Tesla Semi May Change The Trucking Industry as We Know It

Tesla set to produce its game changing all electric Semi Truck this year in limited volumes.

Tesla has the potential to completely transform the trucking industry as we know It. This would be a massive paradigm shift for our society if all diesel trucks were off our rods. Elon wants to do this. The idea of an all-electric semi-truck is definitely romantic, but is it possible?

It is possible. Musk promised that these trucks would be produced in “limited volumes” this year, 2020. He also said he will be having a “battery day” in April discussing the future of this technology.

The Cost of Producing and Selling a Tesla Semi

The Model 3 is known to have one of the better batteries in the line-up. The Tesla Semi truck, at $150,000 is set to have a 300-mile range. For just $30,000 more, you can double that range to 600. The price increase per mile range increase seems pretty bogus to me. They should either offer the 300-mile option at a cheaper price or bump up the $180,000 model to 800 miles. With a vehicle this big, you should be able to make it go further than 600 miles. Elon could be strategically under-promising.

Also watch 3 Ways Tesla Increased Model S and Model X Range by 20 miles nearing 400 miles of range per charge and click to subscribe to Torque News Youtube for daily automotive news analysis.

The Effect on Employees

Moreover, the positive move toward making this world a greener place is there. But if these semi-trucks ever became entirely autonomous, it could have some rough implications. Millions would lose their jobs, but Tesla would be able to keep their promise about safety. Taking drivers out of the seat is bad for employees but good for the earth and well, for the employees.

Truck driving has long been known to be a pretty rough career. It pays well, but that is probably in part to the conditions you have to work in. If a robot could take over the job of driving 36 hours at a time, more families could spend more time together.

There is also the added bonus that these “lost jobs” may even be replaced with “office jobs.” As the drone pilot industry rises, the remote truck driving industry may rise consequently. Before these semi-trucks can drive on the road 100% safely without any sort of human interaction, we must still control them.

New jobs could arise where these truck drivers are now “driving” their trucks from an office. A better word might be monitoring their truck. This could be way safer for truck drivers, and other drivers on the road. It could also be greener since they would be all electric, and it would allow truck drivers to go home to their families every night. There’s a lot of upsides but it doesn’t come without complications.

The theory of an all-electric semi-truck is pretty rock solid. It also gives it something to tie us over while we wait for the CyberTruck. An all electric semi-truck is a great idea and I think it would definitely net humanity in the positive direction. This doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be hard to completely transition this entire industry to electric. The entire United States would close in a day if we didn’t have our trucking industry. There’s a lot to think about here and the fact that Elon is completely changing the system is exciting. Here’s to truckers getting to see their families at night!

Alex Belauste writes for TorqueNews about all things Tesla. He has worked in the automotive industry for 18 years and has grown to love the culture. Alex writes automotive news based on research, his personal expertise and experience. Alex has studied business at Oklahoma State University and joined the business of the automotive world. Follow Alex on Twitter at @Belauste and on Instagram. Search Torque News Tesla for more daily Tesla coverage from our expert reporters.