The new electric Supertruck arrives

Well, after their recent startling announcement that such a thing even existed, Elon Musk and Tesla have announced and demonstrated their new “heavy rig” electric truck.

What does this mean for transportation and moving companies?

the original ad

A few months ago, Musk made one of his famous”oh, by the way…” type ads. This delivered the news, with all the hoopla and drama one could expect from someone saying “oh i think it will rain tomorrow“, which would shortly showcase a high-tech, all-electric transport platform.

Virtually every industry insider was shocked and excited. Some were highly skeptical that this was possible in the few months between Musk’s announcement and the deadline for the truck’s unveiling to the world.

As usual, Tesla proved the latter wrong, including in what was pure theatrics when, at the same time as he was unveiling the truck, a new Tesla electric supercar appeared from inside, again to the surprise of almost everyone.

However, let’s talk no more about the car here!

At the time of this writing (November 2017), the truck has exceeded expectations in many ways.

Appearance

Externally, the tractor and trailer don’t look THAT different. Sure, there is some aerodynamics and that not only improves aerodynamics but also makes it look much nicer than most.

It’s really in the cabin where the huge visual differences are noticeable. Of course, unsurprisingly, it’s packed with technology including cameras, computers, and head-up screens, including radar. It also comes with armored glass that apparently won’t crack or shatter.

The most obvious difference, though, is that the driver’s seat is in the middle of the cabin, not to the side. It is also unique in that both the driver and the passenger can stand upright in the cabin.

All of that said, when you include the internal appearance of the cab, this truck looks very different.

Performance

The figures quoted by Tesla have yet to be independently verified, but they do include some pretty staggering claims:

• 500 miles (805k) between recharges
• Quick recharge technology
• 0-60 mph (96kph) in 5 seconds (without trailer). This goes to 20 seconds when you get a loan of 80,000 pounds (about 36,000k).

Of course, all of this comes with zero or near zero emissions.

It sounds like an attractive proposition.

Practic sense

As with all things Tesla, its innovation is second to none, but sometimes application and practicality can be challenges.

For example, Tesla admits that, to put it bluntly, it got into trouble with some of its car production. They’ve more than figured out the technology and marketing (people want their cars), but what they’re fighting is the sleazy and perhaps for them kind of boring, ie mass production.

Thus, production delays and missing targets have become something they are almost as famous for as their revolutionary approaches.

As some point out, the truck is supposed to go into production in late 2019, but so far there’s little to say about numbers or even pricing. So, there’s a big unknown there.

Others point out that, perhaps a bit like the original Nikola Tesla, they may be risking a dilution of their focus into too many radically different lines of R&D. The risk is that their overall business impact will degrade, since they’re basically trying to do too much at once.

Right now, Musk seems to be driving big innovations in domestic electricity production, electric cars, electric road transport, aviation, transcontinental transport schemes in high-speed tubes, orbital travel and even in deep space. . Clearly, there are synergies between some of these efforts, but some people wonder if this is too much for any one company or man to keep up with.

conclusion

The world is already a better place for Tesla and Elon Musk. This new truck seems to be part of that, but it will have to have a real impact on the road and in numbers if the company and its concepts are to achieve credibility in this realm.