Tesla has released the first production versions of its long-delayed electric semi-truck five years after CEO Elon Musk unveiled the commercial vehicle. the first trucks Tesla Semi they were delivered to Pepsi at an event at the company's gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada.
Pepsi placed an order for 100 trucks in December 2017, when the price was first revealed. Tesla Semi. Other high-profile customers on hold include Anheuser-Busch, Walmart and UPS.
Tesla appeared to have at least five semis in the event, which featured PepsiCo and Frito-Lay branding. Pepsi previously shared plans to use at least 15 of the Tesla Semi to convert their Modesto, California Frito-Lay site into a zero emissions facility.
The big reveal comes a couple of months after Musk tweeted that production of the long-delayed Semi had started and that the first deliveries would begin in December 2022.
Musk had originally unveiled a prototype electric Class 8 truck in 2017 and planned to start production in December 2019. The truck program has been plagued with delays. During his Q2021 XNUMX earnings report, Tesla it said it would need to push production through 2022 due to supply chain challenges and limited availability of battery cells.
Making Tesla deliver on its 2017 promises
In 2017, Tesla said Autopilot, the automaker's advanced driver assistance system, would be in the Tesla Semi. Although now neither Musk nor Dan Priestley, a senior manager at Tesla Semi Engineering, mention the truck's automated capabilities, nor do they discuss the placement of the cameras that would be needed for Autopilot to "see."
However, Tesla held true to several of its other 2017 promises. For example, five years ago, Tesla said that his Semi would be capable of traveling 500 miles on a single battery charge when fully charged and driving at 65 miles per hour. The automaker seems to have kept that promise and even proved it with a video showing a Semi driving from Fremont to San Diego. However, the company did not provide some important statistics, including the size of the battery pack.
The Semi uses the same powertrain as the Plaid Model S and Model X and is based on a "tri-engine system." Priestley said that means one of the motors is constantly connected for maximum efficiency and the other two are for torque and acceleration., which could be useful if a driver is getting on a loading dock or wants to pass another vehicle.
"Basically, it can pull 82,000 pounds at cruising speed, and all it does is a tiny motor on a shaft," Musk said, noting that the engine was about the size of a football but, due to its energy density, was more powerful than a diesel engine. In fact, Priestley said the Semi had three times the power of any diesel truck on the road right now.
Musk said the Semi was quick to accelerate and quick to stop. As promised, the Semi is built with regenerative braking, which means the brakes deliver power to the battery when drivers take their foot off the accelerator.
Musk also noted that the wheels have better traction, good enough to keep the truck from rolling over, than a diesel truck because electric motors are more precise than diesel motors.
The interior cab of the truck, as previously announced, is built with the seat in the middle. Priestley said drivers could stand up and change clothes inside the cab, It's built with cargo space for tools as well as charging ports.
Tesla will be able to accumulate more data to improve the Semi in the future by placing the trucks in its own fleet and using them to transport goods between Tesla's factories and suppliers.
Finally, Tesla has stayed true to its charging vision of five years ago. The semis will be charged with a "megawatt class charger" that features a state-of-the-art immersive cooling system. These chargers will be similar to Tesla's supercharger network. The company will also install Megapacks along with the chargers., which are an energy storage system that avoids peak electricity peaks from the network.
