How will Tesla Semi supercharge?

[JetFalcon]

Will the Tesla semi supercharge at the normal Tesla superchargers intended for normal commuter cars?

How will it wait in line if it has a trailer attached? During peak hours.

Will the truck have to take up all the superchargers just to charge one truck with a trailer attached? Or will it park behind so the other Teslas can charge.

Would Tesla need to make an extension cord? So all the other Teslas can park?

What if the supercharger is in a parking structure? Semis can't fit inside parking structures and I never seen one try go inside one.

 

[bmah]

Tesla Semis use Tesla Megachargers that are completely separate from the Superchargers used by (most) existing Tesla vehicles.

Bruce.

 

[Big Earl]

Will the Tesla semi supercharge at the normal Tesla superchargers intended for normal commuter cars?

No.

How will it wait in line if it has a trailer attached? During peak hours.

It won’t.

Will the truck have to take up all the superchargers just to charge one truck with a trailer attached? Or will it park behind so the other Teslas can charge.

No.

Would Tesla need to make an extension cord? So all the other Teslas can park?

No.

What if the supercharger is in a parking structure? Semis can't fit inside parking structures and I never seen one try go inside one.

Not an issue because they won’t use Superchargers.

 

[israndy]

I can't believe you answered correctly, I was SO tempted to go the other way, it was begging for sarcasm.

 

[Suns_PSD]

Ya know, there have been recent articles about EV battery packs being toasted in sub 100K miles by Uber drivers from fast charging at sub 250 watts.

Now ramp up the charging to 1 megawatt (1000 watts) Megacharger speeds, at least 1x/ day.

How long do you really think that $150K + battery pack is going to last in a semi doing about 100K miles/ annually?

 

[israndy]

Are these Teslas that Uber is causing issues with? It would be weird if they were actively working to EXPAND that program if it's so financially disastrous. Could you link the articles?

 

[israndy]

Nice article on EV truck drivers talking about how they won’t go back

https://www.reddit.com/r/electricvehicles/s/G47LjBcBvt

 

[Suns_PSD]

Are these Teslas that Uber is causing issues with? It would be weird if they were actively working to EXPAND that program if it's so financially disastrous. Could you link the articles?

Here is one a quick google search found for me. There are multiple out there though.

Uber Driver's Tesla Model 3 Battery Dies After 120,000 Miles In 15 Months

An Uber driver covered more than 300 miles a day six days a week in his 2019 Model 3 SR+, making two Supercharging stops per day.

insideevs.com

 

[Suns_PSD]

Nice article on EV truck drivers talking about how they won’t go back

https://www.reddit.com/r/electricvehicles/s/G47LjBcBvt

So as someone that has owned 2 trucking companies and went through over 35 truck driver employees, truck drivers always want crap that loses money. More power being the most common one. They don't concern themselves with energy usage, tire wear, tickets and insurance costs, acquisition costs, break downs, etc.

My point being is that they have no idea what it takes to skim by on 2-8% margins or what it takes to make money in the business, therefore their opinions on this topic mean very little.

The best way for them to learn is when some go Owner Operator cause they learn really quickly. They shift from 'I'm an outlaw cowboy' mode to 'I need to make money' mode very quickly and all of the sudden their priorities change.

 

[ThomasD]

Do you guys think there will be difficulties in charging the Semis in Frigid Cold Weather

 

[MP3Mike]

Do you guys think there will be difficulties in charging the Semis in Frigid Cold Weather

No.

 

[bruce4000]

Ya know, there have been recent articles about EV battery packs being toasted in sub 100K miles by Uber drivers from fast charging at sub 250 watts.

Now ramp up the charging to 1 megawatt (1000 watts) Megacharger speeds, at least 1x/ day.

How long do you really think that $150K + battery pack is going to last in a semi doing about 100K miles/ annually?

Semi batteries are much bigger so at the cell level, where it counts, a 1MW charger is not harder on batteries than a car at sub 250kW.

 

[israndy]

Yeah, I think he was trying to get under our skin, people who post FUD like that seem in later posts to reveal they knew the truth

 

[Aron]

Will home chaarging be a affordable option?

 

[israndy]

Charging a Tesla Semi at 11kW will take a LONG time, but if you own it and have property to park it for a few days it'll be a way to keep it from going dead. We are NOT positive of the charger standard yet, if it's compatible with NACS you should be able to AC charge it, but no one has been shown doing it yet.

