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Tesla's $7 Billion Semi Truck Factory
Tesla has a $7 billion Semi Truck factory and this is huge news. Elon Musk confirmed first deliveries to customers this year.
Tesla is finally in early production with the Tesla semi truck. By 2024, Tesla should be making 50,000 of these per year. The question is, where will Tesla make these vehicles? Let's explore Tesla's semi truck giga factory to see.
The trucking industry is very important for the world. All the goods you receive have probably been transported by someone on a truck. They are a critical part of the economy and way of life. Trucks need to be big and powerful and are powered by fossil fuels.
There is also a global driver shortage for truck drivers because of how long the drives are and how low the pay is. Elon Musk saw this and saw the industry being ripe for disruption. Elon Musk announced that Tesla is tentatively aiming for 50,000 units in North America. This is much more than most people thought.
Tesla and the Future of the Semi
On the 29th of September, Tesla received their certificate of conformity for their emissions for the Tesla semi truck. Tesla is going to deliver to Pepsi Co at the end of 2022. Tesla claims the drive train will have a life time of 1 million miles.
The driver seat is elevated, allowing the driver to see the road. Two screens will show the surrounding areas of the semi truck. The driver will also sit in the middle of the semi truck. The truck is also made to be aero dynamic, which will help squeeze as much battery mileage as possible.
The numbers for the Tesla semi are 0.38 cd, which means its drag coefficient is good and it performs well - about twice as good as a regular diesel truck. The Tesla semi also has regenerative braking, which will top off the battery and allow for increased range. The brake pads should never be replaced.
The Tesla semi should have 500 miles of range. This would be with a lot of cargo. Traveling up an incline takes more range, but going down hill will also regenerate the battery. To make the battery go further, Tesla has created an automatic tire inflation device for the Tesla semi.
A 0.5% to 1% fuel consumption happens when trucks tires are not inflated all the way. This will also save money for the Tesla semi.
Recharging of the Tesla semi will happen at mega chargers, which are charging stations that can charge even faster than a Tesla super charger. A mega charger can give you an 80% charge in about half an hour - about 400 miles of range. These chargers are expected to be multiple times faster than a v3 super charger.
The pay load for the Tesla Semi should be about 80,000 pounds. This makes it a class 8 truck. There is an allowance granted to fully loaded electric trucks, which get an extra 2,000 miles. Over 2 years, drivers should save about $200,000 by not filling at the gas pump. Giga Texas will build the Tesla semi.
What do you think of the Tesla semi? Is it going to change the trucking industry?
For more information, see this video by Velocity:
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Jeremy Johnson is a Tesla investor and supporter. He first invested in Tesla in 2017 after years of following Elon Musk and admiring his work ethic and intelligence. Since then, he's become a Tesla bull, covering anything about Tesla he can find, while also dabbling in other electric vehicle companies. Jeremy covers Tesla developments at Torque News. You can follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn to stay in touch and follow his Tesla news coverage on Torque News.
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