The Most Unbiased Tesla Semi Breakdown From an Engineer
Tesla Semi Battery, Drive, and Range
Battery Capacity
The Tesla Semi has a battery capacity of 500 miles * 1.7 kWh which equals about an 850 kWh battery. The 1.7 kWh comes from Elon Musk making a statement on Twitter.
Tesla did a 500 mile range test with its Tesla Semi. It started at 97% and ended with 4%, using 93% of the total battery. 500 miles * 1.7 kWh/0.93 = 914 kWh. It seems the battery capacity is somewhere between 850 kWh and 914 kWh.
500-Mile Drive
When looking at the video of the Tesla Semi driving, it looks like 14.2 seconds were at 60 miles per hour or greater. Regen braking was also minimal. There was a total time of 95 seconds real time at over 60 miles per hour, taking out bathroom breaks. The total time greater than or equal to 60 miles per hour was about 15%. Most of the driving is below 60 miles per hour.
Estimated Range:
We see the best case at 60 miles per hour using about 800 kWh. At 55 miles per hour, this is about 740 kWh and more efficient. A more realistic speed is 52.5 miles per hour.
Aero drag puts the vehicle at about 780 kWh. If the vehicle were to go 70 miles per hour on a drive, that would require 1187 kWh for 500 miles, but could take the semi at about 358 miles of range at 70 miles per hour.
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Tesla Semi Battery Weight, Semi Weight, Load Capacity
Battery Weight
The battery weight of a 2022 Model is about 537 kg. It has a specific Energy of 186 wh/kg. That's a total battery size of 100 kWh.
The Tesla Semi assumes an 850 kWh battery. Divide that by 0.186 wh/kg (using the Model S specs), which gives you, 4570 kg or 10,000 lbs. The battery is about 10,000 lbs. or less.
Semi Weight
A typical class 8 diesel truck weights about 17,000 lbs. There is about 2,100 lbs. of fuel. A Tesla can start at 17,000 lbs. just for the truck. Then add 10,000 for the battery. This is 27,000 lbs. for the truck. Take off 19,000, and you are about -8,000 lbs. compared to a typical diesel.
With laws for EV semi at another 2,000 lbs. and less weight from the drive train and electric motor, you have a load deficit between 4,000 and 6,000 lbs. The total weight of the Tesla Semi seems to be about 27,000 plus tires and other parts, which could put it around 30,000 total miles.
Carrying Capacity
The Tesla Semi has a total cargo weight of about 44,000 lbs. The typical max load is between 40,000 to 54,000 lbs.
How much weight are most diesel trucks hauling around? It looks like the distribution is between about 37,000 to 72,800 for about 80% of diesel trucks. This is within the range that the Tesla Semi could carry.
What do you think of this deep dive into the Tesla Semi? Is it working as advertised by Tesla?
For more information, see this video from Engineering Explained:
In Related News: Electric Vehicle Charging Taking Place on Public Roads
Current efficiency is 1.7kWh/mile, but there is a clear path to 1.6, possibly 1.5— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 2, 2022
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Jeremy Johnson is a Tesla investor and supporter. He first invested in Tesla in 2017 after years of following Elon Musk and admiring his work ethic and intelligence. Since then, he's become a Tesla bull, covering anything about Tesla he can find, while also dabbling in other electric vehicle companies. Jeremy covers Tesla developments at Torque News. You can follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn to stay in touch and follow his Tesla news coverage on Torque News.