2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
The production of the Model 3 lags far behind. For Tesla boss Elon Musk no reason to show new visions and present new projects in a very effective way.
The electric car manufacturer Tesla also wants to stir up the truck business. Company boss Elon Musk presented an electric semi-trailer truck on Friday night. Musk said it should have a range of around 800 kilometers even with a full load and a weight of 40 tons. Production will start in 2019.
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As a surprise, there was also another Tesla model: a new roadster, which should be available in 2020. Musk promised that the sporty car would have the fastest acceleration among production cars. The roadster is expected to go from zero to 60 miles per hour (96 km / h) in 1.9 seconds. Even at motorway speeds, the range should reach 1000 kilometers. The maximum speed is Tesla with more than 250 miles per hour (402 km / h).
Tesla semi-trailer truck with four engines
Musk once again demonstrated his show talent: the red roadster shot out of the trailer of the Tesla semi-trailer during its presentation at an airfield in Hawthorne, California. An electric roadster with a body from the British sports car manufacturer Lotus was once the first Tesla model.
Musk did not name a specific price for the truck, but only emphasized that diesel trucks are 20 percent more expensive per kilometer. The semi-trailer truck has four engines - and Tesla promises it can travel a million miles (1.6 million kilometers) without a breakdown. Even with two failed engines, the vehicle can still beat a diesel truck, assured Musk. In 30 minutes, the battery should be able to be uploaded to a range of over 640 kilometers. On the way there should be a network of solar-powered “megachargers” from Tesla, similar to the company's “Supercharger” fast charging stations for cars.
Tesla Roadster starts at $ 200,000
The truck driver should sit in the middle of the cab between two large touchscreen displays. This also saves Tesla different versions for left-hand or right-hand traffic. The semi-trailer gets the functions of the autopilot assistance system and a particularly robust windshield. "She'll survive a nuclear explosion - or you'll get your money back," joked Musk in his usual awkward manner.
The truck can be reserved immediately, with a $ 5000 deposit. The prepayment for reserving a roadster with a base price of $ 200,000 is significantly higher at $ 50,000. Tesla is currently spending billions on the production of its first cheaper Model 3 car.
The ramp-up of production turned out to be more difficult than expected: In the past quarter, instead of the planned 1500 vehicles, only 260 vehicles were produced. The goal of building 5000 Model 3s per week was postponed from the end of the year to the first quarter of 2018. Tesla has over 450,000 reservations for the $ 35,000 pre-tax and perks car, so pre-orderers will have to wait a long time.
Next fireworks to hide the problems
"At Musk you have to see that he is very clever at igniting the next fireworks display in order to hide the current problems," said industry expert Axel Schmidt from management consultancy Accenture. He certainly sees use cases in which electric trucks make sense. "However, it will probably take a lot more time for it to be used across the board than with cars" - for which the average driving distance in Germany is 38 kilometers.
“What certainly doesn't work - not even in the medium and long term - is long-haul traffic from Munich to Hamburg overnight with a 40-ton semi-trailer. You can't do that electrically, unless you're using a line like the tram."
Industry giants such as Daimler are already working on trucks with electric drives. Accenture expert Schmidt sees the costs, which are currently driven up mainly by the price of batteries, as a decisive point. “A haulage company has to earn money - and with a margin of one to three percent, every cent really counts. That has to pay off, otherwise nobody will do it. " At the same time, political decisions for environmental protection could also make the operation of trucks with internal combustion engines significantly more expensive for companies in the future. (dpa)
