Agreed- marginal capacity increase and packaging efficiency, but the big gain is increased throughput and thermal control.
Tesla taking SEMI orders
- Thread starter JeffKeryk
- Start date
Agreed- marginal capacity increase and packaging efficiency, but the big gain is increased throughput and thermal control.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Yes, the 54kWh Model 3 battery weighs 1,054lbs. So, we extrapolate that to the batteries being discussed, that's 19.52lbs/kWh, which equals:
600kWh: 11,712lbs
1,000kWh: 19,520lbs
In comparison, a Kenworth T680 Next Gen weighs 14,974lbs.
JHZR2
Staff member
Somewhat surprised there isn’t some amount of grille to help cooling. They must use forced air between the frame rails…
Nobody cares about cooling when bragging about drag coefficients sells Tesla Semis.
JHZR2
Staff member
Except the batteries which will get hot on long pulls… in a vehicle where pennies matter, and operating cost is everything.
Teslas are fast but have thermal issues under track conditions.
Semi trucks have to run high throttle extended duration to maintain speed up high grades. This creates heat. I^2 R. Simple physics.
You need to get the heat out. Fan based units in the frame rails may be a better option. But it isn’t free.
My understanding is, one of the benefits of the electric motors is the flat torque curve that minimizes the need to operate at high throttle up grades. I guess we will see when these vehicles get into real world use.
I would think that Elon would already have prototypes out there running real world testing.
And you would be right. SEMIs have been sighted running around north San Jose for years.
Word is, they are eerily silent and with no diesel fumes, they are stealthy. A different beast.
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I’d hope they run them with full loads over the Siskyous or Donners Pass. Run them in the middle of summer and winter.
Is irony completely lost?
JHZR2
Staff member
Flat torque, yes. But you still need the power to make the torque. Power is what makes heat in the batteries. They’re relatively inefficient at higher rates.
Any idea of the real world price of the Tesla Semi?
I see prices listed at 150K/180K for the 300/500 mile versions. But this price has been published since 2017, a full 5 years ago.
EV battery prices have risen to about $160 per KWh due to today's economics ('nuff said there). At today's prices, batteries represent over half the cost ($96K) of the "500 mile version" (which is said to have a 600KWh pack)
NOTE: Tesla says that about 2KWh are used per mile, so the 600KWh pack should result in 300 highway miles and maybe 500 city miles.
A megawatt battery pack would cost $160K in today's dollars.
I see prices listed at 150K/180K for the 300/500 mile versions. But this price has been published since 2017, a full 5 years ago.
EV battery prices have risen to about $160 per KWh due to today's economics ('nuff said there). At today's prices, batteries represent over half the cost ($96K) of the "500 mile version" (which is said to have a 600KWh pack)
NOTE: Tesla says that about 2KWh are used per mile, so the 600KWh pack should result in 300 highway miles and maybe 500 city miles.
A megawatt battery pack would cost $160K in today's dollars.
Only 1 way to find out...
Yes we have a good size truck stop(75 spots) with locally but fortunately the big power substation other side of RT95.
Well I'll tell you that from VA to SC, everything will have to be built. Not just to accommodate the truck stop parkers, but the rest stop parkers, closed-weigh-station parkers, Wal-Mart parking lot parkers, and everything in between.
If electric trucks are to truly penetrate the market.
The power from that substation that would be used to charge trucks has to come at the expense of something else. The power supply has to be expanded.
We have so many sources locally to supply it including Seabrook nuke plant and hydro Quebec pushing to export more beyond the local suppliers….
Eventually, yes - OTR trucks that are out on the road going from contracted job to contracted job would have a very hard time with the existing (non-existent) charging options. However, I'm sure there are plenty of distribution operations (Wal-Mart, McDonalds, PepsiCo, grocery stores, etc.) that can use their own infrastructure to support charging at distribution centres, retail stores, etc. That would account for a lot of Semi orders to get the ball rolling.
Scania has fully electric trucks running in the UK. Used for inner city delivery’s
These electric trucks would work for line haul or dedicated. Either way with diesel being $6+ a gallon big companies like Swift will still see bottom line savings even if they have to spend a few bucks installing fast chargers at DC and Hubs.