While it is just beginning its career in the United States, the Tesla Semi seems to satisfy its first customers. The American media Motortrend boarded Elon Musk’s electric truck and had a long chat with the drivers. And one point that keeps its promises is in particular ultra-fast charging, thanks to the Megachargers developed by the American brand.
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We have been hearing about the Tesla Semi for several years now. And for good reason, it was mentioned for the very first time in Elon Musk’s Master Plan in July 2016. Six years later, the first copies of the electric truck have finally been handed over to their owner, namely the American group PepsiCo. A culmination for the brand, which had already postponed its launch several times in recent years. The American journalists of the site Motortrend were able to board Tesla’s electric truck, here are their photos.
Colossal numbers
It was therefore during a grand ceremony that the keys to several trucks were handed over to the PepsiCo company, which notably owns Pepsi or even Frito-Lay, a subsidiary holding Doritos, Cheetos and Lays crisps. It is precisely these two companies that received their copies, already in circulation and that journalists had the chance to discover in real life.
American journalists were therefore able to board the Tesla Semi in particular, but also to obtain more information on recharging the latter, a point that has caused a lot of ink to flow. Indeed, Elon Musk’s company announced a passage from 10 to 80% in just 30 minutes. A very short time given the incredible capacity of the battery, around 900 kWh.
The raw value could then be around 900 kWh, based on the consumption advertised at only 1.7 kWh per mile, or the equivalent of 105 kWh / 100 km. A capacity that would allow the electric truck to travel up to 800 kilometers without refueling, with a load of 37 tonnes. An incredible figure, which PepsiCo has not yet tested for the moment, since the journeys are actually shorter.
But does the Semi really keep all its promises in real use? Well it would seem so according to his first client, who seems very satisfied. Motortrend was able to discover the Frito-Lay installations, which consist of four Superchargers, or rather Megachargers, capable of delivering up to 1 MW, or the equivalent of 1,000 kW. But what about in real life?
Very fast charging
In fact, the terminals installed by the company currently deliver a maximum of 750 kW, which still greatly exceeds the 250 kW of Superchargers currently available to the general public. Later, for electric cars, a 350 kW V4 version will also be deployed, equipped in particular with solar panels and a battery capable of storing the energy thus recovered. By way of comparison, in China, the local group Geely is working on the deployment of 600 kW terminals for cars to recharge their last in 10 minutes.
Frito-Lay then explains that it is able to fill a nearly empty battery up to 70% (equivalent to 5 to 80%) in just half an hour, which then makes it possible to recover 400 miles of autonomy, or about 643 kilometers. A figure that most likely corresponds to the American EPA cycle, which is more pessimistic than our European WLTP. It takes a total of 90 minutes to reach 100%. Which is far more than on the fastest cars, which require around an hour on this exercise.
By comparison, the fastest-charging electric cars currently (the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5) claim 18 minutes on the 10-80% exercise and around 20-25 minutes on the 5-80%. They carry a battery 10 times smaller than the Tesla Semi. As for more “classic” electric trucks, Renault is limited to 250 kW for 2.5 hours of recharging, a similar power at Volvo, with around 1 hour to go from 20 to 90% on 376 kWh batteries. In Europe, the first charging network dedicated to trucks is limited to 300 kW.
Tesla Semi // Source: Motortrend
Tesla Semi // Source: Motortrend
Tesla Semi // Source: Motortrend
Autonomy level, we can see on one of the photos the calculation of a route of 530 km (6h12 drive) between Modesto and Los Angeles. The truck, recharged to 96%, predicts an arrival at its destination with 4% battery. However, the system recommends not to exceed 65 mph (104 km/h). The route is made up of a 2×2 lane then a mountainous highway arriving in Los Angeles. Are we in the presence of the version with a range of 500 km? If not, the prediction of this route is odd, since Tesla had demonstrated for 800 km.
Another explanation may come from the route planner. This may not take truck speed limits into account. Indeed, in California, these cannot exceed 55 mph (88 km/h), even on highways or expressways. These being limited to 70 mph (112 km/h), the difference in autonomy could be explained in this way.
A truck that drives like a car
Motortrend was also able to take a seat on board this Semi, in order to discover a spacious driving position equipped with two large screens, which remind us in particular of that of the Model 3. These include many features present in the vehicles of the range. , but are not equipped with specific software for professionals, as Rivian offers for example in its van designed for Amazon delivery people.
Tesla Semi // Source: Motortrend
Tesla Semi // Source: Motortrend
Tesla Semi // Source: Motortrend
Tesla Semi // Source: Motortrend
According to drivers interviewed during the visit, the Tesla Semi “drives like a car”. And indeed, the driving position looks a lot like a Tesla.
As a reminder, the electric truck has a three-motor traction chain identical to the Tesla Model S Plaid, whose total power has not been revealed by Elon Musk. However, we know that it is possible to reduce energy consumption by shutting off up to two engines in certain situations, such as freeway driving at steady speed. Pricing for the machine has not been publicly disclosed at this time.
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