ( I have no idea your load is) then you'll have to charge 7 times a day. 4 cents a Kilowatt hour? Do you get that? Im in Wa; we only get 9 cents a Kwh at night. How long will it really take to charge? While I have heard Teslas claims about 1.7Kwh per mile - I pretty much doubt it unless your talking down grade with a tail wind - because it took a Rivian 23 charges to travel 2700 miles kzbin.info/www/bejne/fp6rZ51pqamWsNE Now Tesla is claiming they could tow 15 times as much 4 times as far with a battery even at 1400 Kwh is only 10x larger? Hmmm dubious. So lets go with their figure 300Kwh/1.7 - looks more like 200 miles, 600 Kwh 400 miles. I'd wait to hear some real world honest unbiased reports of what is really obtained. Plus - consider this - what do you think a Semi fire will look like? The small one is 4 Y's stacked on top of eachother and 600kwh is 8. I hope none of your routes have tunnels or bridges; let alone ferry boats. But if you are a for real trucker i'd like to clear up the entire picture for you for real - if it is a good move - that would be very interesting to me; I sort of think its all hype myself but I'm open to hear more from your view as I'd like you to make the right choice so what is your typical load and how far is your typical driver driving a day? You only drive during light hours? Do you really get 4 cents a Kwh? Do you have mostly flat terrain? Do you drive in freezing temps? lets put a real life fairly accurate number together. If you aren't really a trucker then lets skip it - I'd like to know a real organizations choices.

[@sahhull]

But in the haulage industry. How much payload you can haul matters. You don't get paid for delivering the truck. You only get paid for the load. Hauling 5 ton of battery is 5 ton you cannot carry. Comparing Musks semi to a semi truck... A diesel truck can do 1000 to 1500 miles per 15 minute fill up. If its not rolling its not earning. Will Tesla honour the battery warranty? They have a habit of saying. The battery has been abused. Fast charging kills batteries.

[@Rhaman68]

Well, the comparison to the Ford EV truck series is not fair. Ford platform barely gets 2 miles per kWh for whatever reasons perhaps motor, drive, software, design not being priorities over costs. Ford, where “quality is job 1” has failed so badly it cannot be profitable due to millions of vehicles being recalled. Tesla is all EV and has 20 years experience in building EVs and developing software. IMO, this report is more about Ford’s inadequacies than the Tesla semi being, as expected, a superior EV in all aspects. Thanks

[@ryhanon7]

Power efficiency is meaningless if the vehicle can't perform on other metrics. For example - what's the cargo capacity of these vehicles? Elon kept saying "82k lbs gross vehicle weight" - conspicuously failing to ever mention how much weight it can actually haul. Given the "fully loaded" demonstration was a truck carrying about a dozen concrete barriers, it suggests the hauling capacity is somewhere around 8-12 tons - a diesel semi can carry 3-4x as much weight. That means you'd need 3-4x as many Tesla semis (and drivers!) to transport the same amount of cargo. But it's even worse than that - because the range of the Tesla semi is only ~500 miles - the average diesel semi is over 2000 miles. Furthermore, it takes only about 20mins or so to fill up a diesel vehicle but it takes about 4 hours to fully charge a Tesla semi using Tesla's current best performing supercharger. So not only will you need more Tesla semi's (and drivers) to deliver the same cargo - you'll need considerably more time given you have to stop and charge for 4 hours every 500 miles. And that's *IF* you can find a charger - I imagine Tesla will have to build out a new charger network for these semis because they're not going to want them clogging up the chargers people need for their Model 3s. Not to mention, they'll need to develop *new* chargers because a 4 hour charge time is just absurd. Nothing about this vehicle is practical for long distance deliveries. At absolute *best* these might eventually replace some local delivery vehicles - the sorts of trucks and vans used by FedEx or Amazon - but long distance hauling is out of the question currently and for the foreseeable future. But even then, the semi still doesn't make sense because it's a massive vehicle not capable of hauling as much weight as similar diesel vehicles - so while it can handle shorter ranges, you still need a fleet that's 3x the size just to make the same deliveries. Also, the battery *alone* weighs over 10k lbs - 5x heavier than the roughly 2100lbs of fuel in a fully fueled diesel semi - that's a *minimum* of 8k lbs less cargo capacity and as the battery is depleted it doesn't get any lighter - meaning the further you go the more dead weight you're hauling. Compared to a diesel vehicle that actually increases its fuel efficiency the further it goes because it's losing weight for every mile it travels. If Tesla ever wanted to develop a semi that could go 2k miles - comparable to a diesel semi - they'd have to make a battery with closer to 4000kWh putting it at around 40k lbs, at which point you won't be hauling anything more than a bag of chips. Nothing about this is "efficient" in the grand scheme.