https://www.evuniverse.io/newsletter/semi?TrucksFoT Hmmmmmmm… But we are talking about Elon Musk here. You can jump into relevant sections by clicking on any of these: Yeah, sorry. You gotta read the article. And any tractor-trailer guys: your comments are encouraged to comment. Do note “~ After going down Donner Summit, the brakes were still cold.” I drive Donner often, and the smell of hot brakes is common. So the bottom line is going to be cost per mile over say, 250k miles, compared to a similar weight diesel rig. Something tells me something is missing…
Drop in/drop out battery packs would be a game changer. I imagine they are much more pleasant to drive as well.
Truck stops consisting of warehouses full of hundreds of 2 ton batteries and racks of small cranes. I like it. Electric trucks start at full torque, they accelerate without transmissions and need nothing like conventional brakes since they can convert the momentum back to electricity. I think Elon has another winner here.
As a development engineer in heavy duty (Class 3 thru 8 ) vehicles, I'd say you're absolutely right that something, or some things, are indeed missing. Starting with a complete misunderstanding of the economics of commercial vehicles. It's not so much the per mile cost as the overall cost of ownership where things like resale value is HUGE. To simplify as much as possible, the Tesla truck is a one trick pony (and a very limited trick at that) in an industry dominated by vehicles that are conglomerations of components integrated to do specific work which can relatively easily be reconfigured and rebuilt to do other work profitably. Engines, for instance, that are emissions certified on an engine-only cert protocol (instead of a total vehicle cert in lighter duty) that can be rebuilt indefinitely and installed in any chassis they will fit in to address whatever work needs to be done to earn a buck. Yes, fuel economy can indeed be important, but being able to do the work required that you're being paid for is the primary consideration. And being able to sell it to someone else who can still get use out of it when you're done is, again, a huge factor. That same philosophy drives the "Lego like" structure of the whole industry. Brake lines are plastic hoses that fit into standardized fittings so they can be cut or lengthened easily at will as the wheelbase changes (by cutting and welding pieces into the frame) to accomodate a whole range of installed equipment. Axles, cabs, engines, trannys, drive shafts, etc. are all like choosing from a menu. Want a different torque curve? Quick change of programming. Need a larger fuel tank? Bolt a new one or two on. (Relatively) Easy peasy. It's also an industry of standardized dimensions. Dock hieght, for instance, tends to be standardized everywhere so one trailer configuration can serve them all. And unforetuneately, Tesla doesn't participate in that industry at all. I think Mr. Daum from Daimler is spot on. Nice trick, but there's really nowhere for it to go.
One less glamorous place for EV’s is weekly delivery vehicles like beer, soda, chips, restaurant food, etc, fleets that run the same daily route. You can pin their mileage down to a few miles depending on the day. You may have heard of this: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy00osti/27678.pdf Raley’s grocery (A Sacramento upscale grocery chain) tried natural gas in their semi’s. What a mistake. Drivers where complaining about going up the Sierras at a walk. It lasted a couple months, and wasn’t even workable on flat central California valley roads. There is no cheap way to get 40 tons up and over the mountains.
Yeah. Spent some time in Diamond Bar 20 years ago working with CARB and SAE on LNG fuel systems for heavy trucks. And you've pretty much nailed it. The biggest alternative fuel users are municipal fleets (trash trucks, etc) that really don't go anywhere and can always be towed back home if they break down or run out of the unusual fuel. Municipalities are also the first to bite at Federal funding to ease thier budget constraints. But almost nobody bites on those programs if they actually have to cover ground for a living. Too risky. And EVs like this are probably worse considering that getting recharged as advertised would likely use up the electric power of a small to medium city. Window dressing. Useless window dressing.
And another thing, how exactly the Tesla was loaded for its premiere drive is a bit controversial. It seems there's a brief shot in the introductory video that shows the inside of the trailer and a few folks who know how trucks are loaded are saying it wasn't full. That would artificially inflate the actual loading. Some folks who have tested the Ford Lightning say that when towing something like a car on a trailer the advertised range of 300 miles drops precariously to about 80 miles. This would mean that a real fully loaded Tesla's range could drop to about 130 miles. Maybe enough to stock local soda shops, but not much else. No wonder Daimler (parent of Frieghtliner and, if I recall correctly, Detroit Desiel) aren't terribly impressed.
I would ove to know what the environmental impact of all the mining that would need to be done to have that possible. Do people think that all that lithium just come out of the ground magically? Not to mention as we currently sit there is not enough copper being produced today to allow use to go all electric for transportation. So more copper mines need to come online, and we all know how environmentally friendly that will be. But what does it matter let the third world country strip mine for us, so we can be "carbon neutral".
