Charged regularly speaks with execs at companies involved in pilots of electric trucks. These folks invariably tell us about the (sometimes unexpected) rave reviews that EVs get from drivers, who love the quiet and the lack of vibration. Of course, they also love not having to breathe diesel exhaust. A new article from the Natural… Read more »
Tag: Tesla Semi Truck
Frustration with delays in implementing the Megawatt Charging System standard
The Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN), an industry alliance with over 320 members, is working to establish a new Megawatt Charging System (MCS) for heavy-duty electric vehicles. The new standard is expected to be operational as early as 2024, but some in the industry are complaining about delays, and putting pressure on CharIN to accelerate the… Read more »
New video details PepsiCo’s implementation of Tesla Semi electric trucks
“If you thought Tesla Semis were a bit like Bigfoot—maybe you heard about them, maybe you saw a fuzzy picture, but you weren’t sure if they were real or not—they are real, and they’re hauling real beverages here in Northern California.” So says Mike Roeth, Executive Director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency,… Read more »
Electric truck expert: Tesla Semi is a great product, but may struggle against more established OEMs
The market for heavy-duty electric trucks is heating up—long-established OEMs and startups alike are moving on from the pilot stage, and filling substantial orders from customers. During a recent conversation with Rustam Kocher, once Charging Infrastructure Lead at Daimler Trucks North America and now a consultant (watch for the full interview in the next print… Read more »
Frito-Lay’s “sustainability showcase” features Tesla Semis, electric trucks, solar+storage
Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, is transforming its Modesto, California, facility into “a showcase for sustainable manufacturing, warehousing and distribution technologies.” The 80-acre, 500,000-square-foot Modesto site, one of Frito-Lay’s largest manufacturing facilities in the US, features several classes of EVs, along with on-site solar energy generation, storage and EV charging stations. Green goodies in service… Read more »
Tesla to build Semis and expand battery production at Nevada Gigafactory
Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory is quite a place—since its 2014 opening, the company has invested $6.2 billion in the region, and the 5.4-million-square-foot, 11,000-employee facility has produced some 7.3 billion battery cells, 1.5 million battery packs and 3.6 million drive units. Now Tesla has announced plans to invest an additional $3.6 billion, hire 3,000 more team… Read more »
Sniffing out the specs of the Tesla Semi
Automakers differ widely in how forthcoming they are with technical specs. When one German automaker released its first major EV model, it hosted a press event at which cutaway versions of battery packs and electric motors were on display, and the engineers who designed them were on hand to answer questions. In contrast, another Teutonic… Read more »
Tesla delivers “badass” Semi, teases megawatt charging for Cybertruck
The Tesla Semi is finally here, and it’s officially a beast. “If you’re a truck driver and you want the most bad-ass rig on the road, this is it,” said Tesla’s CEO at a delivery event at the company’s Nevada Gigafactory, just before he handed over key cards to two PepsiCo executives. EV pundits were… Read more »
Will the game-changing Tesla Semi really go into production this year?
A viable electric Class 8 truck would be a massive disruptor of the global transport system, and since the unveiling of the Tesla Semi in 2017, we’ve been on the edge of our ergonomic bucket seats, waiting for it to appear on highways. Alas, Tesla’s production schedule has suffered more delays than the LA Freeway…. Read more »
Tesla to deliver 15 Semi electric trucks to PepsiCo this year
PepsiCo says it expects to take delivery of 15 Tesla Semi electric trucks by the end of this year. The soda and snack seller placed an order for 100 Tesla Semis shortly after the e-truck’s 2017 launch. Since then, Tesla seems to have put the Semi program on a back burner as it concentrated on… Read more »
