The Tesla Semi is here for real this time, it actually exists in its final form and at least some of them have been delivered to the waiting arms of PepsiCo Corporation. Tesla throws a delivery party for the Semi at its Sparks Nevada Gigafactory.
It was a fairly short and sweet event that still left a lot of specifics about the Semi up to the imagination but revealed some very important details about the Tesla Semi Were and how the company has managed to make an electric heavy truck which is by far the most capable in the market so let’s talk about that crossover.
We can start with the latest information that was revealed at the delivery event unfortunately we still have no details on the semi-battery pack but we have learned a lot about the powertrain and drive units the original Tesla design used four claimed to use electric motors but earlier this year in a revised spec sheet Tesla no we believe down to three motors we assume was done as a way to maximize efficiency.
They probably felt that the fourth motor was simply not necessary and it seems that Elon specified that Semi Plaid is using the same powertrain from the Model S and Model X so three Tesla’s of high-efficiency induction motors were used for maximum power output. Modified with carbon fiber on the wrapped rotors, the carbon sleeve prevents the rotor from expanding at super high rpm and which allows for a tighter tolerance between the stator’s magnets and the rotor’s magnets that allow more energy to flow into the rotor allow to move.
So it puts two electric motors on the rear axle and one motor on the middle axle on the semi, there is no front wheel drive and Elon specified that a very interesting modification made to the powertrain for the semi is the dual on the rear axle. The motor system is only engaged during acceleration, so when the semi is cruising on the highway it’s power is d only by the single motor axle. Elon says the single plowed motor also has more power than a conventional diesel truck engine and Even more interestingly, the Dual Motors have an added clutch system that will be completely decoupled from the truck’s wheels.
Is cruising so the motors aren’t drawing any energy or adding any extra load or resistance to the wheels and the clutching system is completely automatic, the driver won’t even realize this is happening if the rear motors are needed automatically disengage when they are not and when they are required for acceleration the system will automatically rev the motors and re-engage the clutch to deliver completely smooth and uninterrupted power to the wheels, this is possibly a The key factor is how Tesla was able to squeeze out so much range.
It is reiterated that the truck can go a full 500 miles on a single charge without any special modifications, at a gross weight of only 82 000 pounds which is the maximum allowed for an electric Class A truck, maximizing efficiency in the company Passionate about doing. Semi Tesla also confirmed that every major component in the Semi Drive Units that pumps heat to the inverters are all the same components used in Tesla’s passenger vehicles.
So these components have already been proven with over millions of miles of real world use. If you’re enjoying the content we create here at Tesla Space and want to help out check out our Patreon page, we Got some special perks for our Patreon supporters and it helps us to grow the team and continue producing content like this at one point.
There was a slide on the screen saying it’s a beast and it basically lives up to everything Tesla said about the Semi, it outperforms any other Class 8 Truc. k in every category the company showed off some of the stress tests they did on the semi basically dunking it in water driving it through dust and sand in the desert driving it through snow the whole nine yards tesla apparently Driving these trucks 24 7 to ensure it is fully loaded on trips between the Sparks Nevada and Fremont California factory.
To be sure, Elon showed some video clips of a Tesla Semi passing other vehicles at six percent of highway speed while pulling a bed full of cement blocks, which looked pretty impressive, and he got a special mention. That not only does the electric powertrain allow the semi to go uphill better than any other transportation truck, it also handles going downhill more safely and efficiently.
So obviously it is very difficult to slow down an 80 000 pound truck and trailer at the same time as doing so with a conventional semi requires the driver to execute a series of downs while going downhill. If engine braking is to be used in conjunction with friction brakes to kill speed this opens up a wide margin for failure. If engine braking is not done properly, the truck has to rely on friction brakes which can easily break. Can overheat with heavy loads and a steep climb which can lead to brake failure and a runaway transport truck.
This is why you sometimes see dedicated run away truck lanes on a highway through a mountain, the regenerative braking effect from the electric motors on the Tesla Semi eliminates this risk from the equation. The motors energy rolling down from that heavy load able to retrieve that battery and put it back into the battery pack, as well as create rolling resistance that leaves little work for the friction brakes. A Tesla semi can go up a steep hill with cold brakes, says Elon. And we can’t discount the added safety bonus of Tesla’s traction control with the exact same technology that allows the Model S Plaid to accelerate from 0 to 60 in less than two seconds.
The second is also responsible for maintaining traction in the semi, this should allow the system to automatically prevent the jackknife phenomenon from occurring, it should also be able to prevent the semi from going down a snowy hill Elon has more details on at 500 miles also gave drive that was completed on a single charge while fully loaded the drive was from fremont to san diego california i double checked on google maps and it confirms its a 496 mile drive between the two city centers.
Tesla also released a time-lapse video of the entire nine-hour trip to confirm that it was done in real world traffic without any closed roads or special conditions, in the event that the Semi Running on a new 1000 volt powertrain architecture which was expected but interesting to see Tesla go higher voltage for the first time all their previous systems have run on 400 volts which was pretty standard for electric vehicles but recently higher Models like the Performance Porsche Taycan and Lucid Air have gone up to 800 and 900 volts, respectively.
The simple explanation here is that higher voltage equals lower resistance and this allows for faster charging speeds. This will take full advantage of Tesla’s new megawatt charging system. Now what exactly is interesting here is that we assumed that the mega charger There will be a special installation that was specifically for the Semi but it actually appears from what was said in the presentation that this is actually just a V4 Tesla Supercharger This is not a bespoke Semi-Charger This is the next generation Tesla charging station And Elon dropped that the Cyber Truck will also be able to take advantage of the megawatt charging output.
This means the Cyber Truck will also use a 1000-volt powertrain and the biggest difference with the V4 Charger is the liquid-cooled cable that allows for higher energy transfer while maintaining a small and subtle connector, so you don’t have to worry is but trying to crush an elephant’s trunk next to his truck Tesla says these megawatt V4 superchargers are going to debut next year, some might even say in time for the Cybertruck release, so It’s so wild that’s why we’re out of the Tesla Semi release event.
It probably wasn’t as detailed as we hoped I’d still like to know more specs about the semi battery pack and what cells it’s using I’m sure we’ll find out eventually and we really don’t have to Didn’t get bonus Tesla product reveals That didn’t come out of the back of the trailer this time, but we did get a pretty cool Cybertruck Easter egg and a cool fact about the V4 MW supercharger, so it’s hard to complain that you Do you think you are a Tesla semi-believer or this is just one big scam fake truck that can only tow potato chips.