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First Tesla Semi Rolls Off High-Volume Production Line

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Re: First Tesla Semi Rolls Off High-Volume Production Line

#91
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you seen the demo's of "truck pack" batteries being removed from prime mover, transferred to charge station, replaced with already charged truck pack, all done with a mini fork lift? It's a 15 minute roll in / roll out kind of turn around. The game's not over and the big transport operators (eg: Rio Tinto mine fleets moving a billion tonne per annum, etc) are still doing the R&D pipeline and trialling pilots.

> It's a 15 minute roll in / roll out kind of turn around. Now you just need every gas station in the US to stock a bunch of swappable batteries for every semi brand. It's a great idea s long as you're not bound by any sort of realistic expectation.

It's a great idea, being put in practice, that's not bound by being limited to US parochial PoVs.

Also, not the first industry that would rely on some level of standardisation.

Re: First Tesla Semi Rolls Off High-Volume Production Line

#93

50,000 vehicles per year capacity is a lot. Is there really demand for so many vehicles?. >> This makes the Tesla Semi the lowest-priced Class 8 battery electric tractor on the market, How much is the difference?. Critical details left out. >> specs confirm a 500-mile range Aren't there trucks with this range already? >> "Tesla Semi as a Service" model is needed to eliminate the capital expenditure barrier entirely,…

Longuest I know of in Europe is Volvo’s claims of 700 on the new FH Aero ER. Renault and Iveco are at 600. And that would be at 90kph. However manufacturers of euro models may not bother extending range given given the driving regulations: drivers can only drive 4.5h before a mandatory 45mn rest break, so as long as the truck does 400km[0] and can charge fast enough in 45mn to do that again afterwards[1] it’s probabl…

Yeah, EU regulations for truck drivers definitely make the switch from diesel to EV easier than in the US.

Re: First Tesla Semi Rolls Off High-Volume Production Line

#94
post #20
post #2

"High volume"? Coming from Tesla, I'll believe it after they actually ship a high volume of those units.

The Model Y is neck-and-neck with the Toyota RAV4 as the most widely sold car model in the world.

I don't believe you. Can we have some numbers?

Re: First Tesla Semi Rolls Off High-Volume Production Line

#95
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's a 15 minute roll in / roll out kind of turn around. Now you just need every gas station in the US to stock a bunch of swappable batteries for every semi brand. It's a great idea s long as you're not bound by any sort of realistic expectation.

It's a great idea, being put in practice, that's not bound by being limited to US parochial PoVs. Also, not the first industry that would rely on some level of standardisation.

> It's a great idea, being put in practice

It's a glitzy demo which has been attempted multiple times and has failed every time (to the surprise of nobody, Tesla was one of the early demo-ers, guess where that ended up?), NIO is still losing money hand over fist and survives only thanks to the CCP keeping it afloat.

> Also, not the first industry that would rely on some level of standardisation.

You'd need the standardisation first.

And making batteries field-replaceable with limited equipment means the battery modules need to be significantly more resilient, as well as more complex (not only do you need automatic disconnects for the electrics, but you also need to handle cooling), which translates to less capacity because you need room for all that, and it's harder to integrate structural support with the battery modules so the chassis also needs structural improvements there. The alternative is to automate the entire thing, which means even more complexity, and now the system needs to be aware of every vehicle involved.

The entire thing is a staggering amount of complexity to mostly lower capabilities.

Re: First Tesla Semi Rolls Off High-Volume Production Line

#96
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tesla has a history of exaggerating the ranges of their vehicles to an extent that competitors do not.

Got source for this? IIRC they are right in the middle of pack.

Right there at the bottom of the page: https://www.tesla.com/semi

Re: First Tesla Semi Rolls Off High-Volume Production Line

#97
post #94
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Model Y is neck-and-neck with the Toyota RAV4 as the most widely sold car model in the world.

I don't believe you. Can we have some numbers?

https://www.statista.com/statistics/239229/most-sold-car-mod...

Re: First Tesla Semi Rolls Off High-Volume Production Line

#98
post #97
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't believe you. Can we have some numbers?

https://www.statista.com/statistics/239229/most-sold-car-mod...

Okay, sure, for one year. But "for year 2025" was not a qualification the grandparent poster made.

Re: First Tesla Semi Rolls Off High-Volume Production Line

#99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could they automate the "grab the charging cable and plug it in" part (as well as the "take the cable out and stow it away" part)? Trucks would then be able to just pull in, charge up and pull out quickly.

Automating the part that takes 1 minute is not really going to make a difference when the charging takes 29 more.

But that is the only manual step in the entire process. If a driverless truck could just pull into a charging station, automatically get topped up and be on its way without any manual intervention, that would be a game changer. One could operate such trucks basically 22hours/day, doubling the ROI.

Re: First Tesla Semi Rolls Off High-Volume Production Line

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

500 miles with what weight?

Doesn't really matter, load is a really small factor in EV range.

> load is a really small factor in EV range.

That is just plain wrong. There is a reason why all EV companies, including Tesla obsess over energy density, and it’s because load is one of the biggest factors that affects range.

Forget EVs, load also affects range for traditional Semis. Do you seriously think an empty semi and one with a shipping container on the tow, would both have the same range?

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