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Post by PG on Dec 2, 2022 16:31:54 GMT
Well it's five years since it was announced, but to give Musk his due, he got there. Little said about weight, recharge etc, but it does look seriously impressive. Too big for European roads to my eye, but this should give all the other truck makers the kick up the arse that Tesla did for cars. I don't think this one truck settles the EV v hydrogen v synthetic fuel debate for road haulage and commercial vehicles, but that's for another day. Launch video: |
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Post by Tim on Dec 2, 2022 17:05:45 GMT
I've been reading a little about this elsewhere and there are a lot of questions.
I think in the light of the Twitter takeover Musk's halo is starting to slip and lose a bit of its shine
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2022 17:16:01 GMT
They are talking the talk, proof is in the pudding when we see what it does on the roads in the hands of real world users. The management of gradients seems very useful to say the least.
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Post by johnc on Dec 2, 2022 17:59:43 GMT
They will need to have a significant recharging structure in place on the main highways if these trucks are going to become commonplace. I would hate to think how long it will take to recharge one of these from empty even on a supercharger.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Dec 2, 2022 20:28:25 GMT
Don’t the batteries weigh something like 5 tonnes? Surely hydrogen has to be the better option?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2022 20:38:26 GMT
At this stage logic has been kidnapped stage left. No idea when or if it will ever return. Perhaps Pelvis will be returned first.
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Post by ChrisM on Dec 2, 2022 22:22:06 GMT
They will need to have a significant recharging structure in place on the main highways if these trucks are going to become commonplace. I would hate to think how long it will take to recharge one of these from empty even on a supercharger. I read a few posts on American forums about this.. it is unlikely to work for American truckers due to the time taken to recharge and the limited range. Diesel trucks can drive for the best part of a thousand miles with minimal "downtime" for refuelling whereas the time taken to recharge an electric truck/semi is lots of lost earnings for must truckers |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2022 22:30:31 GMT
Rather large for local deliveries but I suppose the USA is different in some areas.
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Post by Alex on Dec 3, 2022 0:25:44 GMT
They will need to have a significant recharging structure in place on the main highways if these trucks are going to become commonplace. I would hate to think how long it will take to recharge one of these from empty even on a supercharger. I read a few posts on American forums about this.. it is unlikely to work for American truckers due to the time taken to recharge and the limited range. Diesel trucks can drive for the best part of a thousand miles with minimal "downtime" for refuelling whereas the time taken to recharge an electric truck/semi is lots of lost earnings for must truckers So surely the best solution us not to sit there waiting for a battery to charge but to have stations of ready charged batteries throughout the network and swap them over with empty ones in situ like you would change a AA battery in a radio control car. |
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Post by ChrisM on Dec 3, 2022 9:10:03 GMT
Exactly. But car makers and governments failed to get together early enough. We don't even have a standardized charging connector so that any car can be recharged at any charging station. It's a total mess
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Post by michael on Dec 3, 2022 11:52:34 GMT
Doesn’t strike me as a sustainable use of resources.
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Post by ChrisM on Dec 3, 2022 14:58:53 GMT
Similar to mining all the lithium needed for batteries......
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Dec 3, 2022 17:27:38 GMT
I read a few posts on American forums about this.. it is unlikely to work for American truckers due to the time taken to recharge and the limited range. Diesel trucks can drive for the best part of a thousand miles with minimal "downtime" for refuelling whereas the time taken to recharge an electric truck/semi is lots of lost earnings for must truckers So surely the best solution us not to sit there waiting for a battery to charge but to have stations of ready charged batteries throughout the network and swap them over with empty ones in situ like you would change a AA battery in a radio control car. Back to the old stagecoach days of swopping horses at regular Coaching Houses. |
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Post by michael on Dec 3, 2022 20:04:04 GMT
I read a charging station for these would require the energy to equal a small town. Hydrogen makes far more sense here and for a lot of heavy machinery.
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Post by Tim on Dec 5, 2022 9:24:15 GMT
I watched Smokey and the Bandit last night.
Would one of these Tesla trucks be able to do 1,800 miles in 28 hours, i.e. an average of 64 mph?
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Post by ChrisM on Dec 5, 2022 12:42:13 GMT
See my post of 2 December
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Dec 5, 2022 21:08:48 GMT
I suspect Musk doesn’t care what truckers think as his Semi will ultimately be a driverless autonomous vehicle.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2022 14:34:18 GMT
So will the forklifts unloading them, cue lots of stopages for repairs/replacment tractor units.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Dec 6, 2022 19:31:00 GMT
So will the forklifts unloading them, cue lots of stopages for repairs/replacment tractor units. My experience with forklift drivers is that autonomous ones can’t be worse. |
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Post by michael on Dec 6, 2022 19:54:10 GMT
I suspect Musk doesn’t care what truckers think as his Semi will ultimately be a driverless autonomous vehicle. They should do a train… |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2022 21:08:45 GMT
^, perhaps it could take power from a rail or overhead cable?................
