The logo and design match Utility, it's pretty lightweight with composite walls.
I think the big areas for improvement will be the tires and hubs/ bearings.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
I think the big areas for improvement will be the tires and hubs/ bearings.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
Trucks need to hook up to different trailers all the time, I don't see any benefit of Tesla making a handful of special trailers.
Doggydogworld
Active Member
The article is mostly on target. I made most of the same points in 2017. The 300 miler is the winner. Assuming LFP batteries, that is.
And of course subsidies affected the timing.
For the purposes of calculating how much weight the Semi can carry within the 82,000 lbs limit, the weight of the trailer is part of that calculation.
I imagine different trailers can weigh different amounts.
This is a logical area to optimise, and I suspect most of that had already been done.
But for the purposes of calculating the weight of the Semi, if we assume a trailer weight, that might be slightly wrong.
If hypothetically Tesla could design and build a trailer that was 1,000 lbs (10%) lighter, it would be worthwhile for fleet operators to purchase those trailers. If a trailer could provide more range, that is also worthwhile.
In addition to the Semi, the trailer is another thing that could be optimised.
From Mongo's post above, it seems unlikely that Tesla is making trailers.
But if they did make them, every Semi would come with a trailer, and fleet operators would purchase additional trailers.
That doesn't mean the semi can't tow other trailers, it just means that mode is less optimised. The penalty might be a bit less weight or range.
Last edited:
This is the type of headline and article we need to see more of. Originally posted in Evannex and reposted in CleanTechnica this morning:
How Pepsi’s Tesla Semis will change hauling
Tesla delivered its first batch of Semis to its commercial customer PepsiCo, and beyond being a big deal for the automaker, it represents major changes to come in the hauling industry. The Tesla Semi could help prove to consumers and commercial customers that batteries can support heavy-cargo...
evannex.com
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I'd expect at this point trailers are optimized for load carrying and Tesla doesn't have any magic sauce to improve upon that significantly.
That could be right, I don't know if there is any variance in trailer weights, but it is a box worth ticking.
This is the type of headline and article we need to see more of. Originally posted in Evannex and reposted in CleanTechnica this morning:
How Pepsi’s Tesla Semis will change hauling
Tesla delivered its first batch of Semis to its commercial customer PepsiCo, and beyond being a big deal for the automaker, it represents major changes to come in the hauling industry. The Tesla Semi could help prove to consumers and commercial customers that batteries can support heavy-cargo...evannex.com
‘Haul 81,000 lbs of cargo’ ?
I can’t takes these writers seriously if they make these kind of basic & sloppy mistakes.
Last edited:
navguy12
Active Member
I would expect many such instances. Our best in class machines that cost much more and are made in Finland have warranty claims at an alarming rate. I expect they nail the issues down but glad that Pepsi is doing the beta.
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
We also don't know why the mobile tech was called. It could be anything from operator error/misunderstanding to trivial to serious.
Tesla Semi breakdown has people losing their minds
A Tesla Semi has been spotted broken down on a highway in Nevada, but it is leaving onlookers with more questions than answers.
www.teslarati.com
There were at least two previous "break downs" in January that made the rounds on social media. So this isn't the first. Two issues...
1) Musk guaranteed the Semi wouldn't break down for a million miles (he also promised quad motors as part of that, so...)
2) Didn't Tesla say they believed in the Semi so much that they were using some themselves? If these are reoccurring issues for Pepsi, did Tesla really not test them or did Pepsi just get a bad batch?
navguy12
Active Member
Was this a Pepsi semi, or just another test mule (?).
Tesla Semi breakdown has people losing their minds
A Tesla Semi has been spotted broken down on a highway in Nevada, but it is leaving onlookers with more questions than answers.
There were at least two previous "break downs" in January that made the rounds on social media. So this isn't the first. Two issues...
1) Musk guaranteed the Semi wouldn't break down for a million miles (he also promised quad motors as part of that, so...)
2) Didn't Tesla say they believed in the Semi so much that they were using some themselves? If these are reoccurring issues for Pepsi, did Tesla really not test them or did Pepsi just get a bad batch?
Could be some random line of code that wouldn’t release the air brakes for some reason; the first winter with a large number of TM3s exposed all sorts of software edge case flaws…
I think back to a line from The Right Stuff that essentially described the NASA triumphs AND failures that were all out in the open; the ”cost” of doing business in an open operating environment.
I don't easy access to the Tweet, but someone posted on Twitter that there was an issue with the bus-bar that has since been corrected on all of the fleet.
Tesla has the opportunity to work closely with Pepsi and get the early kinks out.
Tesla has done extensive testing with pre-production test mules, actual product semis operating in the world for the first time, may uncover some additional issues. I have confidence that Tesla can find and fix problems quickly, and that an electric semi will quickly exceed the reliability of a diesel.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I saw that as well but it's rather concerning if true. A bus bar is a rather basic piece of hardware, seems rather sloppy to screw that up in low volume production.
Buckminster
Well-Known Member
I worked in Aerospace most of my career - if I had a dollar for every busbar problem....
SageBrush
REJECT Fascism
A suspension is a mature and well ironed out piece of engineering. And a wheel? Yet Toyota’s BZX had problems in both. How could that happen to the best auto company in the world?
Let’s relax. Sky is falling scaremongering is for Presstitutes and TSLAQ scums. It doesn’t belong here. Almost any new product introduced - be it car or software - is going to have some initial niggles. Model S, X and 3 had it. But things settled down and all those initial problems are history now.
So let’s come back in a year or two and then start panicking.
Supposedly that was a "claim to fame" for SpaceX->Tesla technology xfer. Using aerospace grade inconel on the main Model S contactors when they kept having early failures with more common metals.
I wonder if they still use inconel on all Tesla contactors now... Would it make sense to make semi busbars out of that material?
It wasn't a busbar problem, it was a busbar connection problem.
Probably just an under torqued connection.
Similar threads
