Five after the revelation of the prototype, the first copy of Tesla’s electric truck, the Semi, has just been handed over to its owner during a ceremony with great fanfare. Tesla has released an impressive video showing the capabilities of its electric heavyweight.
To say it was expected is an understatement. Because the arrival of the Tesla Semi in the brand’s range has caused a lot of ink to flow for many years. Six more precisely, between the announcement in July 2016 of the arrival of an electric truck designed by Elon Musk’s brand and the first handover of keys. However, things have happened in the meantime, with in 2017 for example the presentation of the first prototypethen many announcements on the data sheet of the final version.
Promise kept
As we know, Tesla has a little trouble keeping its schedules. It had started with the Model 3, which had been launched with a bit of a delay, putting a strain on the company’s finances. Today, we are still waiting for the Roadster, scheduled for 2020 but which will not finally arrive before 2023. The Cybertruck is also long overdue, the first deliveries of which have been confirmed for next year also by Elon Musk.
As a reminder, the electric pick-up was presented for the very first time in 2019. So inevitably, we no longer expected to see the Semi arrive on the roads, while its launch comes three years late. But here it is at last, as the brand organized a ceremony with great fanfare to celebrate this first handover of the keys.
A delivery broadcast live on Tesla’s Youtube channel, which took place yesterday in Nevada, and which had already been announced by the Texas brand a few days earlier. At least one promise kept! And you can imagine, the first customer to receive his copy of the 100% electric truck is not an individual but a big company, since it’s PepsiCo.
The agri-food firm, which owns the brands 7Up, Lipton Ice Tea or Tropicana and Benénuts, among others, is indeed one of the first to have pre-ordered copies of the Semi. Other companies like FedEX or Walmart are also on the waiting list to receive their electric truck. The two copies delivered yesterday sport specific coverings, in the colors of Pepsi and Frito Lay, one of the subsidiaries of PepsiCo, which owns Doritos, Cheetos and Lays chips.
Three motors, like the Tesla Model S Plaid
During this evening, Elon Musk also took the opportunity to recall some of the technical specificities of his electric truck. To tell the truth, nothing very new was said during this event, even if Electrek points out that a few elements have changed since the first prototype of 2017. Indeed, the Tesla Semi now uses a traction chain with three electric motors identical to the Model S Plaid.
The two front motors are used during acceleration phases while the rear motor is used on the highway, at steady high speed. What reduce energy consumption by cutting the other two engines. Uphill, the power of the Tesla Semi looks impressive, as seen in the video released by Tesla overtaking a diesel truck on a 6% grade.
I’ve watched this like 10 times. Anyone who knows anything about trucks can tell this is extremely impressive acceleration with 80,000 lbs in a 6% incline. pic.twitter.com/cZzhLaZ3n6
— Fred Lambert (@FredericLambert) December 2, 2022
Powerful charging
The power has not yet been announced by the brand, but we know that several versions will be available to customers with ranges between 483 and 805 kilometers. Consumption would be only 2 kWh per mile (or about 125 kWh / 100 km) with a full load. Last November, Elon Musk announced that the semi-trailer had traveled a distance of approximately 800 kilometers while towing 36.7 tons.
Recharging up to 70% could be done in just 30 minutes, thanks to a power of 1,400 kW. However, this would require installing Superchargers capable of delivering 1.5 mW, which should not see the light of day for many years, due to numerous technical difficulties and a pharaonic cost. Tesla still announced the new v4 Supercharger cable, capable of exceeding 1 MW (1,000 kW) of power thanks to revised cooling.
Soon in Europe?
In total, Tesla plans to produce 500 copies of its electric truck each year in the United States before investing in other markets a little later.
Because for the time being, orders are not open in France or in the rest of Europe. The American firm will then have to compete with other players, such as Volvo and Renault Trucks, which are also entering the electric segment. Nevertheless, the models already presented are smaller and are not intended for long trips.
During the presentation of the financial results for the third quarter of 2022, Elon Musk went into a little more detail about his electric truck, the Tesla Semi. The opportunity to learn a little more about his…
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