Mass production of Tesla Semi will start this year, — Elon Musk
According to Elon Musk, Tesla will launch the Semi into mass production this year and begin deliveries to customers. It has been almost ten years since the model's first presentation.
What is known
The company has revealed the final specifications of the serial version of the Semi, which will be available in two variants - Standard Range and Long Range. Both are designed for a total train weight of up to 82,000 pounds (about 37.2 t) and are equipped with a three-motor powertrain with a capacity of 800 kW (1072 hp).
Tesla Semi Standard Range has a range of up to 325 miles (about 523 km) with a full load. The tractor's own weight is less than 20,000 pounds (about 9 tons), and the payload is about 62,000 pounds (approx. 28 tons). The energy consumption is declared at a level of 1.7 kWh per mile. Fast charging according to the Megawatt Charging System (MCS 3.2) standard allows replenishing the charge up to 60% in 30 minutes with a peak power of up to 1.2 MW. Also provided is an electric power take-off ePTO up to 25 kW for the operation of auxiliary equipment.
Tesla Semi. Photo: Tesla
The Long Range version is designed for a range of about 500 miles (approximately 805 km) on a single charge. With the same energy consumption, this indicates a battery capacity of about 900 kWh, although Tesla has not officially disclosed this parameter. Due to the larger battery, the curb weight has increased to 23,000 pounds (10.5 tons), and the payload has decreased to 59,000 pounds (26.7 tons). The charging and ePTO parameters are the same for both versions.
Limited production of Tesla Semi began in late 2022 - the first trucks were received by PepsiCo as part of a pilot project. Later, additional vehicles were delivered to Walmart and DHL Supply Chain.
Tesla has yet to reveal prices. For reference: in 2017, the company promised a price of $150,000 for a version with a range of 300 miles and $180,000 for 500 miles. Apparently, over the years, the cost has increased significantly. An indirect confirmation was a statement by Ryder, which reduced the order from 42 to 18 trucks while maintaining a total budget of $7.5 million.
Source: Autoblog
