The Tesla Semi will deliver a high-tech and ultra-safe truck alternative.
Unrivalled Performance
Without aย trailer, the Tesla Semi achieves 0-60 mph in five seconds, compared toย 15ย seconds in a comparable diesel truck. It does 0-60 mph in 20 seconds with a full 80,000-pound load, a taskย that takes a diesel truck about a minute.
Most notably for truck drivers and other travellers on theย road, it climbsย 5% grades atย aย steady 65 mph,ย whereas a diesel truck maxes out at 45 mph on aย 5% grade. The Tesla Semi requires noย shifting or clutching for smooth acceleration and deceleration, and its regenerative braking recovers 98% of kinetic energy to the battery, givingย it a basically infinite brake life. Overall, the Semi is more responsive,ย covers more miles than a diesel truck in the same amount of time,ย and moreย safely integrates with passenger car traffic.
Driver Experience
Unlike other trucks, the Semiโs cabin is designed specifically around the driver,ย featuring unobstructed stairs for easierย entryย andย exit, full standing room inside, and aย centredย driver position forย optimalย visibility. Two touchscreen displaysย positionedย symmetrically on both sides of the driver provide easy accessย to navigation, blind spot monitoring and electronic dataย logging. Built-inย connectivity integrates directlyย with a fleetโs management system to support routing and scheduling,ย andย remoteย monitoring. Diesel trucks today currently require several thirdย party devices for similar functionality.
Mega-chargers, a new high-speed DC charging solution, will addย about 400 miles in 30 minutes and can beย installed at origin or destinationย points and along heavily trafficked routes, enabling recharging during loading,ย unloading,ย and driver breaks.
Safety
The Tesla Semiโs all-electric architecture is designed to have a higherย safety standard than any other heavy-duty truckย on the market, withย a reinforced battery that shields the Semi from impact and gives it anย exceptionally low centre ofย gravity.ย Its windshield is made of impact resistant glass.ย Jack knifing is prevented due to the Semi’s on-boardย sensors that detect instability and react with positive or negative torque to each wheel whileย independently actuating allย brakes.
The surround cameras aid object detectionย and minimize blind spots, automatically alerting the driver to safetyย hazards and obstacles. With Enhanced Autopilot, the Tesla Semiย features Automatic Emergency Braking, Automatic Lane Keeping, Lane Departureย Warning, andย event recording.
Tesla Semiย can also travel in a convoy, where one or severalย Semi trucks will be ableย to autonomously follow a lead Semi.
Reliability
With far fewer moving parts than a diesel truck โ no engine, transmission,ย after-treatment system or differentials to upkeep โ the Tesla Semiย requires significantly less maintenance. Its battery is similar inย composition to the batteries of Tesla energyย products and is designed toย support repeated charging cycles for over a million miles, while itsย motors are derived from theย motors used in Model 3 and have been validated toย last more than one million miles under the most demanding conditions.
Lowest Cost of Ownership
All-in, the Tesla Semi delivers massive savings in energy costs,ย performance,ย efficiency and reliability.
The biggest immediate cost-advantage comes from savings in energy costs: fully loaded,ย the Tesla Semi consumes less than twoย kilowatt-hours of energy perย mile and is capable of 500 miles of range at GVW and highway speed, accommodating a wide range of shipping applications given that nearly 80% of freight in the U.S. isย moved less than 250 miles. Coupled with the low and stable nature ofย electricity prices, which average $0.12/kWh in the U.S. and can be significantly less for commercial and industrial users, falling to almost nothing when combined with local solar generation and storage, owners canย expect to gain $200,000 or more in savings over a million miles based on fuelย costs alone.
Tesla is now taking reservations for the Semi for US$5,000 per truck. Production begins in 2019.
