Tesla has kicked off deliveries of its Tesla Semi electric truck. The American automaker held a small event as, it is wont to do when it begins delivering its new models. Recall that the first company to receive the electric truck was Pepsi. During this event, the manufacturer also shared some additional small technical information about its electric truck and even added details about the 800 km trip on a single charge that the Tesla Semi made recently, which caused much discussion.
It took a long time to get to this moment, a full five years. In fact, the Tesla Semi was unveiled in 2017. The original plans called for a debut on the road in a couple of years, but, as we know, several delays made the first deliveries to customers slip a lot.
Tesla made this electric truck to make the transportation sector more sustainable. Musk explained that Class 8 trucks make up only 1 percent of vehicles in the United States, but they contribute to 20 percent of U.S. vehicle emissions and 36 percent of particulate emissions.
The electric truck has a powertrain similar to the Tesla Model S Plaid. Specifically, traveling at a constant speed, only one powertrain is used to maximize efficiency. So, we have 3 electric motors.
When more power is required, the other two come into operation. To demonstrate the Tesla Semi’s performance, the manufacturer showed a short video in which the electric truck smoothly overtakes a diesel truck on the road with a 6% gradient.
And on the subject of range, as mentioned at the outset, the Tesla Semi’s 500-mile trip on a single charge was discussed again. During the brief event, a timelapse of the trip was shown and especially a graph of the route with elevation changes and battery charge progress.
Tesla reiterated that it’s Tesla Semi offers consumption of fewer than 2 kWh per mile.
And as for energy supplies, the Tesla Semi will be able to take advantage of the new 1 MW charging technology that Tesla has developed. Columns will soon be added inside Supercharger stations.
Fascinating was the statement that the Tesla Cybertruck would also be compatible with this charging technology. Some details were added during the event regarding the truck’s cabin, where the driver will have an advanced infotainment system based on two large screens, wireless charging for smartphones, and other devices designed to facilitate the use of this vehicle.
The Tesla Semi is thus ready to hit the road. It will be fascinating to find the first feedback from those who will use it for work to see if it will deliver, in actual use, what the automaker promised.