 

[Nack]

Ya know, there have been recent articles about EV battery packs being toasted in sub 100K miles by Uber drivers from fast charging at sub 250 watts.

Now ramp up the charging to 1 megawatt (1000 watts) Megacharger speeds, at least 1x/ day.

How long do you really think that $150K + battery pack is going to last in a semi doing about 100K miles/ annually?

This is something I think many overlook. I asked the Run on Less program by NACFE to include in their analysis how many charge cycles the trucks were going through (based on mfr definition of a charge cycle since this is not a std unit) on a day at average. If they took this number divided by the number of cycles the pack is designed to we could determine how many replacements the truck will need over the general 1M mile lifespan people expect. Of course the first owner does not put on 1M, but they care about resale and no one wants to buy a truck and spend that or more on battery replacements!

This is a critical part of the TCO calculation that gets overlooked when pumping up HD EV trucks! Truck use is significantly different than passcar. An abused passcar is a semi thats lived the sweet life

Do the semi proto levels out now use NMC or LFP batteries? This has a huge impact on total cycles possible before expiration.

Nice article on EV truck drivers talking about how they won’t go back

https://www.reddit.com/r/electricvehicles/s/G47LjBcBvt

The EV trucks drive very nice with the amount of torque available and the minimal noise. If cost was not an option, there were places to charge, and I had a short route it would be a no brainer IMO.

The main issue is when you pencil everything out most people choose to sit on the sidelines and not dip their toe in the water. For 2024 CARBs ACT legislation will require EV trucks to be sold in states that adopt the rule, so we will see how it pans out as things start scaling.

I have not driven a Tesla unit, but I have driven class 5/6 and class 8 EVs (and of course ICE versions).

So as someone that has owned 2 trucking companies and went through over 35 truck driver employees, truck drivers always want crap that loses money. More power being the most common one. They don't concern themselves with energy usage, tire wear, tickets and insurance costs, acquisition costs, break downs, etc.

My point being is that they have no idea what it takes to skim by on 2-8% margins or what it takes to make money in the business, therefore their opinions on this topic mean very little.

The best way for them to learn is when some go Owner Operator cause they learn really quickly. They shift from 'I'm an outlaw cowboy' mode to 'I need to make money' mode very quickly and all of the sudden their priorities change.

This is so true! Everyone wants the supertrucker long nose Pete with a 500hp X15 and a manual to haul LTL because “supertrucker”. If they become OOs they realize why their fleet vehicles were 455ish hp AMT with an aerodynamic body.

Looking at the sales numbers for different configs shows how the people who want the supertrucker special don’t have the money to actually buy one or common sense takes over and they realize how inefficient it is and it will blow their margins.

 

[Nack]

Charging a Tesla Semi at 11kW will take a LONG time, but if you own it and have property to park it for a few days it'll be a way to keep it from going dead. We are NOT positive of the charger standard yet, if it's compatible with NACS you should be able to AC charge it, but no one has been shown doing it yet.

The Tesla semi now uses the Megawatt Charging Standard (MCS) V2. If they make production trucks they will probably use V3, the triangular connector like everyone else so there is charging station compatibility.

They could choose to make their own I suppose but I don’t know why they would as they would want all the other trucks to use their stations as additional income option.

Time will tell.

 

[DonTom]

See this truck charge at a half million watts with wireless!

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Olle]

Charging a Tesla Semi at 11kW will take a LONG time, but if you own it and have property to park it for a few days it'll be a way to keep it from going dead. We are NOT positive of the charger standard yet, if it's compatible with NACS you should be able to AC charge it, but no one has been shown doing it yet.

True. these trucks need to keep rolling and don’t have time to sit at 11 kW, nor do they have payload capability to spare for unused onboard equipment. As others have pointed out, trucking is about profitability. That’s why “nice to have” stuff like AC charging and NACS ain’t going to happen on Tesla Semi.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

True. these trucks need to keep rolling and don’t have time to sit at 11 kW, nor do they have payload capability to spare for unused onboard equipment. As others have pointed out, trucking is about profitability. That’s why “nice to have” stuff like AC charging and NACS ain’t going to happen on Tesla Semi.

If it's just a day cab, Level 2 wouldn't be as important. Longer term, L2 makes sense for sleeper cabs. If you're going to draw power, you might as well top off at the same time.