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On Thursday, November 16th, 2017, Elon Musk revealed the much anticipated Tesla Semi truck at a live-streamed event in California.
The Semi had many impressive specs, some which shook the truck industry to its core. Tesla’s new Semi can accelerate from 0 - 60 mph in 5 seconds, while any other diesel truck would take 15 seconds. Even with the Semi carrying the greatest weight allowed on a US Highway (approximately 80,000 pounds), it can still accelerate to that extent in 20 seconds. The diesel truck took so long to accelerate with the same weight that Musk just moved on to other features.
With both electric and diesel semi trucks driving over a hill, each vehicle can reach a top max speed of 65 and 45 mph, respectively, and that includes a full load. When traveling over rocky terrain, the Tesla would be able to slowly put distance between itself and the diesel truck, which means faster deliveries and a more maximized output.
What is more amazing is that the Tesla Semi has almost twice as much range as a diesel. It has a range of 500 miles on a single charge, which is around 30 minutes in a solar-powered Tesla supercharger station, while carrying maximum weight and traveling at top speed. A diesel has a range of about 250 miles.
The reason for Tesla’s Semi’s amazing specs is, in a nutshell, because of the shape of the truck. It’s designed like a bullet, giving it a better drag coefficient (.36), or indicator of how much drag an object experiences, than a 2 million dollar Bugatti Chiron (.38). In other words, it’s designed better than a modern supercar.
The bottom of the truck is completely flat, so air can pass underneath it without being disturbed. There is a motor for each set of wheels (two for the rear and two for the front), and new battery advancements have led, as stated above, to faster charging speeds. As well as having automatic emergency braking, automatic lane keeping, and forward collision warning, the new Semi has enhanced autopilot.