By Nahida Shehab | Staff Writer
“It’s time to go all out and bring the Tesla Semi to volume production,” announced Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, through an email to electrek on the 9th of June 2020, however, not addressing a timeline for production whatsoever. While giving his regular product updates after the release of the company’s Q1 2020 results, he further indicated that the deliveries would take place in 2021.
News has been circulating about the Tesla Semi, the forthcoming all-electric heavy-duty truck, after its two initial prototypes were released in 2017. However, its program was deferred several times since then. According to Musk, the delay nevertheless opened room for development: “It’s been in limited production so far, which has allowed us to improve many aspects of the design.” Indeed, updated models have been spotted on roads across the United States. The renovated vehicles being tested displayed many design modifications, such as revamped windows, taillights, and a different door handle mechanism.
Still, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, among others, is doubtful about the performance of the afore-mentioned trucks. “The problem is that batteries are big and heavy,” he proclaimed on GatesNotes, “even with big breakthroughs in battery technology, electric vehicles will probably never be a practical solution for things like 18-wheelers, cargo ships, and passenger jets.” “Electricity works when you need to cover short distances, but we need a different solution for heavy, long-haul vehicles,” he further declared. Notwithstanding, Musk argued that Gates has “no clue” about electric trucks in response to a Twitter follower a few days before his company’s Battery Day.
Large companies have been awaiting the deliveries of the Semi Trucks they ordered back in 2017, and, as promised, the global leader in electric vehicle production will soon be providing them with their first batch. Among them is PepsiCo, which expects to receive 15 out of its 100 pre-ordered trucks by the end of 2021. The consumer goods giant has actually been planning to turn its Frito-Lay Modesto site in California into a zero-emission facility. It issued an update on this project on the 25th of March: “To date, the equipment and infrastructure in place at the site include nearly 60 tractors, box trucks, yard trucks or forklifts powered by electric, lithium-ion technologies or natural gas with renewable attributes, with the remaining 15 electric tractors expected to deploy later this year. Infrastructure to support the project incorporates an adjacent natural gas station with renewable attributes, as well as solar carports, battery storage, truck charging systems and employee electric vehicle charging stations.” The 15 electric tractors were confirmed to be Tesla Semi trucks that will be acquired by the end of this year. This alliance will certainly mark an exceptional milestone for both corporations.
As such, Tesla has begun manufacturing the trucks earlier this year at its new facility near the Gigafactory Nevada plant. The process entails a low volume line though, dropping only five electric trucks per week due to the cell supply shortage, which has cost the global auto industry 130,000 vehicles in lost production. Musk declared that the project, being battery constrained, has been challenging to scale up the production on the 30th of March.
On the longer term, the plan is that the global leader in electric vehicle production will move to a higher volume at its additional new factory in Austin, Texas, once it stocks up on the necessary battery cells. Nonetheless, with the pre-ordered trucks’ promised delivery by the end of the year, millions of fans and critics alike are waiting to witness their performance, as it will mark a great leap forward for both Tesla and the electric vehicles industry.
This article was published in Volume 53 of Outlook.