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Post by ChrisM on Dec 6, 2022 21:13:20 GMT
I suspect Musk doesn’t care what truckers think as his Semi will ultimately be a driverless autonomous vehicle. They should do a train… Indeed Tesla should. The way the RMT is behaving there will surely be a strong market for driverless trains very soon. |
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Post by Alex on Dec 7, 2022 6:19:12 GMT
No there won't Chris. The technology is there in theory but in practice very rarely works unless you have a closed network like the DLR but even the most automated tube networks can't run completely driverless and not just because the RMT won't allow it.
Battery operated trains though are being considered on networks where lines are part electric. They're essentially plug in hybrid at the moment so still have to have diesel motors on networks where there are long sections with no electrification but as there is more power being added to these lines they can use fuel even less.
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Post by Tim on Dec 7, 2022 8:54:33 GMT
^, perhaps it could take power from a rail or overhead cable?................ ....and go through a long tunnel built by some related company |
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Post by Big Blue on Dec 7, 2022 11:56:33 GMT
No there won't Chris. The technology is there in theory but in practice very rarely works unless you have a closed network like the DLR but even the most automated tube networks can't run completely driverless and not just because the RMT won't allow it. I’m currently reviewing a proposal for a metro in another country. The citations for driverless metros in the market include Montreal, Milan, Doha, Honolulu and Sydney. There are 7 major automated rolling stock suppliers (and others) and 9 fully automated signalling suppliers (and others). It’s not theory: it’s practice and it’s not in the U.K. because of the antiquated network, the mentality of rail engineers, the risk appetite and the fear of government in introducing something that will cause industrial disruption for an entire Parliament whilst being implemented. Just like the NHS vs Compulsory Insurance model. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2022 13:12:17 GMT
What about the Docklands light railway? More of an el;evated tram I know and I doubt the unions want autonomous vehicles either. How many more reduncies? I know, balance but what we see is anything but. I suppose an analogous situation would be the tax system. We could save so much by remnoving doubt, have a low is bas tax and basically remove all get outs, you pay a little on everything with no exceptions but start a way up the chain so the lower paid do not get rapped. This would have good amount of folk redundant so not going to happen.
Turkey's rarely vote for thanks giving or easter either.
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Post by michael on Dec 7, 2022 13:57:05 GMT
We have the lowest level of automation of any OECD country which is holding us all back. He can look on in wonder at the technological advancement of other countries whilst unions hold us in the past.
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Post by Alex on Dec 7, 2022 23:45:03 GMT
No there won't Chris. The technology is there in theory but in practice very rarely works unless you have a closed network like the DLR but even the most automated tube networks can't run completely driverless and not just because the RMT won't allow it. I’m currently reviewing a proposal for a metro in another country. The citations for driverless metros in the market include Montreal, Milan, Doha, Honolulu and Sydney. There are 7 major automated rolling stock suppliers (and others) and 9 fully automated signalling suppliers (and others). It’s not theory: it’s practice and it’s not in the U.K. because of the antiquated network, the mentality of rail engineers, the risk appetite and the fear of government in introducing something that will cause industrial disruption for an entire Parliament whilst being implemented. Just like the NHS vs Compulsory Insurance model. But you're talking about closed loop metro systems not open networks like we have on the UK rail network. I agree it is largely due to the antiquated nature of our systems, particularly when it comes to signalling. We don't have the line technology in the UK to bring in driverless trains which is what Chris was calling for. Even HS2 is not going to be an automated line despite billions being spent on making it one of the most modern lines in the world. Listening to rail engineering experts it's unlikely to be possible unless you keep all HS2 services on dedicated lines and do away with any plans to link up the WCML and carry the services on up to Scotland. The link at Warrington being scrapped is a major blow to the idea of HS2 going past Manchester in any case mind. |
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Post by Tim on Dec 8, 2022 9:46:09 GMT
There was never any chance of HS2 carrying on to Scotland - even if it was in the original proposal anyone that believed it would happen is an idiot, we're too far north to be spending that kind of money for our benefit.
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Post by Alex on Dec 8, 2022 12:25:18 GMT
There was never any chance of HS2 carrying on to Scotland - even if it was in the original proposal anyone that believed it would happen is an idiot, we're too far north to be spending that kind of money for our benefit. The high speed line wasn't going to go there but the trains were supposed to, hence the link at Warrington. Instead they'll now need to run the new trains onto the WCML at Crewe but there's not enough capacity for that, which is why we need HS2 in the first place. As with the Northern Powerhouse Rail project its just full of broken promises and missed opportunities to actually invest in the infrastructure we need to drive modal shift away from cars. |
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