Tesla Semi truck unveil set for September
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The movie used them as part of a dystopian future, with an accident caused by one of the trucks' negligence, so let's try not to do that. And I hope we'd be better at clustering them into container "trains" for efficiency instead of seeing them all separated. But in terms of design I see no reason why you'd have a faux cab on the front.
This also answers the battery issue. Why swap batteries when you could just swap sleds. Each sled could carry a container ~100 miles from one charge station to the next. When it gets to a station just park behind the next sled and slide the load from one to the other. New sled can keep going, old sled can recharge while it waits for the next load.
Anyone know when and why they changed their plans?
Turbine engines don't seem to get any cheaper below bizjet size, where they cost a quarter million or so. That's why light aircraft are still running on pistons. Ford built a turbine-powered semitrailer truck prototype in 1964.[1] Worked fine, but cost too much.
I doubt he'd even combine it with hydrogen, as Nikola says it will, considering how much Musk has been criticizing hydrogen as impractical.
I have no background in the topic, but battery tech does seem to be a long-term limitation.
Here's a random blog that discusses electric Semis: http://www.johnsavesenergy.com/ElectricSemiTrucks.html
He uses 300 miles as a discussion point, which precludes over-the-road use.
There are still a large number of semis that are used for short haul runs, where a 300 mile range would be sufficient.
EDIT: I'm targeting OTR trucks in my comments because that's what self-driving tech most closely targets, and at some point drivers will be replaced. When drivers are replaced, there is no value at all in refueling periods. Currently, drivers use the refueling stop to rest and refuel themselves, but with Self Driving Trucks, you want to be in and out as fast as possible - or perhaps have in-motion refueling similar to aircraft refueling.
Ducks and awaits massive drop in HN karma
I agree with you. But there's a pretty heavy burden of proof on any denigration of Tesla around here. That and I think some of the old guard of auto manufacturing would love to stick it to Musk.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/852581046625345536
The next gen roadster is going to be a convertible.
> Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company will unveil its semi-truck in September.
> The company will also unveil a pick-up truck in 18 to 24 months, Musk said.
I can't imagine they are creating a new frame for a semi truck or pick up truck. I've got to imagine they are going to partner with someone like they did with lotus for their first roadster.
Honestly, the advantages of building a frame around the electric drivetrain are so huge, I can't imagine them reusing one built for internal combustion engines at this point.
I would imagine that the new roadster will also share a frame with the Model 3 (assuming it's a different frame from the Model S)
I really can't imagine Telsa trying to compete against the F-150.
--edit changed "won't be a cab with a bed" to "will be a cab with a bed"
https://electrek.co/2016/09/22/tesla-semi-hired-engineers-da...
And product development goes in clear phases. There is no product development on S,X or 3, the 3 is in production preparation now. So it makes completely sense, that the product dev teams are now working on vehicles past the Model 3.
I like Tesla and got one of the first reservations for the Model 3, but it seems pretty fair to say that they often take on a lot more than they're actually equipped to deliver.
- Get Model 3 production line working. (He said he'd live at the plant to make that happen.)
- Get battery factory to full operation.
- Get Falcon Heavy to first launch. (Already years late, but supposed to launch this year.)
- Get Brownsville launch facility built and operating. (First launch scheduled for 2018.)
- Get crewed Dragon working. The US currently has no manned space capability. (First crewed launch delayed again, to 2018.)
- Get self-driving working reliably.
https://www.teslarati.com/elon-musk-wasnt-kidding-creating-t... https://www.wired.com/2017/01/inside-tunnel-elon-musk-alread...
Have you read these threads? There are people here who claim to have invested all their savings into TSLA, and yet seem fairly clueless about the industry in which Tesla competes. The more things that get announced, the more they want in.
Tesla haven't yet proven that they can reliably build a cheap, profitable vehicle at scale, but still people talk about the next one and the next one...
Meanwhile, the Bolt is out, reviews are positive, and HN doesn't talk much about it. Not Elon, I guess.
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/chevrolet/bolt-ev/2017/2017-c...
1. The charging situation, and the ability to drive long distances without much trouble. Thanks to the Supercharger network, Tesla's cars can plan a route to get you from nearly any point A to any point B without too much longer of a drive than most people would do in a gas-powered car. The Bolt can use third-party chargers, but AFAIK it takes longer to charge and there's no concerted effort to ensure coverage with those. (Here's an article on this from a reviewer who likes the Bolt: https://electrek.co/2016/09/14/the-very-good-chevy-bolt-revi...)
I think this is a bigger point than most people who aren't actually planning to buy an EV think. The Bolt's lack of an answer to range anxiety makes it more of a commuter car, which puts it more in the same arena as the Nissan Leaf rather than any of Tesla's cars.
2. Autopilot. This is a very exciting feature Tesla is pushing very hard that the Bolt doesn't have at all.
And on top of those, there's also the fact that AFAIK you can't buy the Bolt in most places, which kind of puts a damper on how popular it can be.
I can't buy one.
Chevy doesn't appear to be manufacturing them beyond a handful of review units for magazines like Motor Trend and a small number of end-user sales in states where they need the ZEV Credits. People are unenthusiastic about the Bolt because they're matching Chevy's apparent level of enthusiasm.
The rhetoric around the Bolt ("Chevy did it! They were first at scale with a $35k car!") is arguably even more disconnected from reality than anything people are saying about Tesla. The Model 3 isn't a compliance car that is masquerading as a serious effort. Tesla is planning on selling it nationwide. They didn't restrict pre-orders to California and Oregon. Setting aside the actual cars, these are big differences.
At Chevy's current roll-out pace, my Model 3 pre-order will arrive long before any local Chevy dealerships are willing to sell me a Bolt (while passive-aggressively pushing me towards an internal combustion vehicle the entire time).