Tesla unveiled the new Tesla Semi during their event in their design studio at Hawthorne Airport wayback in 2017. The crowd were hyped watching the new Tesla Semi for the first time as it drove down the tarmac. The design is extremely different from typical trailer trucks. Well, it’s no longer a surprise, because Tesla has been known for making wild designs for its product line.
Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk went on to explain about the new Semi, production is expected to start in 2023.
Performance
Tesla has been known for making super cars and the new Tesla Semi is no different. The trailer can achieve 0 to 60 mph in 5 seconds, compare that with the 15 seconds that it takes for a diesel truck to achieve the same speed. The Tesla Semi is also capable of speeding uphill at 65 mph even with the maximum gross load of 80,000 pounds.
Since the Tesla Semi runs on electricity, range is a major consideration for buyers and Tesla did not disappoint. With its 500 mile range even at full load, running at highway speed, you will not worry of running out of power in the middle of the road. With 80% of routes only 250 miles long, it means that you can go to your destination and back without recharging. However, that is a worst case scenario. Tesla now offers their new mega chargers that can give the Semi a 400 miles of range in 30 minutes of charge.
The Tesla Semi does not disappoint in terms of design. It kind of reminds you of Japan’s bullet train. Tesla implemented a similar design to improve dynamics, therefore improving range and speed. The bottom of the truck is even flat to further improve air flow.
Driver Experience
Driving a Tesla Semi would not be the same as driving your typical truck. It’s basically a Tesla Supercar on steroids. The Semi is automatic, there are no gears. Musk also mentioned that the Semi is “Super easy to drive and incredibly responsive.”
Tesla Semi locates the driver seat in the middle of the cockpit. Kind of reminds you of driving a race car. Musk said that putting the driver’s seat in the middle gives the driver more visibility. The cockpit is also incredibly spacious. You can easily stand up inside.
In terms of technology, the Semi will include dual touch screens for display and control, much like Tesla cars. It is also equipped with Tesla’s smart technology that will provide more safety and navigation assistance to drivers. You would enjoy every day of driving the Tesla Semi with its large glass panes. Offering you a field of view that you will never get with conventional trucks.
Safety
Tesla always puts its best foot forward in making sure that their products are safe for the road. For the Tesla Semi, the company incorporated a lot of the safety features that they already included in their passenger vehicles.
The Tesla Semi will have a Autopilot Driver Assist that will help in watching the road for more safety. It will also include an automatic emergency braking. This system will engage on its own if it detects an obstacle or pedestrian ahead, if the driver fails to do so. The automatic lane keeping feature will make sure that the Semi will not go out of its lane. This is incredibly helpful in making sure that collision accidents will not happen. As mentioned earlier, the driver’s seat is located in the center of the cockpit. This is a safer location if collisions cannot be avoided. The battery pack of the Tesla Semi is strategically placed below the floor. This improves the trailer’s center of gravity therefore minimizing the risk for rollovers.
Reliability
Features are useless if a product is not reliable. That is why Tesla made sure the Semi will live up or exceed expectations. The Semi’s drive train is guaranteed to last 1 million miles! That is something that will make you sleep well at night if you will ever own one in the future. The Semi also has four independent motors to drive it. That means that if a worse event happens where you’ll lose two of the motors, you can still go on and be where you want to be.
With the Semi having one of the largest glass panes in any truck out there, it is important to take into consideration the integrity of the glass panels. Elon Musk assured all future owners that they are using Tesla’s Armor Glass for the Semi. It can withstand brute force and Musk even mentioned that they would be willing to give a full refund if the Armor Glass gets cracked. This is very important because a problem such as a broken windshield will cause a tremendous loss for business owners if a truck is stuck somewhere waiting for glass replacements.
Cost
Cost might be the most important thing that truck operators will consider in adding the Tesla Semi to their fleet. After all, what good does an awesome looking truck do that will break the bank?
Elon Musk assured buyers that the Tesla Semi has the lowest cost of ownership compared to any competition in the market. For comparison, a diesel truck will cost you around $1.51 per mile while the new Tesla Semi will only cost you around $1.26. That will only get better with improvements to charging technology that will further bring down the cost.
With other features that only Tesla offers such as its Tesla App that will give you remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance notification and location mapping among other useful features, the Tesla Semi is almost the best choice for logistics companies. It is cost efficient, packed with safe features and looks absolutely awesome. The Tesla Semi is good on paper, but we will have to see how it performs in the real world.
