Tesla’s electric truck is getting closer to being a reality on the road, and the company’s latest moves point in that direction. Tesla has updated its website with some changes to the specifications of the Tesla Semi and new audiovisual material with a truck that, apparently, is very close to being a production version.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently announced that the Tesla Semi would hit the market later this year. It is the umpteenth promised date but this time it seems to be closer to becoming a reality than on previous occasions. Tesla’s electric truck, first introduced in 2017, could reach its first customers later this year or early 2023.
And there are news in this regard, because Tesla has removed the ability to place orders from its website of your electric truck. The US company began accepting orders last May, upon payment of a $20,000 deposit ($5,000 at the time of ordering and $15,000 at the time of assigning manufacturing).
The reasons why Tesla has stopped orders are unknown, but there could be two: that it has received a large enough number to exceed production capacity in the short term. Or a change in the pricing policy that increases the rate initially announced, and therefore not fall for the deception in the face of their customers. Until now, advertised prices ranged from $150,000 to $180,000, depending on the battery capacity chosen. Where before there was the button to place orders, now there is one to stay informed about possible news.
Regarding the novelties in the section of technical specifications, the production version of the Tesla Semi will be equipped with three electric motors, instead of the four that had been announced so far. Tesla has not announced the power or torque they will offer, although it describes its truck as “a beast”, more powerful and more efficient than conventional trucks.
Another new fact has to do with its fast recharge: the Tesla Semi will be able to recharge 70% of the battery in 30 minutes using the “Tesla Semi chargers”, that is, the Megacharger that the company has already begun to install and that will serve to recharge electric trucks with power in the order of megawatts. Although Tesla has not yet announced the maximum charging power of these megachargers, we can make some approximate calculations with the data offered by the company on the consumption and autonomy of the truck.
Tesla says that its electric truck will consume less than 2 kWh per mile, or what is the same: about 125 kWh per 100 kilometers. The battery capacity has never been published, but we do know that there will be a version with 300 miles of range and another with 500 miles of range. This leads us to batteries with a capacity of 604 kWh for the Tesla Semi with less autonomy and around 1000 kWh for the version with a higher range.
Assuming this capacity for the batteries, and taking into account the recharge time announced by Tesla, a charging power of 840 kW for the version with the smallest battery or 1,400 kW (1.4 MW) in the one with the greatest autonomy, as long as it is plugged into Tesla fast chargers or one of equivalent power. These figures, however, are theoretical calculations based on the approximations of autonomy and consumption announced by the manufacturer.
Tesla also mentions the savings that using the Semi can mean compared to an equivalent diesel truck. According to Tesla, its electric truck will allow the customer save up to $200,000 in the first three years of use in energy costs. The calculation has been made taking into account the average price of diesel and electricity in California between February and July 2022. Let us remember that the Tesla Semi is considered Class 8 in the United States, with a combined gross weight of 37,195 kilos. The company ensures that it will be able to maintain the maximum speed allowed with slopes of 5% and will be able to accelerate from 0 to 96 km/h in 20 seconds even when loaded.
