TESLA Electric Truck?

[dieselcrawler]

Not much thought on the original topic, more to the solar power...

My dad just had some panels installed, should ballance out his Electric bill to $0. But he's invested about $30k. As a tree hugger, he's ok with that, but myself as a penny pincher, that $30k would likely pay his small Electric bill for longer than he and mom will live, both @ +/- 70yo.

To each their own...

 

[ultrarunner]

Does the fact that Tesla sells cars without local dealers to service them bother you?


TBS

Tesla has a network of company stores... kind of like when Sears sold automobiles direct through the catalog a century ago... we are getting a new one in SF soon.

Here is a list of "Dealer" locations.

Tesla Dealer Locations

and here is a gallery list from Tesla

US Tesla Stores and Galleries | Tesla

Since I most likely will never own one it really doesn't impact me one way or another.

Sometimes the Dealer network is overrated in that there is no assurance your dealer will not go out of business... as happened to all the Kubota Dealers in my county and several of the neighboring counties...

 

[crazyal]

The reason why Tesla cars are an option is because they can achieve the enough range to not need to be charged too often. They do that by making them as aerodynamic as possible. Once you start doing things like drag racing or towing things quickly change as the battery reserves are depleted much quicker. With a truck an EV would only work for the person who uses their vehicle as a truck only on rare conditions. If it's just used to haul a couple of bicycles to the bike path on the weekend then you would be fine. If you think you are going to haul a trailer full of cattle to an auction 100 miles away and get back home then you are not going to want electric.

 

[two_bit_score]

The reason why Tesla cars are an option is because they can achieve the enough range to not need to be charged too often. They do that by making them as aerodynamic as possible. Once you start doing things like drag racing or towing things quickly change as the battery reserves are depleted much quicker. With a truck an EV would only work for the person who uses their vehicle as a truck only on rare conditions. If it's just used to haul a couple of bicycles to the bike path on the weekend then you would be fine. If you think you are going to haul a trailer full of cattle to an auction 100 miles away and get back home then you are not going to want electric.

Tesla has a different take on that: >>A Lot of Power
Everyone was wowed when the Super Duty’s 6.7L Power Stroke Diesel was updated with 440 hp and 860 lb-ft of torque and the Ram 3500 got 900 lb-ft. Expect the top-spec Tesla truck to easily have that much torque and an unassisted towing capacity of 10,000 pounds. It would be the quickest-accelerating factory fullsize truck available. A 5-second flat unloaded 0-60 time is likely. Electric motors have proven they can produce gobs of power. However, they also can consume gobs of power, especially under load. That brings us to our next feature.<<<

TBS

 

[Btown]

Tesla has a different take on that: >>A Lot of Power Everyone was wowed when the Super Duty’s 6.7L Power Stroke Diesel was updated with 440 hp and 860 lb-ft of torque and the Ram 3500 got 900 lb-ft. Expect the top-spec Tesla truck to easily have that much torque and an unassisted towing capacity of 10,000 pounds. It would be the quickest-accelerating factory fullsize truck available. A 5-second flat unloaded 0-60 time is likely. Electric motors have proven they can produce gobs of power. However, they also can consume gobs of power, especially under load. That brings us to our next feature.<<< TBS

Yes they could make it with those specs, but range would be 6-10 miles while towing. Ford and Dodge diesels both can tow around 30,000 lb trailers and could go further with 2 gallons of diesel than a Tesla truck with a full charge. Tesla right now is a niche vehicle that might not be around in a few years if the luxury auto makers decide to make cars for this small market. Elon has learned the hard way it is very difficult to mass produce cars.

 

[crazyal]

When Amtrak pulls out of Florida it is using two diesel electric engines to pull the train. When they reach DC, they pull the tho diesels off and put ONE full electric engine on the train. Not only can that one engine pull the train, it can do it faster and build up to speed in less time/distance. The full electrics are fed with overhead power lines.

So, it they could ever produce a way to feasibly power an electric truck it could certainly do the job.

If cars rode on steel rails and there were overhead power lines that they could get power from (bypassing the need for batteries) then this might apply. Since the diesel versions have to have the source of power (engine), an alternator, and a tank to hold the fuel that kind of limits just how much room there is for electric motors. Any guesses just how much less power an all electric locomotive would have if it had to have enough batteries to cover the same distance as a diesel locomotive can do without having to make it a lot larger to avoid having separate cars that hold nothing but batteries?

 

[ultrarunner]

We have had electric mail trucks in Santa Clara for decades... stop and go all day neighborhood and downtown routes.

 

[Qapla]

BMW is first to deploy an electric 40-ton truck on European roads

 

[ultrarunner]

We have been seeing these Fedex truck for a few years...

FedEx Introduces First All-Electric Trucks To Be Used in the U.S. Parcel Delivery Business

 

[ultrarunner]

Tesla new battery pack for the S is now 315 mile range... it will also propel the car 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds...

It seems battery technology has been increasing about 8% per year from a report I heard.

I would not count the electric car out anytime soon.

Who would have thought the quickest cars in the world would come from Fremont California?