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Solving the Tesla Semi truck conundrum: here’s what it might take

Credit: Driendl Group Digital Vision Getty Images

Published

9 years ago

July 22, 2016

Aaron Turpen

With the release of Tesla’s updated vision for the future, CEO Elon Musk included plenty of information that was both intriguing and light on details. From that, we will try to make a guess as to what Tesla’s plans are in reference to trucks and shed light on the many obstacles that the company will need to overcome before making its plans a reality.

The light details of Musk’s announcement is par for the course from Tesla and Co, which operates its marketing as much on hype and viral sharing as anything else. This is not a knock against the company, as most other firms would sacrifice virgins every Friday to see the same kind of unsolicited viral marketing that Tesla generates. One thing Elon has mastered is walking the fine line between being informative and forthcoming and being vague enough to cause rampant speculation.

In the company’s “Part Deux” plans for the future, a brief and almost passing mention of semi-trucks was made as a part of Tesla’s developments. Specifically, Must referred to “heavy-duty trucks” and called the idea a “Tesla Semi.” This can imply two things, but probably implies both. It could imply that Tesla plans to make a heavy-duty truck – which could mean a three-quarter ton pickup truck, a Class B heavy truck, or a large Class A freight-hauling truck. Or it can imply that Tesla plans to make a semi-truck only (aka “18 wheeler”). We believe it’s likely that they plan to do all of the above.

Currently, about 70 percent of the freight being moved around the United States is moved on semi-trucks in which a large tractor is attached to a separate trailer. These trucks typically operate at weights up to 80,000 pounds in vehicle, freight, and fuel. They are referred to as “Class A” trucks because the weight class requires an operator’s license of that type. Yet that is only one class of truck. And the typical over-the-road (OTR) truck we usually think of when talking about semi-trucks are just one slice of a large trucking pie.

Nearly 12,000 million tons of freight are hauled by trucks every year in the United States. A significant portion of that hauling is done by smaller trucks rather than large semi-trucks. Package carrying (van) trucks, dump trucks, refuse (garbage) trucks, and other specialized trucks are also common and actually make up a larger portion of the miles driven by heavy-duty trucking. Most of these vehicles have a gross weight of 26,000 pounds or more, by definition, so for our purposes here we will be excluding passenger-style heavy-duty pickups and the like. We are assuming that Musk is referring to freight hauling, given his statements.

With the plan to “cover the major forms of terrestrial transport” that Tesla put forth, we can assume that the company plans to design and potentially build heavy-duty trucks of all stripes. This is realistic given that major truck builders such as Paccar (Kenworth, Peterbilt), Volvo, Mack, etc. already do this. One basic design can be modified to match several needs, thus a single model Mack truck can be both an OTR freight puller and a dump truck with just a few changes to the drivetrain and chassis. Medium-duty trucks, such as package delivery (ala UPS, FedEx) box trucks can also be of a single design with multiple body options. Although the reality is a bit more complicated than this, the gist is that it is possible to design only a couple of vehicles and have them workable in most major truck markets. Knowing this, we will concentrate on the most difficult to achieve, over-the-road heavy-duty semi-trucks.

Knowing that, there are obstacles to overcome. The challenges of a Tesla pickup truck are a beginning, but with a heavy freight hauler, they become exponential. Here are some basic requirements for the biggest of these HD trucks:

Power output similar to a large diesel engine, equalling roughly 450-550 horsepower and 800-1,200 pound-feet of torque. The amount of output depends heavily on the work to be done. A typical OTR truck, for example, falls in the lower end of this spectrum to maximize fuel efficiency while a typical off-road construction or heavy-load truck (logging and the like) will be at the higher end.
An operating range of 600 miles per charge for OTR and about half that for more local use (construction, large trailer/freight delivery). Smaller trucks doing package deliveries could operate in the 150-mile range easily.
The capability to haul as much or more freight than the current diesel-powered offerings do.

That last point is important. Getting a 600-mile range for a truck that can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, freight included, is pretty simple. Getting a 600-mile range for a truck and trailer weighing under 35,000 pounds is not as easy. It’s the old problem of more batteries equals more range, but also equals more weight.

There have been and are current attempts at electrifying semi-trucks, of course. Mostly in the medium-duty package delivery and trailer moving (non-transport) sectors. Solutions involving hydrogen fuel cells, battery-electrics, hydraulic hybrids, and more have been produced. Some did not do well (see Smith Transport) and some are going places (see Parker-Hannifin’s hydraulic hybrids). For the most part, battery-electric over-the-road trucks are seen as a pipe dream by most in the industry. There are good reasons for this. Not the least of which are the battery weight and range expectations of the trucks. Nevermind the likely long charging times required.

