Top 5 Tesla Semi Facts You Need to Know
We had been anticipating this for quite a while and finally yesterday, Elon Musk revealed the Tesla Semi, the company’s attempt at redefining the idea of what a truck is.
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Drives Briskly
Equipped with four independent electric motors and driving the four rear wheels, the Tesla Semi fully loaded will be able to reach 60 mph from a standing start in 20 seconds. Without a trailer attached? That number sheds to 5 seconds. This will be the quickest semi-truck on the market and easily overtaking a semi truck on the highway may soon become a thing of the past.
The All Important Range
On a single charge, the Semi should be able to cover 500 miles of highway driving. It can also do this while towing at its maximum capacity of 80,000 lbs. A network of innovative solar powered Tesla charging stations will be installed worldwide to provide fast 30 minute charging for typical truck routes. In addition, up to 400 miles can be achieved after that 30 minute charge.
Safety Features Galore
For a truck, the Tesla Semi is not pulling any punches when it comes to safety. Tesla’s Enhanced Autopilot comes as standard. Further bolstering that is autonomous braking, automatic lane keep assist and a torque adjusting system that will prevent the truck from jacknifing.
Reliability A Priority
Elon Musk has promised the truck’s powertrain should last for the first million miles. Also, the braking system will have near-infinite longevity due to the regenerative battery handling most of the braking duties, according to Tesla.
Unique Driving Position
The Tesla Semi’s cab will feature a central driving position. You will be surrounded by two digital screens derived from the Model 3 which will provide essential driving information to the driver.
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Chidi loves talking about cars. He enjoys exploring the limits of new car technology and performance vehicles. When he is not writing features for AutoGuide, you will most likely find him perusing Kijiji or Autotrader listings for unique classic nameplates.
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they released a lot of specs including 5% grade at 65MPH. But the one spec we need to know is not being released. How much does the truck weigh? if it's too heavy, then the trailer has to carry less stuff to keep the truck/trailer under the 80,000 lb limit. that means you need another truck and another trailer and double more road usage that's not being paid by fuel tax into The Federal Highway Trust Fund. You can't expect that poor guy commuting on his motorcycle to pay tesla's share of road repair through his fill-ups. And since there is no fuel burning off; it doesn't get lighter further down the road.
So can it stop in 4 seconds?