But a bit of Googling says avg. US prices are $.12/kwh, so $2.07/mile--133% the cost of a diesel semi.
So is Tesla able to negotiate subsidized rates? Or are buyers purchasing for some other reason? Or is somehing way off here? 0
Given the grid is 65%+ fossil fuels, it is counter intuitive that:
A) Fossil fuels+nuclear+renewables to generate chemical/heat energy -> converting to mechanical energy -> converting to DC electric energy -> converting to AC -> transmitting over long distances -> charge & store it in a chemical battery -> convert electrical energy back to mechanical.
Is cheaper than just the first two steps in the above,
B) Burning fossil fuels to generate chemical/heat energy -> converting to mechanical energy.
Large heat engines (power plants) can be more efficient than small heat engines, but all those conversions above have significant losses.
I suppose it's some combination of coal & gas being cheaper than gasoline, but I suspect some significant regulatory manipulation (whether for better or worse) is at play here.
In other words, perhaps if electric semis are viable, it will have more to do with Regulatory Capture than purely a free market outcome.
In many areas a considerable portion of fuel transport is a semi hauling a tanker, which is a bit less convenient than a pipeline or power line.
With only 15 orders to add to Walmart's 6,000 trucks, it will be quite a while before they need to send any to the more expensive locales.
[1] https://www.portlandgeneral.com/residential/power-choices/ba...
This reminds me of car companies advertising guaranteed gas prices for certain types of cars back when gas started hitting $3/$4 mark. I would see commercials of new cars saying $2.50/g for the next 5 years or something similar.
Found one: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/chrysler-extends-gas-card-...
Chrysler, $2.99/g for 3 years if you buy new car.
This article seems to be perhaps a bit loose about what exactly is being quoted here. AFAIK this is cost per kwh generated at utility scale.