Walmart’s WAVE concept truck features an electric powertrain and lightweight carbon fiber trailer

Without getting too detailed, most OTR drivers expect to put in 600 or more miles per day in a solo run (one driver) and about 1,000 or so when team driving. Most fuel stops are 15-20 minutes and most trucks have a range of 700-1,000 miles when fitted with dual tanks (one on either side). Having enough lithium-ion batteries on board to do that is daunting. Especially given the high power outputs required to move 80,000 pounds worth of rig and freight.

There are solutions for this, of course. Since Musk devoted so much of his announcement to autonomous driving, we can assume the plan is to include that with trucking. Three possible ideas are:

Relaying. A truck takes a trailer 300-400 miles, swaps it with a trailer going back where it came from, and returns. The trailer swapped continues on with on another truck for another 300-400 miles, then another, and another.. Until its final destination and delivery. This is currently done with certain types of freight and these trucks often have shorter trailers and run them as doubles (one attached to another). Automating this might be a solution. At least for some types of freight.

Battery swapping. The truck drives for a certain range of miles, stops somewhere to have its emptied battery swapped with a full one, and continues. If done in 10-15 minutes and not more than twice a day, this would be realistic under the current trucking paradigm with a driver on board. When automated, the swaps could be as often as you’d like, though each stop means delays in shipment.

Partial electrification. This would be a truck which runs on electricity but has an on-board combustion generator. This is a potential solution, but is not likely to be on Tesla’s agenda.

Another option that should be considered, though it might not be what Tesla fans will want to hear: Musk may be planning on taking a standard semi-truck and automating it. In other words, the Tesla Semi could actually be an automation system, not an actual truck. At least in the beginning. Given the huge amount of technical obstacles, some of which may not be surmountable without combustion, this is a viable guess. At least for OTR trucks.

Any of these ideas or a combination are realistic for a Tesla Semi strategy in regards to OTR trucks. There are no shortage of plans (grandiose and otherwise) for transforming the trucking industry via electrification. Seeing Teslas will at least be interesting.

Related Topics:Featured Tesla Tesla Cybertruck Tesla Semi

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Aaron Turpen

Aaron Turpen is a freelance writer based in Wyoming, USA. He writes about a large number of subjects, many of which are in the transportation and automotive arenas. Aaron is a recognized automotive journalist, with a background in commercial trucking and automotive repair. He is a member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press (RMAP) and Aaron’s work has appeared on many websites, in print, and on local and national radio broadcasts including NPR’s All Things Considered and on Carfax.com.

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Tesla’s top investor questions ahead of the Q1 2025 earnings call

Unsupervised FSD, Cybercab, and future models are just a few of the leading topics for the upcoming earnings call.

Published

15 hours ago

April 15, 2025

Zachary Visconti

Credit: Tesla Asia | X

The next Tesla earnings call is a week away, and many investors have already started voting on which questions they want answered during the meeting.

Shareholders can submit and vote on questions for the upcoming call using the Say Technologies platform and at the time of writing, the page already has a total of 2.59 million Tesla shares represented in the polls across a total of 6,390 participants. The Q1 2025 Tesla earnings call is set for next Tuesday, April 22 at 2:30 p.m. Pacific, and will be hosted live on X.

Currently, the top questions for the call include those about Tesla’s highly anticipated launch of Full Self-Driving (FSD) Unsupervised and the Cybercab, plans for more affordable models, the uncertain global economic climate, the Optimus robot, and more. Shareholders can continue submitting questions on the platform until Monday, April 21 at 1:00 p.m. Pacific.

Tesla reported delivering 336,681 vehicles and producing 362,215 in the first quarter of the year, and the company noted that it lost several weeks of production as it transitioned to building the new Model Y. The company also reported deploying 10.4 GWh of energy storage products, compared to just 4,053 MWh in the first quarter of last year.

Interestingly, Tesla shifted its wording of the earnings call in this year’s Q1 production and delivery report, instead referring to the upcoming meeting as a “Q1 Company Update.”

Elon Musk

Elon Musk continues to push optimistic goal for Tesla Full Self-Driving

Elon Musk continues to push the idea that Teslas will be able to drive themselves to your house this year on their own. It’s perhaps the most committed we’ve seen him toward a timeline.

