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Why not put completed M3's for the Reno area on the way back
Need to get the trailer back... Guess you could double stack them inside with some racking...
gjunky
Trifecta: Solar and both cars are EVs
I thought at the reveal the silver was referred to as the 500 and the black the 300... but I'm not sure that was explicitly stated or just he timing of the comments as they drove on to the stage.
I also assume those are the same trucks as in the pic... but who knows.
Brando
Active Member
All stamping machines in Fremont.
battery 2170 cells and battery packs made at gigafactory (any 18650 cells? perhaps)
Reciprocity
Active Member
Yes, I realize the stamping machines are in fremont which is a factory that is splitting at the seams building S3X. Some have mused that the Semi could start production at the gigafactory. Being that its not a finished building it could be expanded to accommodate and it makes some sense when you factor in the fact that it will use a large number of cells. Each semi battery is roughly between 5-10x larger then the current model 3 pack.
The 18650 cells idea is a good one, as well as 2170 from other suppliers and even Panasonic. I highly doubt those trucks will be empty going back regardless of how they are able to make it work. Its also important for testing to have a full load going back as well because they will want info on how it handles the steep incline with a load. The question that I have is, can they charge at the gigafactory from the new giant solar array and complete the entire round trip without needing to charge at Fremont. Its a great test because you have the decline in elevation going to Fremont and and the opposite going back. In theory, it could take very little energy to get to Fremont and may leave enough for the rig to return. The reason this is critical is because you want to drop the load and pickup another trailer to head back. But then again, megachargers can do 80% in 30 minutes and the driver would need a break. So maybe I am over thinking this part.
I think for long haul say from West coast to Chicago, the best is to have two switch over points strategically placed in between, where the trailers are switched to a fully charged cab.
Think of like of the American airlines hub in Dallas .
- So the driver starts from the west coast comes in to the hub, detaches his cab leaves it in the charger bay area and his job is done for that trip.
- A new driver connects his already fully charged cab to that same trailer, and off he goes. So the cargo continues without any stop or delay.
- The first driver is now heading back in the reverse direction back to west coast with a different cab that is already fully charged and waiting and with a different cargo.
- A resident crew in the hub makes sure all cabs that are pulled in are plugged and charged fully. Their job is to move the cabs to the charging spots, plug them in and move them out after they are fully charged.
Think of like of the American airlines hub in Dallas .
- So the driver starts from the west coast comes in to the hub, detaches his cab leaves it in the charger bay area and his job is done for that trip.
- A new driver connects his already fully charged cab to that same trailer, and off he goes. So the cargo continues without any stop or delay.
- The first driver is now heading back in the reverse direction back to west coast with a different cab that is already fully charged and waiting and with a different cargo.
- A resident crew in the hub makes sure all cabs that are pulled in are plugged and charged fully. Their job is to move the cabs to the charging spots, plug them in and move them out after they are fully charged.
That reduces required charging rate/ buffering needed, but swapping cabs probably takes longer than megacharging.
With your staggered concept and a high volume route, the cab could stay connected, and the driver switches to a new cab/trailer while the original one recharges at the slower rate.
Soo... if this is a standard 53'L x 8.5'W x 9' tall trailer... how many Model 3 battery pack crates do you suppose it could carry?
The Model 3 Dimensions are 185″ L x 73″ W x 57″ H with a wheelbase of 133". The motors are more inboard of the axle line than on the S. We know the cells inside the pack are 70mm tall before any internal pack packaging/clearance. The pack has an additional "electronics hump" at one end, that by pics looks to not quite double the height of the rest of the pack
I'll take a swag and say a Model 3 pack is 60"W x 84"L x 8"H. Crate it up and call it 6'W x 8'L x 1'H
One pallet of those could hold 7 and have room for loading inside the trailer That would fit "sideways". you could get 8 pallets of those in to a 53' trailer for total of 56 packs
According to this article the pack weighs 1,058 lbs. That's 59,248 lbs. of packs. Call it 60K pounds.
Not a bad test if they really loaded 'em up and I'm not way off in my SWAG...
The Model 3 Dimensions are 185″ L x 73″ W x 57″ H with a wheelbase of 133". The motors are more inboard of the axle line than on the S. We know the cells inside the pack are 70mm tall before any internal pack packaging/clearance. The pack has an additional "electronics hump" at one end, that by pics looks to not quite double the height of the rest of the pack
I'll take a swag and say a Model 3 pack is 60"W x 84"L x 8"H. Crate it up and call it 6'W x 8'L x 1'H
One pallet of those could hold 7 and have room for loading inside the trailer That would fit "sideways". you could get 8 pallets of those in to a 53' trailer for total of 56 packs
According to this article the pack weighs 1,058 lbs. That's 59,248 lbs. of packs. Call it 60K pounds.
Not a bad test if they really loaded 'em up and I'm not way off in my SWAG...
Nice!
So for 2,500 a week , you need 6 trailers a day 7 days per week.
At 5k/wk that's over 12 trailers a day. (really 12.75)
Say 10 hour round trip, 2 loads per semi per day
6 semis full time hauling packs.
500 miles round trip * 12 trips a day = 6k miles per day * 360 days a year = 2.16 million miles per year (360k miles per semi per year)
Say a semi gets 6 MPG (worse uphill, better downhill), that's 360,000 gallons a year. @ $2.90 a gallon = $1.044 million just in fuel.
Shows why they are going with their own fleet.
With 10 hour work day, that is 12 drivers per day, say 18 total (5 days on, 2 off) 60k burdened rate =$1.08 million in wages/insurance. If they can platoon, then that can be cut in half.
Now add in shipping drive units.
Then double everything for 10k/week...
Wow...
Who says that the semi is taking the material to the giga-factory? Raw materials could be getting to Nevada by train, etc. The story was about the Semi being used to take batteries to the car factory.
Fun! Hauling packs!
These are test vehicles. The engineers will need to have time to inspect them and diagnose issues. Technicians will need to rework things. So they may need 12 or more semis already. All this makes me wonder if Tesla can ramp up semi production fast enough!
At least these beasts will be well tested before they produce for customers.
One other stray thought. When platooning, a 500-mile range truck could lead 300-range trucks. I wonder how much range this adds to the 300s. If this adds substantial range, say 360 mile range or more in following mode, it could make the 300s a more attractive platooning vehicle.
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