Both the environment and road safety could benefit from the electric 18-wheeler. Let’s calculate the time needed to charge a Tesla truck.
On December 1, 2022, Tesla held its eagerly anticipated ceremony to officially introduce its electric Class 8 tractor, simply known as the Tesla Semi. The Tesla Semi will be able to recharge 70% of the battery in 30 minutes using the “Tesla Semi chargers”.
You probably won’t buy a Tesla Semi, to be honest. The enormous electric car, however, is important for a number of reasons. Let’s find out. We also explore the charging time of the Tesla Cybertruck, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S P100D, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model S Plaid, and Tesla Roadster.
Read More: How Long Does It Take to Charge a Tesla?
Tesla Semi Charging Time
On a regular charge, the Tesla Semi can bring an empty battery up to 100% in about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Semi will assist in reversing that. Semi has an electric range of up to 500 miles per charge and uses less than 2 kWh of energy per mile. Utilize Tesla’s semi chargers to regain up to 70% of range in 30 minutes.
Tesla claims that its electric truck will use less than 2 kWh per mile; the battery’s actual capacity has never been disclosed, but we do know that there will be versions with 300 and 500 miles of range, respectively.
This leads to batteries with a 604 kWh capacity for the Tesla Semi with less autonomy and around 1000 kWh for the version with a higher range.
Given this battery capacity and the Tesla-announced recharging time, a charging power of 840 kW (or 1.4 MW) can be calculated for the version with the smallest battery and 1,400 kW (or 1.4 MW) for the version with the largest range, provided they are connected to Tesla fast chargers or chargers of equivalent power.
However, these figures are just estimates based on the range and consumption ranges Tesla has provided.
Low Cost of Ownership
Electricity is roughly 2.5 times more cost-effective per mile than diesel fuel. In the first three years after purchasing a vehicle, operators can expect to save up to $200,000 on fuel.
Operators will spend less time in service centers and more time on the road thanks to remote diagnostics, over-the-air software updates, and fewer moving parts to maintain.
Charging the Tesla Semi — and the Cybertruck
It will take a lot of electrons to charge the Tesla Semi. Tesla has developed what it calls a “megawatt-class” V4 DC Supercharger that’s “next-generation liquid-cooled,” allowing a user to “shove a megawatt” through a typically sized charging cable.
The business announced at the delivery event that V4 chargers would start going up at Supercharger locations in 2019. Then Musk dropped this bomb: “It will also be applied to Cybertruck.”
This final tidbit is also important. Tesla claimed that the Semi’s powertrain would be used in its other vehicles. Wait, what? The Cybertruck appears to be the most likely candidate, but there isn’t any official word on that. The Roadster 2.0, perhaps?
A shuttle or van designed for robotaxi service, if such a thing is ever feasible? According to prior knowledge, it will be three to five years before we find out.
The Tesla Semi & Autonomy
When Musk unveiled the Semi to the public for the first time in November 2017, he promised that production would start in 2019 and that the trucks would be able to travel in a convoy without human intervention.
But during Tesla’s third-quarter earnings conference call in October, he said the company’s “Full Self Driving” system is not quite ready to be driverless. “It’s been a long journey, a long five years,” Musk said, “but this is going to really revolutionize the roads.”
Let’s be clear: there is a huge difference between a truck that can maneuver city streets with cross traffic, stop lights, pedestrians, and cyclists present, and a truck platooning on the highway.
The first one emphasizes connected driving with the use of AI and sensors. By allowing two or more trucks to move in close proximity to one another, platooning lowers wind resistance.
Additionally, it might enable vehicles to operate behind them without human drivers, saving trucking companies money.
Platooning has a drawback in that some drivers might find themselves unable to leave a highway or enter a service area if a solid wall of ten trucks is sluggishly moving down the right lane.
On the surface, it seems like a good idea, but it might also lead to new driving difficulties that will need to be resolved.