Published

16 hours ago

April 15, 2025

Joey Klender

(Credit: Tesla)

Elon Musk has always been optimistic about when Tesla would be able to solve Full Self-Driving and what its capabilities would be, and sometimes, he’s been a tad too optimistic.

We have heard for many years that Tesla will solve Full Self-Driving by the “end of this year,” and “this” means whichever year he said it in. But this time, he’s putting all his eggs in the 2025 basket, and it was further reiterated in a recent post from the Tesla CEO on X.

Musk’s Tesla has launched several versions of Full Self-Driving in recent months that are extremely impressive. I’ve tried some of these recently-released versions within the last week, and I’ve grown extremely impressed with the performance of FSD, especially in some situations that are even tricky for humans to maneuver.

However, Tesla’s FSD suite handled it flawlessly. That’s the kind of thing investors and consumers need to see before it is released, especially as we’ve all heard the “this year” speech for nearly a decade. It might be the real thing this time, especially as the company is leaning heavily on the Robotaxi fleet to take it to the next level.

Earlier today, Tesla’s official account on X indicated that your car will be able to drive itself to your house. Musk had a witty and simple reply, something that indicates and reiterates his optimistic outlook for FSD as it continues to be refined and adjusted for what will likely be a June release in Austin, Texas:

This year https://t.co/2eCadrXYfd
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 15, 2025

Of course, this is not a confirmation that Tesla will roll out Full Self-Driving that is unsupervised within the next few months. It is increasingly obvious that Musk is gaining tons of confidence in what the company is doing, as he has reiterated this end-of-year target on several occasions.

It does not appear that the release of FSD will be a widespread one. Instead, it seems as if Tesla will roll out the Robotaxi fleet in several cities at first, as it has already taken several regulatory steps in Texas and California.

Tesla receives its first robotaxi permit in California

If Tesla is able to come through on this, it would be massive for the company and its investors, especially as the FSD suite is a major point of value for the future. However, not coming through on this timeline would be a massive misstep for the company. Musk’s adamance regarding the 2025 rollout of self-driving features is truly the most committed we’ve ever seen him toward this sort of timeline.

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Tesla Cybertruck needs changes before Australia entry, but no guarantees it will arrive

Tesla Cybertruck could make its way to Australia, but the company’s country manager is not convinced quite yet.e

Published

17 hours ago

April 15, 2025

Joey Klender

Credit: Tesla

The Tesla Cybertruck is still in need of some changes before it makes its way to Australia, but the country’s director is still unsure whether the vehicle will ever make its way down under.

In March, we reported on Tesla’s intention to bring the Cybertruck to Australia and potentially New Zealand. Country Manager Thom Drew said Tesla had intentions to bring the truck to the market, especially as there is a lack of a “real workhorse, full EV that has the range and capability that Cybertruck does.”

Tesla plans to bring Cybertruck to new market for a big advantage

Now, there has been more criticism about the concerns for the vehicle to be approved for operation in Australia. Various people have said that the Cybertruck would not comply with Australian Design Rules, according to EVCentral. But Drew believes that those critics are simply spouting their opinions.

At the Melbourne Motor Show, Drew said:

“A lot of those concerns are unfounded around its compliance. There is a lot about it that works within the Australian compliance system. Are there changes required? That is absolutely part of the discussion with headquarters at the moment.”

It sounds as if Tesla might not have to change the truck but potentially redesign an all-new pickup design. The new truck will have to be right-hand drive, and steer-by-wire has been mentioned in some discussions as a potential issue for passing the ADRs.

Additionally, the shape and angles of the Cybertruck have been criticized in several markets as potentially dangerous to pedestrians. However, if you take the angular design and steer-by-wire away, it’s not really a Cybertruck any longer; it might end up being Tesla’s first traditional pickup design.

Currently, Drew remains skeptical that the Cybertruck will ever break into the Australian market. He said that a lot of these changes would require significant adjustments to the Cybertruck manufacturing program, as right-hand-drive units would have to be produced on the production lines in Gigafactory Texas. This could throw a wrench into the production timeline.

He added:

“I think the consideration we have to make a decision on, as a business, is Australia really the only right-hand drive market where it’s suitable? That is obviously part of the consideration for the program. I am not confident it’s coming, but we are discussing it. Locally, we want to see it [Cybertruck] here but it’s certainly not a done deal just yet.”

It seems somewhat unlikely as of right now that the Cybertruck will make its way into a new market.