Re: Initial comments from a guy with a Class A.
Seats one. Where does the lovely Mrs. jake sit? Steerage? Show stopper.
There's space and an option for a second seat behind and to the right of the driver. It just isn't fitted in the press photos.
Battery tech has reached the point where they'll last 1,000,000 miles with no degradation in performance?
Your engine and tranny last 1,000,000 miles without a rebuild or replacement? Pull the other one. Remind us all what a new gearbox for a Class 8 costs.
Finally, only a 500 mile round trip on a "tankfull"? Total show stopper.
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I have a co-driver. Her name in Mrs. jake. I'm not the only one ... I know one guy who does long-haul with his wife and two sons. Sometimes they drive all four trucks, sometimes two, sometimes one.
You'll also note the lack of sleeper-cab option. The Tesla isn't designed for people who want to do 1,000miles on a tank cross-country or Trans-America. It's designed for taking 80,000lb from a factory, port or distribution unit to an Amazon fulfilment depot.
Given that most of the US population live within 500miles of the coast, it follows that the majority of freight is travelling less than 500miles from port to destination (or from factory to port). And that doesn't count on the fact that maybe Tesla don't actually care about the US. European routes will lap this up. Trucking containers from Rotterdam to Paris? Trolling containers around Paris from a railhead? There is lots of inter- and intra-city work that this truck can do emissions free.
If the TCO works out as Musk predicts then this will be a roaring success (and it shouldn't be hard, because TCO on a diesel is a total pig - Fuel, regular oil changes, clutches, wear and tear on mechanicals).
Amazon will love these for transfers between logistics hubs, as will the USPS and the likes of UPS/FedEx for moving freight from an airport to local/regional distribution hubs.
The target market for these doesn't call for more than 500miles between stops, and users will install megachargers at their depots/warehouses so you charge whilst you (un)load.
The initial users are going to be fleet buyers who can also install the appropriate infrastructure at their end-points. Not owner-operators.
We've got a major agri-feed business down the road from us. They run their own fleet of 25+ Class8s hauling tonnes of feed to farms. At night, every one of those trucks is back in the yard. You think they need a second driver or do more than 500miles a day? Plenty of people need heavy or bulky stuff moving short distances.
The long-haul crowd saying "This is useless, I can't team-drive across America in it" are being deliberately obsequious. Most people don't need or want to do 1,000 miles on a tank.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
