Semi General Discussion

[uscbucsfan]

Mass deliveries VS deliveries (e.g. delivery event last year)

Tesla has always used the term mass production/deliveries to mean actual customers getting it beyond testers, influencers, and employees.

The CT is supposed to have a delivery event at the end of Q3, but mass production doesn't begin until "sometime next year". Unlike the Semi, with the need for crazy amount of batteries and dedicated chargers, we will likely see many more than 54, but they aren't likely to be delivering a lot of CTs until next year.

 

[DblOSmith]

Tesla has always used the term mass production/deliveries to mean actual customers getting it beyond testers, influencers, and employees.

The CT is supposed to have a delivery event at the end of Q3, but mass production doesn't begin until "sometime next year". Unlike the Semi, with the need for crazy amount of batteries and dedicated chargers, we will likely see many more than 54, but they aren't likely to be delivering a lot of CTs until next year.

Indeed. I thought Musk always considered mass production being the 5000/week, at least in passenger vehicles. ...but yes. That was the point I was trying to make.

 

[Nack]

It's not available. Elon said yesterday that they aren't going to start mass deliveries until late next year.

They've delivered like 54 or so to PepsiCo. That's it.

According to the recall reports there are only 36 semis. This is assuming all semis made fall under the recall.

The semis are definitely in a “soft launch” scenario to get some feedback with a fleet customer before full rollout IMO.

As mentioned the MCS standard is still in development so there is not a lot to report.

 

[uscbucsfan]

According to the recall reports there are only 36 semis. This is assuming all semis made fall under the recall.

The semis are definitely in a “soft launch” scenario to get some feedback with a fleet customer before full rollout IMO.

As mentioned the MCS standard is still in development so there is not a lot to report.

According to PepsiCo, there were 18 more delivered in April that didn't get listed on the recall. Still a low number.

 

[Rocky_H]

Yeah, why would a company want more money from preorders sit in their bank, to invest, or to work towards other current endeavors like SC expansion. That would be silly.

Because that has both positives and negatives to it. At some point, if you let your backlog get too big, it starts to build up anger and frustration from people on the order waiting list as the wait times blow out to really bad levels. So this is about managing expectations some, where they need to cut off new orders for a while to make it clear that they are really backed up so they don't piss off more potential customers.

And yes, Tesla does like to do self promotion some, so they wanted to have a fancy hoopla event when they handed over the very first ones. But it's certainly still in the soft launch realm with only one customer and still a slow trickle of output.

 

[DblOSmith]

Because that has both positives and negatives to it. At some point, if you let your backlog get too big, it starts to build up anger and frustration from people on the order waiting list as the wait times blow out to really bad levels. So this is about managing expectations some, where they need to cut off new orders for a while to make it clear that they are really backed up so they don't piss off more potential customers.

And yes, Tesla does like to do self promotion some, so they wanted to have a fancy hoopla event when they handed over the very first ones. But it's certainly still in the soft launch realm with only one customer and still a slow trickle of output.

I hear you. ...but if there's one thing Tesla/Elon doesn't ever do, it's manage expectations. lol

 

[Rocky_H]

I hear you. ...but if there's one thing Tesla/Elon doesn't ever do, it's manage expectations. lol

Well, if someone manages to sneak behind Musk's back and make a decision without consulting him, then they can occasionally do something in a sensible way.

 

[uscbucsfan]

I hear you. ...but if there's one thing Tesla/Elon doesn't ever do, it's manage expectations. lol

Elon said the Semi is delayed due to battery supply constraints. They likely stopped taking orders for the same reason.

 

[Nack]

I see semis charging every day The ones available now use CCS1 in NA and CCS2 in EU, etc.

Electric Island in Portland Ore. has an MCS charger I believe and there is also some outside the Port of Longbeach. Im sure just proto trucks are using them though. The standard Freightliner, Volvo, Kenworth, etc use CCS…..it just takes a while to charge.

 

[DblOSmith]

I see semis charging every day The ones available now use CCS1 in NA and CCS2 in EU, etc.

Electric Island in Portland Ore. has an MCS charger I believe and there is also some outside the Port of Longbeach. Im sure just proto trucks are using them though. The standard Freightliner, Volvo, Kenworth, etc use CCS…..it just takes a while to charge.

I will have to take a look at that when get to Oregon next. Thanks.

 

[Nack]

I will have to take a look at that when get to Oregon next. Thanks.

No prob!

Here is an article that covers it:

Electric Island: First US charging station for electric semis is ready for megawatt fast-charging

The megawatt charging standard (MCS) that will enable quick charging stops for heavy-duty trucks isn't here quite yet. But Electric Island is ready for it.

www.greencarreports.com

Also the Port of Longbeach site only has 350kW CCS1 chargers if I understood correctly. They will upgrade to MCS chargers at some undisclosed time. Sorry for the error, I thought they already had them.

 

[ThomasD]

What is the time frame to have these 27 Mega Chargers up and running? I didn't see in the article where it mentioned cost to built these Mega Charger power plants or what the cost will be to charge.

 

[MP3Mike]

What is the time frame to have these 27 Mega Chargers up and running? I didn't see in the article where it mentioned cost to built these Mega Charger power plants or what the cost will be to charge.

From the linked article it sounds like the plan is to have all 27 in by the end of 2024:

The truck network’s stations would be installed by 2025, at roughly 50-mile intervals and outfitted for the charging needs of light- and medium-duty trucks. Later, 14 of those 27 stations would be upgraded to accommodate charging for electric big rigs by 2030.

And then about half would be upgraded by 2030 for Semis. (I assume using MCS.)

So plodding along very slowly.

 

[nativewolf]

So I have a battery question: Do we have any certainty as to the ultimate battery cell plans for the Semi? I have been a bit of a laggard in studying up on everything that has been announced. I had, perhaps mistakingly, assumed that the 2170 capacity at Reno would be shunted over to the Semi as it seemed just the perfect amount to power 50k semi a year. Other folks are talking about 4680 for the semi which but I thought that had some negative implications on charge rates but perhaps I am confusing things...or getting old..or both...sigh

 

[Buckminster]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1680014748593668096

 

[MP3Mike]

Tesla wants to start building the charging network for the Tesla Semi: Tesla (TSLA) seeking $100M for Texas to California truck charging network

The company proposed in the emails that each charging unit be equipped with eight 750-kilowatt chargers for Tesla Semi vehicles and four chargers for trucks made by its competitors. If successful, it would be a first-of-its-kind charging network in the US. It would enable long-haul electrified trucking from Texas to California, along with regional-haul trucking in Texas, Arizona and California.

The 750kW spec matches what FritoLay has said their chargers are.

 

[MP3Mike]

Here is a map of the proposed locations:

 

[Buckminster]

Here is a map of the proposed locations:

View attachment 961403

Genius for Tesla! Joins 5 major Tesla sites and probably many more Tesla warehouses, smaller factories plus suppliers. Laredo is close enough to Corpus Christi and Monterrey. Is Fort Stockton close enough to Austin (337 miles)?

 

[MP3Mike]

Is Fort Stockton close enough to Austin (337 miles)?

The Semis have a 500 mile range when loaded, and a 70%/30-minute charge would be ~350 miles. So, yeah that would seem close enough to me.

The Fort Stockton to Laredo gap is the longest at ~360 miles.

 

[uscbucsfan]

The Semis have a 500 mile range when loaded, and a 70%/30-minute charge would be ~350 miles. So, yeah that would seem close enough to me.

That 500 miles range was with an average speed of 55 mph and a max speed of 65 mph. What do Semis typically do in Texas?