Telsa has promised a better experience for truck drivers than they are used to, after unveiling its semi truck at an event in California.
The electric vehicle company has claimed the Tesla Semi’s cabin is designed specifically around the driver, featuring unobstructed stairs for easier entry and exit.
The cabin allows a driver to stand inside, while a central driving position provides ‘optimal visibility’.
Two touchscreen displays positioned symmetrically to either side of the driver provide navigation, blind spot monitoring and electronic logging.
Tesla has said its truck will have built in connectivity to integrate directly with a fleet’s management system to support scheduling and routeing and will not require on third party support as today’s trucks do.
Without a trailer Tesla has said the Semi truck will go from 0 to 60mph in five seconds.
It will do 0 to 60mph with a full 80,000 pound load (36,287kg) in 20 seconds (GCW).
It also requires no shifting or clutching for smooth acceleration and deceleration and its regenerative braking is claimed to recover 98% of kinetic energy to the battery. Telsa said this gives it, effectively, an infinite brake life.
Tesla’s solution to the issue of actually charging the Semi is Megachargers, which are described as a high-speed DC charging solution. The manufacturer said a Megacharger could supply 400 miles of range in 30 minutes.
It suggested this could be done during loading, unloading, or driver breaks although the charging infrastructure does not currently exist.
The trucks motors are derived from the technology in its Model 3 car and due to an absence of moving parts, Tesla claims it will require less maintenance than a conventional diesel-powered truck does.
It added that the batteries on board the Semi will be good for one million miles.
However, production is not due to begin until 2019 and Tesla is already struggling to keep up with demand for its car range, so hauliers face a wait.