Tesla has revealed its first electric segmented truck, designed to challenge diesel trucks as king of the road. This ultimate articulated lorry can run up to 500 miles on just a single charge. The vehicle in the US is known as the semi-trailer truck that will go into production in 2019.
The CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk has also revealed the production of a new Roadster, which he said would be “the fastest car ever” made.
The red sports car was driven out of the trailer of the electric lorry during the Tesla’s presentation on Thursday. This first truck and roadster will have a range of approximately 1,000km (620 miles) and that too on a single charge and it would be able doing 0-100 mph in 4.2 seconds. Mr. Musk has also stated it as “a hardcore smackdown to the gasoline cars”. It is expected that the new roadster would be available by 2020. The Roadster will have a range of close to 1,000km (620 miles) on a single charge and will do 0-100 mph in 4.2 seconds. Whereas, the Tesla Semi is expected to achieve a great pickup of 0-60 mph in just 20 seconds of short interval. He also has stated that riding the traditional would be much like driving “a steam engine with a side of quiche”.
While speaking on stage at Tesla’s facility in Los Angeles, Tesla’s chief executive Elon Musk stated: “It’s not like any truck that you’ve ever driven.” However, the appealing Mr. Musk is facing a continued pressure from the investors and customers as the company is facing challenges with reaching the demands for its Model 3 car.
Model 3 delays
A situation that the Mr. CEO has described as “production hell” as the Model 3 is behind schedule due to factory delays. Mr. Musk is found camping at the at Tesla’s Gigafactory in Reno to oversee battery production for the new cars. However, the company had promised for producing 1500 Model 3 cars in the third quarter of 2017, and in reality; they have managed to produce only 260.
Tesla’s Competitive market
Mr. Musk is now entering a competitive demanding market with Tesla Semi. There is a majority of approximately 3.5 million truck drivers in the US who drive only the diesel-powered engines. Tesla would not be able of competing for the diesel range. Moreover, the battery specialists are doubting Tesla that they should be producing a much durable battery and that too at reasonable rates.
Carnegie Mellon University’s study concluded- “A 300-mile-capable battery pack costs about $200,000”. Whereas the diesel-powered semi-truck as a whole on average costs to nearly about $120,000 which is much lesser than the battery packed ones. Mr. Musk has also stated that the Tesla Semi would be able of traveling to 643km (400 miles) and that too just after a charge of 30 minutes especially at one of Tesla’s new mega-chargers.
The cost?
Tesla has not yet shared the cost of an individual truck however, Mr. Musk has stated that per mile the Tesla Semi would work out cheaper than a diesel equivalent when fuel and other maintenance are taken into consideration. The diesel technology forum that is a non-profit trade group that promotes the use of diesel, stated that Tesla’s announcement is needed to be “evaluated in the context of reality”. The executive director of the forum, Allen Schaeffer has stated that “Diesel is the most energy efficient internal combustion engine”.
However, today, diesel offers a unique combination of unmatched features: a proven fuel efficiency, power, durability, reliability, economical operation, easy access to fuelling, availability, and service facilities. The recent advancements have also promised for near-zero emissions performance.
Tesla is also likely to face other electric rivals. Daimler has revealed the concept of electric big rigs, whereas, Volkswagen and Cummins – though all fall short on range, and none are currently on the roads. And here, Tesla believes that it can bring an added advantage is with onboard safety and comfort.