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Teknikmobil.com – It is possible that one day all the vehicles on the road will be electric vehicles, at least this starts with the puzzle of the presence of the Tesla semi truck.
With the release of Tesla’s updated vision for the future, CEO Elon Musk included a lot of interesting information while providing detailed explanations. From there, we’ll try to guess what Tesla’s plans for trucks might be and explain the many obstacles the company will have to overcome before making its plans a reality.
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The simple details of the announcement made by Musk are certain numbers from Tesla and Co., who are running the marketing of their products like a virus is spreading. This is a blow to other companies so that they have to sacrifice many things to be able to know and follow marketing like that produced by Tesla. One thing that Musk is good at is that he is able to walk narrow and vague paths, giving rise to a lot of rampant speculation everywhere.
In the ” Part Deux Plans for Future ” plan, a semi-truck plan was created as part of Tesla’s development. Specifically, it should refer to “heavy-duty trucks” and call the idea a “Tesla Semi.” This could mean two things, but it might also imply both. This could mean that Tesla plans to build a heavy-duty truck – which could mean a three-quarter-ton pickup truck, a heavy Class B truck, or a large Class A dump truck. Or it could be implied that Tesla plans to make semi-trucks only (aka “18-wheelers”). We believe it’s likely they plan to do all of the above or at least one of them.
Currently, about 70 percent of goods moved from one place to another in the United States are moved using semi-trucks where large tractors are attached to separate trailers. These trucks typically operate at up to 80,000 pounds including vehicle, freight, and fuel. They are referred to as “Class A” trucks because the heavy class requires an operator’s license for that type. But that’s just one class of truck. And the typical over-the-road (OTR) truck we usually think of when we talk about semi-trucks is just a big truck.
Nearly 12,000 million tons of goods are transported by truck each year in the United States. Most of the transport is done by small trucks and not semi-trucks or even large trucks. Dump trucks, dump trucks, and other specialty trucks are also common and actually make up a larger portion of the distance traveled by heavy duty trucks. Most of these vehicles have a gross weight of 26,000 pounds or more, by definition. So it can be assumed that Musk was referring to transporting goods, given his statement.
With plans to “cover major forms of terrestrial transportation” proposed by Tesla, we can assume that the company plans to design and potentially build heavy-duty trucks of all stripes. This is realistic considering that the manufacture of large trucks such as Paccar (Kenworth, Peterbilt), Volvo, Mack, and others is currently underway. One basic design can be modified to suit multiple needs, so that one Mack truck model can be both an OTR load towing and dump truck with just a few changes to the drivetrain and chassis. Medium-duty trucks, such as package trucks (a la UPS, FedEx) can also be one design with several body options. While the reality is a little more complicated than this, the bottom line is that it is possible to design just a few vehicles and have them be applicable in most major truck markets. Knowing this, we’ll focus on the hardest thing to accomplish, semi-heavy-duty trucks.
Knowing this, there are obstacles that must be overcome. Tesla’s pickup truck challenges are preliminary, but with heavy haulers, they become exponential. Here are some basic requirements for this largest HD truck:
- Power output is similar to a large diesel engine, equivalent to 450-550 horsepower and 800-1,200 pound-feet of torque. The amount of output depends greatly on the work to be done. A typical OTR truck, for example, falls on the lower end of this spectrum for maximizing fuel efficiency while a typical highway construction or heavy duty truck (logging and the like) will fall on the higher end.
- Operating range is 600 miles per charge for OTR and about half that for more local use (construction, trailer delivery/freight). Small trucks making package deliveries can operate within 150 miles easily.
- The ability to haul as much or more cargo than current diesel-powered offerings.
That last point is important. Getting 600 miles for a truck that can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, including cargo, is pretty simple. Getting 600 miles on trucks and trailers under 35,000 pounds isn’t that easy. It’s the old case of more battery equals more range, but also equals more weight.
Most of them are in the medium-duty (non-transportation) shipping and transportation sector. Solutions involving hydrogen fuel cells, battery-electrics, hydraulic hybrids, and more have been produced. Some don’t do well. For the most part, a battery electric over-the-road truck is seen as a dream for most in the industry. There’s a good reason for this. Not the least of which is the weight of the battery and the range of the truck.
Without going into too much detail, most OTR drivers expect to cover 600 miles or more in one solo lap (one driver) and about 1,000 people while driving the car. Most fuel stops are 15-20 minutes and most trucks have a range of 700-1,000 miles when equipped with dual tanks (one on either side). Having enough lithium-ion batteries to do this is a worry. Especially considering the high power output required to move an 80,000 pound rig and shipping costs.
There is a solution to this, of course. Since Musk dedicated so much of his announcement to autonomous driving, we can assume the plan is to put it in trucks. Three possible ideas are:
Relaying. A truck takes a trailer 300-400 miles, swaps it for a trailer that goes back where it left off, and comes back again. The trailer swap continued with another truck for another 300-400 miles, then another, and another. Until destination and final delivery. This is done with several types of goods and these trucks often have shorter trailers and perform them in a dual role (one attached to the other). Automating this could be a solution. At least for some types of goods.
Battery Swap. The truck drives for a few kilometers, stops somewhere to charge the fully discharged battery, and continues. If done within 10-15 minutes and no more than twice a day, this would be realistic under the current trucking paradigm with drivers on shipment. When automatic, swaps can be as often as you want, although each stop means a delivery delay.
Partial electrification. This will be a truck that runs on electricity but has an on-board combustion generator. This is a potential solution, but it’s unlikely to be on Tesla’s agenda.
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Another option to consider, although one Tesla fans might not want to hear: Musk may be planning to take a standard semi truck and automate it. In other words, the Tesla Semi could actually be an automation system, not an actual truck. At least at the start. Given the large number of technical obstacles, some of which may not be surmountable without burning, this is a good guess. At least for OTR trucks.[]