Poll: What will the Tesla Semi's range be at 80,000 pounds gross weight?

[ratsbew]

Condition:

• Level ground
• No wind
• 55 MPH
• 10C / Sea Level

 

[Tiger]

@JonMc Maybe the Semi will allow pluggable batteries such that if your Trucking Company owns 10 trucks you could purchase them with "standard range" (300mi?) and rent extra battery packs for longer trips, which can extend the range to 600mi or 900mi, when necessary.

This would be the Tesla "Semi Battery Swap Rent" concept

 

[ikjadoon]

Who calculates the range? Tesla, it seems. That doesn't give us a lot of insight, as they can bias it any which way they like. The EPA doesn't seem to rate ranges (though it has a heavy-duty cycle).

From all I can find, Tesla has only said this regarding the Semi's range:

“It is a heavy duty, long range, semi-truck. So it has the highest weight capability and with long range. So essentially it’s meant to alleviate the heavy duty trucking loads. And this is something which people do not, today, think is possible. They think the truck doesn’t have enough power or it doesn’t have enough range. And then with those with the Tesla semi we want to show that no, an electric truck actually can out-torque any diesel semi and if you had a tug-of-war competition, the Tesla semi what will tug the diesel semi uphill.”

Long-range is likely long-haul. But long-haul is anything over 150 miles, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. That is, long-range in trucking parlance seems different than what we consider is long-range in a consumer automobile.

And highest weight capability? That's just...any semi you've ever seen. The Ford F-650 is a class 6. Class 8 is pretty much any and every semi. Class 9 exists, but it does not include any higher weight limits, but maybe Tesla will call it Class 9 to make it sound better.

Even a typical "250-mile" semi will fully validate Elon's claims. All rumors and leaks point towards a 200 to 400 mile range. I don't expect any Megawatt-Hour batteries, like we initially thought.