Manufacturing of the Tesla Semi is underway following the truck’s unveiling in 2017, with the first examples delivered to purchasers late closing yr. Whereas he’s not exactly the objective purchaser, Jay Leno these days acquired to take the battery-powered semi-trailer truck for a spin for the latest episode of his “Jay Leno’s Storage” on-line sequence.
The Semi arrived at Leno’s well-known California storage accompanied by Tesla design boss Franz von Holzhausen and Tesla senior supervisor of semi-truck engineering Dan Priestley to make clear the genesis of the enterprise.
The thought obtained right here from then-CTO JB Straubel (who later left Tesla to start out out battery-recycling company Redwood Provides), Priestley explains throughout the video. Straubel felt that transport battery packs from Tesla’s Gigafactory plant in Reno, Nevada, to its automotive plant in Fremont, California, in diesel vans was reverse to the company’s mission of zero-emission transportation. With encouragement from one different Tesla authorities who beforehand labored at truck maker Freightliner, the idea lastly “snowballed” proper right into a production-bound enterprise, Priestley acknowledged.
Whereas Tesla has no earlier experience with industrial vehicles, and the Semi has some unorthodox design choices like a central driver’s seat, von Holzhausen tells Leno the design course of was educated by conversations with truck drivers.
The doorway corners of the Semi had been designed to be merely repairable since they’re moreover probably the most undoubtedly to be damaged. And whereas the Semi has concerning the equivalent expertise peak as a diesel semi truck, designers tried to make it less complicated to get in an out of the cab—along with added suicide doorways. Falling off a truck is the first provide of trucker worker’s compensation claims, Priestley acknowledged. And that centered driver’s seat allegedly improves visibility.
Tesla advertises 300-mile and 500-mile variations, with vitality consumption of decrease than 2 kwh per mile and DC fast charging which will restore 70% of a truck’s differ in half-hour. Priestley claims Tesla is using the vans to haul batteries from Nevada to California on the exact same schedules as diesel vans. Tesla will be claiming $200,000 in monetary financial savings over three years from fuel costs alone, which should make the Semi engaging to operators.
A 3-motor powertrain can protect the Semi rolling at freeway tempo limits up a 5% grade, Tesla claims, and propel the truck from 0-60 mph in 20.0 seconds at its most 82,000-pound gross weight. And never utilizing a trailer behind it, the tractor can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 5.0 seconds. These claims aren’t challenged on this test drive, nevertheless the Semi does tow one different Semi, for a gross weight of about 60,000 to 70,000 lbs.
Manufacturing was initially scheduled to start out out in 2019, nevertheless that was pushed once more on account of restricted availability of battery cells, present chain factors, and the selection to prioritize Model Y manufacturing at Tesla’s Texas manufacturing facility. Tesla launched the begin of deliveries in December 2022. Priestley says throughout the video that 60 to 70 vans have been constructed since then. Tesla plans to get options and make changes sooner than completely ramping up manufacturing, he added. Tesla’s Nevada plant is getting a $3.6 billion improve for expanded Semi manufacturing.
