Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Tesla Semi

tesla.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

261–270 of 575 posts

Re: Tesla Semi

#261

Post by PinguTS »

njarboe wrote: post #199
nwmcsween wrote: post #132

Ok as a mechanic a few million questions: * What happens when a wheel seal goes? Do I have to remove all that ridiculous plastic on #2,3 axels?? * What happens when a tire blows? Is it going to destroy all that plastic and take out a few more tires in the process? * Why all the glass? I've spend entire days replacing windshields for a 12 or so truck shop which generally come in two (drivers and passengers), the Tesla…

He states that they have spent a lot of time talking to truckers and truck companies. I would guess they believe that with an electric drive train repairs and maintenance will be an order of magnitude lower (not sure how that works for tires and wheels). Body damage should also be much lower with automatic breaking and other features of enhanced autopilot. As Musk said, broken glass is a big cost for trucking as you…

Over the last centuries there were a number of truck and bus manufacturers who tried the single/middle seat design. It was never a seller for any of those.

If you take someone with you, you don't want to sit him/her to sit behind you. You want them to sit next to you. If you are on the road in the city, you have often colleagues with you, like in a moving company and alike. Such trucks are used in construction work where things damage easily because someone else crashes in your truck. No assistant in your truck will prevent that.

Honestly, it seems they may have talked to some friends or their delivery companies, but not with companies from the industry.

Re: Tesla Semi

#262

Post by stuartloxton »

aerovistae wrote: post #241
akhatri_aus wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn't really from scratch though was it, he hired out people who had already worked with space projects. None of the tech is really new (yet). We used to have the same types of rockets in the past. Amongst Model 3 fiasco Solarcity too currently has issues.

"None of the tech is really new"? Lol? Could you tell me about the old re-usable rockets from before?

This isn't an agreement with the parents comment about Tesla but re-usable rockets weren't invented by SpaceX. The idea existed for a while and various projects got to different stages. Including a functional 'McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X'.

The project got taken over by NASA and the budget cut before being axed. You really do sound a bit too fanatical and should probably question more instead of accepting companies as entirely revolutionary.

Re: Tesla Semi

#263

Post by PinguTS »

greglindahl wrote: post #231
arghwhat wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tires, wheels, suspension, bearings, steering, brakes and drive axles (one from each electric motor to its wheel) will be the same as a regular truck, maintenance-wise. The maintenance reduction basically only related to the motor itself. And, supposedly the "nuclear blast proof" windshield. A collision with a deer probably be much, much more expensive compared to a truck with a safari grill or plow mounted for safet…

Are you sure brakes go on the list? Regenerative braking uses the motor, not brake pads. The track record of this approach is already proven in cars.

Brakes in trucks are already using regenerative braking for about 20 years right now and its called retarder. Because conventional braking is too expansive.

Re: Tesla Semi

#264

Post by kamaal »

tsomctl wrote: post #14

Unlike their cars, if they want to be successful they will need to release factory service manuals and sell parts to repair them. It's not going to be acceptable to send it to some far away service center to be repaired, at least for small outfits that heavily use all their equipment. When a critical piece of equipment is down, the mechanic is going to be working through the night hacking it together, possibly waitin…

This is true only if your product is designed to tinker. Or you generally have to replace plug and play parts.

When desktops came along many people wondered if they could be serviced as easily as TVs. The answer turns out to be simple, they don't have to be. If the repair + component costs turn out to be in the same ball park as replacing the plug and play part, you don't have to service individual PCBs. To give you a example, recently I had a broken Dell Monitor. Got it fixed in 20 mins at a local service store. Apparently the technician simply removed the whole PCB and put a new one in its place. And there were only 3-4 such PCBs.

You only need to be as intelligent as the abstract interface allows you to be.

Re: Tesla Semi

#265

Post by akhatri_aus »

owlmirror wrote: post #239
akhatri_aus wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn't really from scratch though was it, he hired out people who had already worked with space projects. None of the tech is really new (yet). We used to have the same types of rockets in the past. Amongst Model 3 fiasco Solarcity too currently has issues.

The entire reusability thing was not really a thing before spacex

There was already a working program that had their funding axed: Here's a video from 1995: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv9n9Casp1o. There were others too.

Re: Tesla Semi

#266

Post by jquery »

PinguTS wrote: post #259
isaiahg wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should probably watch the actual reveal, it's already on YouTube. The glass was already addressed and he gave it a specific focus. Even claiming it can withstand an atomic blast.

The iPhoneX has the strongest glass. … but actually breaks easier than the iPhone 8 glass.

Are you sure? I saw a YouTube drop test video and the iPhone X survived multiple drops from head height (~66") onto concrete without breaking, but the iPhone 8 shattered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vHCBwJVeO4

I've dropped my case-less iPhone X 5 feet onto bathroom tile and not even a noticeable scratch afterwards.

Re: Tesla Semi

#267

Post by [deleted] »

thachmai wrote: post #252
akhatri_aus wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn't really from scratch though was it, he hired out people who had already worked with space projects. None of the tech is really new (yet). We used to have the same types of rockets in the past. Amongst Model 3 fiasco Solarcity too currently has issues.

It's incredible how you trivialize SpaceX achievements. I get it that you probably hate Elon Musk for whatever reason. But you should really calibrate your bias filter.

[deleted]

Re: Tesla Semi

#268

Post by kamaal »

tty7 wrote: post #136
greenyoda wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they're talking about a backyard shed. More like a distribution business with a fleet of 50 trucks, a well-equipped garage and a full-time mechanic.

fair point, I'd love to hear more from that perspective. I didn't mean a literal backyard shed :), but a more general mechanic.

You could have a team from Tesla sitting there for service alone. That solves the problem.

A lot of things are this way today.

Re: Tesla Semi

#269

Post by baq »

aerovistae wrote: post #242
hilbertseries wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>think things through pretty comprehensively from all angles and plan effectively for what's needed. Is that why model 3 production is going so well?

Pretty sure Model 3 production is going amazingly well, yeah. Astoundingly well. But the media's portrayal of it has people convinced otherwise. Let's try this perspective instead: "Decade-old electric car company moves up plan for mass production of new affordable long-range sedan by 2 years" And then ask ourselves, after moving it up by 2 years, does a 3-month delay mean "things are going badly"? If I say I'm going…

you over-promised and under-delivered, in that sense you failed.

does it matter though?

Re: Tesla Semi

#270

Post by Gravityloss »

masklinn wrote: post #258
tbabb wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Well, it's a fraction of the cost to operate, but if a tire blows, the mechanic will have to detach a piece of plastic. So I think we'll pass."

It's way beyond that. 1. it makes changing a tire more complicated, and time is money, the longer it takes to change a blown tire the higher the penalties 2. when a semi tire goes, it goes hard , as GP noted with this arrangement the cowling will probably shatter, requiring a replacement (not just a replacement tire) and the pieces taking out other tire. If the cowling does not break, it will funnel bits of tire stra…

If a truck tire blows, it sometimes hits nearby cars and causes accidents, or just hits a motorcycle driver, cyclist or pedestrian and causes an instant death.

These covers could be useful, if they were made for containment. Requires something like kevlar that can stretch and absorb the impact.

Post reply on HN