Tesla HGV completes a 500 mile drive fully laden

[nowty]

I like the left and right blind spot cameras on the twin displays.

[dan_b]

Ok seems like there's a lot more going on here with the Tesla SEMI.

It's now a tri-motor configuration which seems to have been basically transplanted from the Model S Plaid (originally was apparently going to be a Quad-motor version using Model 3 motors).

https://electrek.co/2022/12/01/tesla-se ... ric-truck/

It's got a 1000V battery pack configuration, enabling 1MW charging rates. I imagine these are the truck-specific "MegaChargers" that will be deployed.
https://electrek.co/2022/12/01/tesla-cy ... ging-tech/

Apparently the 1000V tech will be applied to the CyberTruck as well when the v4 Superchargers start to be deployed.

[Mart]

The mtor change was a surprise for me. Elon did say a while back that it was going to be 3 not 4 motors, but I'd assumed it would still be the 250hp(ish) TM3 motors, but to move to Plaid motors and up the power from 1,000hp to 1,500hp was a shock. Cool that the truck will run on a single motor most of the time, so roughly the same as a normal diesel truck ~500hp.

If this BEV truck, and all the others too, do what they promise, then things will change quickly .... well, as fast as production.

[Swwils]

Charging solution is just to add more connectors.?

[Ken]

I dont think it was the Tesla but i read that the trailer could carry batts and be charged separately. Therefore the trailer can be charged in the unloading/loading/downtime cycle and the unit sent onto the next job without needing a full top up. Thought that was smart.

[Mart]

I dont think it was the Tesla but i read that the trailer could carry batts and be charged separately. Therefore the trailer can be charged in the unloading/loading/downtime cycle and the unit sent onto the next job without needing a full top up. Thought that was smart.

Only my imagination running off again, but if the cost is sensible, then I'd love to see trailers with a small battery pack, small motor and small regen, to aid the BEV truck. Perhaps also cheap PV on the roofs of the large enclosed trailers. Excellent for the refrigerated ones too. Be interested to know how much (or little) regen can be applied by the tractor, before trailer brakes will be needed to prevent issues like jacknifing. Shame if some (too much) of the trailer momentum has to be wasted by friction brakes.

[AE-NMidlands]

I dont think it was the Tesla but i read that the trailer could carry batts and be charged separately. Therefore the trailer can be charged in the unloading/loading/downtime cycle and the unit sent onto the next job without needing a full top up. Thought that was smart.

Only my imagination running off again, but if the cost is sensible, then I'd love to see trailers with a small battery pack, small motor and small regen, to aid the BEV truck. Perhaps also cheap PV on the roofs of the large enclosed trailers. Excellent for the refrigerated ones too. Be interested to know how much (or little) regen can be applied by the tractor, before trailer brakes will be needed to prevent issues like jacknifing. Shame if some (too much) of the trailer momentum has to be wasted by friction brakes.

just put a regen brake and a battery on the trailer then. Could even let it double as a pusher motor for initial starts or manoeuvering round yards...

[Mart]

I dont think it was the Tesla but i read that the trailer could carry batts and be charged separately. Therefore the trailer can be charged in the unloading/loading/downtime cycle and the unit sent onto the next job without needing a full top up. Thought that was smart.

Only my imagination running off again, but if the cost is sensible, then I'd love to see trailers with a small battery pack, small motor and small regen, to aid the BEV truck. Perhaps also cheap PV on the roofs of the large enclosed trailers. Excellent for the refrigerated ones too. Be interested to know how much (or little) regen can be applied by the tractor, before trailer brakes will be needed to prevent issues like jacknifing. Shame if some (too much) of the trailer momentum has to be wasted by friction brakes.

just put a regen brake and a battery on the trailer then. Could even let it double as a pusher motor for initial starts or manoeuvering round yards...

Yep, sounds great. I wonder how much a small motor* would cost, although now I think about it, the battery may be a problem, as regen can involve a lot of power, so a small battery may not be able to handle the power (as oppossed to the energy).

*Small as in power, not size, since Elon said the motors on the Semi are each about the size of a football. Hard to comprehend that v's a huge V6/V8 diesel truck engine.

[dan_b]

I doubt Tesla Semi's really want/need extra batteries in the trailers - as that would then cause a complication in the logistics supply chain for battery-specific trailers, and you're increasing the dead weight of the platform again, so reducing the overall commercial payload. As we saw in that video, the driver actually had to stop for a wee but didn't re-charge. So the truck can go longer than the driver.

Another thing I noticed in the details about Megachargers (and I assume v4 Superchargers as well, or are they in fact the same thing?)

They talk about "immersion cooling" of the live electrical conductors.
Have they really got the live cables literally swimming in the coolant flow? And then insulated the whole fluid and cable combination on the outside after that? Is that safe? Surely the risk of leaks and therefore shorting, must be really high in a flexible cable, and with the seals? What dark arts are going on here?

[AE-NMidlands]

just put a regen brake and a battery on the trailer then. Could even let it double as a pusher motor for initial starts or manoeuvering round yards...

Yep, sounds great. I wonder how much a small motor* would cost, although now I think about it, the battery may be a problem, as regen can involve a lot of power, so a small battery may not be able to handle the power (as oppossed to the energy).

*Small as in power, not size, since Elon said the motors on the Semi are each about the size of a football. Hard to comprehend that v's a huge V6/V8 diesel truck engine.

If you considered the trailer equipment as part of the combo's capability it needn't be seen as a handicap, as it could be balanced by slightly less capacity/provision on the tractor. There usually seems to be a huge empty space under an artic trailer which has to be fenced off to stop people driving under it, just have a battery cupboard instead.
I gather that full power is not used most of the time, so a saving on the tractor could be a selling point...