Tesla Plans to Unveil Electric Semi Truck
Tesla is on the verge of entering a new market, moving beyond its bread and butter business of high-end electric sedans and crossovers into the world of heavy-duty electric semi trucks.
Following recent pushes from regulators in China, Europe and California who want auto and truck manufactures to deliver a broader range of zero-emission vehicles, Elon Musk announced: “Tesla Semi truck unveil & test ride tentatively scheduled for Oct 26th in Hawthorne,” and it is “worth seeing this beast in person. It’s unreal.”
Musk has been talking about Tesla’s electric semi truck plans for more than a year, but said nothing specific about the hauling ability and range per charge.
Class 8 semi trucks typically can haul up to 80,000 pounds, including the weight of the truck cabin. Long-range diesel-powered trucks, often with dual fuel tanks, can go 500 miles or more.
Last month, Reuters reported that Tesla’s goal for the electric semi truck was range of up to 300 miles, citing an executive at truck fleet operator, Ryder System. Tesla declined to confirm the report.
Tesla’s interest in jumping into the truck business has stirred up responses from established players in that industry. Last month, Cummins, a leading maker of diesel and natural gas engines for commercial trucks, unveiled a Class 7 heavy-duty truck cab with a 140 kWh battery pack that plans to sell to bus operators and commercial truck fleets in 2019.
In April, Toyota began testing a prototype Class 8 truck powered by hydrogen fuel cells that’s hauling cargo around the Port of Los Angeles by integrated its emission-free powertrain into Kenworth cab, which generates more than 670 horsepower from electricity generated by its fuel cell stacks — enough to pull 80,000 pounds.
Needless to say, Tesla is going to face substantial competition from both large-scale manufacturers and other new entries preparing to jump into the heavy-duty electric semi truck market. And that should make it all very interesting.
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