TESLA finally launches a truck/semi ? AND some solarpower in PUERTO RICO.

[Bashstreet]

That reminds me.. those ICE cars

[tszaboo]

Electric cars are a joke 

I a way they jokingly outperform ICE cars?

No i mean they are joke in terms of resources pollutants and feasibility.

Yes. Not only do they pollute more (especially NOx), it is actually impossible to build an electric car.
We should keep using a non renewable resource in the future, because those will last forever.

[bd139]

I've said it for years. The best way we can handle this is to all stay at home and use networks of Trebuchets to sling goods at each other.

[Bashstreet]

Electric cars are a joke 

I a way they jokingly outperform ICE cars?

No i mean they are joke in terms of resources pollutants and feasibility.

Yes. Not only do they pollute more (especially NOx), it is actually impossible to build an electric car.
We should keep using a non renewable resource in the future, because those will last forever.

The fact is a electric car will cause more pollution in its lifetime than regular combustion engine car.

They just are dead end technology and waste of resources and effort.

More feasible solutions hopefully will appear in future.

[Koen]

They just are dead end technology and waste of resources and effort.

More feasible solutions hopefully will appear in future.

Good, and I'm sure you're not wasting any time and resources in your research. Good luck !

[Bashstreet]

They just are dead end technology and waste of resources and effort.

More feasible solutions hopefully will appear in future.

Good, and I'm sure you're not wasting any time and resources in your research. Good luck !

No point to get snappy.

I rather talk about facts than personal opinions or beliefs.
I am sorry if i offended your sensibilities when i pointed out the issues with current electric cars.
If you take personally any critique toward particular technology i would suggest you might want to stop being cultist 

[Koen]

Your answer is rubbish and a fair warning there's no point discussing with you. Resources and time are theirs to waste.

[Bashstreet]

Your answer is rubbish and a fair warning there's no point discussing with you. Resources and time are theirs to waste.

Now now do not get your knickers twisted over disagreement of value or feasibility of certain technology.
You do start sounding more and more like some cultist 

[tszaboo]

Electric cars are a joke 

I a way they jokingly outperform ICE cars?

No i mean they are joke in terms of resources pollutants and feasibility.

Yes. Not only do they pollute more (especially NOx), it is actually impossible to build an electric car.
We should keep using a non renewable resource in the future, because those will last forever.

The fact is a electric car will cause more pollution in its lifetime than regular combustion engine car.

They just are dead end technology and waste of resources and effort.

More feasible solutions hopefully will appear in future.

Oh, really, which part? Dont tell me the battery.

[Bashstreet]

Electric cars are a joke 

I a way they jokingly outperform ICE cars?

No i mean they are joke in terms of resources pollutants and feasibility.

Yes. Not only do they pollute more (especially NOx), it is actually impossible to build an electric car.
We should keep using a non renewable resource in the future, because those will last forever.

The fact is a electric car will cause more pollution in its lifetime than regular combustion engine car.

They just are dead end technology and waste of resources and effort.

More feasible solutions hopefully will appear in future.

Oh, really, which part? Dont tell me the battery.

Please no more putt-hurt fanatics .

[tszaboo]

Please no more putt-hurt fanatics .

I'm not hurt. I'm laughing at you. Good thing the UK politicians decided this for you. Once in a while they get something right. So enjoy your last 23 years with your diesel tractor.

[Bashstreet]

Please no more putt-hurt fanatics .

I'm not hurt. I'm laughing at you. Good thing the UK politicians decided this for you. Once in a while they get something right. So enjoy your last 23 years with your diesel tractor.

Please do not get so salty about things.

I purely pointed out issues with particular technology.

This is the problem with cults.

If you dare to question a cults dogmas you are a heretic.

Now please try to stop acting like a fruitcake and try post something productive rather than try target me with immature attempts of insult.

We are both adults here so behave. THX!

[Someone]

The fact is a electric car will cause more pollution in its lifetime than regular combustion engine car.

They just are dead end technology and waste of resources and effort.

More feasible solutions hopefully will appear in future.

Oh, really, which part? Dont tell me the battery.

Analysis of lifecycle impacts from different car types can produce numbers all over the place, its easy to find well produced reports which say a battery electric vehicle is more polluting than conventional vehicles:
http://kimmoklemola.fi/data/documents/SF-comparison-USA-20160110.pdf
"?Lifecycle impacts of Tesla model S85 and Volkswagen Passat"
A lot depends on the mix of electricity generation assumed, and recycling/recovery/waste costs for the batteries which are yet to be proven in practice and will likely have changed substantially over the life of the vehicle. What the world needs is smaller/slower/short range vehicles for urban environment if they want to make a big change in energy use.

[tszaboo]

The fact is a electric car will cause more pollution in its lifetime than regular combustion engine car.

They just are dead end technology and waste of resources and effort.

More feasible solutions hopefully will appear in future.

Oh, really, which part? Dont tell me the battery.

Analysis of lifecycle impacts from different car types can produce numbers all over the place, its easy to find well produced reports which say a battery electric vehicle is more polluting than conventional vehicles:
http://kimmoklemola.fi/data/documents/SF-comparison-USA-20160110.pdf
"?Lifecycle impacts of Tesla model S85 and Volkswagen Passat"
A lot depends on the mix of electricity generation assumed, and recycling/recovery/waste costs for the batteries which are yet to be proven in practice and will likely have changed substantially over the life of the vehicle. What the world needs is smaller/slower/short range vehicles for urban environment if they want to make a big change in energy use.

Yeah, in the USA. Doh. Please dont use them as an example. They use 33% coal and 33% gas as main source of electricity. The worst polluters of the world after china. In a country, like Sweden, driving an electric car is greener than riding a bicycle. And other european countries are going in that direction. and even then I question the validity of those numbers.

We dont need a bunch of hippi cars. They are pathetic. All of them has a name like "smart" and IQ, while they should be named: "I dont have money for a proper car" .  And a "smart" with a 0.6 liter engine uses more fuel than a full sized hybrid.

[wraper]

Yeah, in the USA. Doh. Please dont use them as an example. They use 33% coal and 33% gas as main source of electricity. The worst polluters of the world after china.

In absolute numbers yes. If comparing pollution produced per capita, China turns out super green compared to US.

[vk6zgo]

Tesla notes on its website that the semi-truck will consume “less than 2 kWh / mile”. If we’re to factor in a worst case scenario of 2 kWh of energy used per mile travelled, this would equate to 800 kWh of energy consumed in 400 miles (644 km) of travel. Tesla’s Megacharger would need to have a tremendous power output of 1.6 MW, or thirteen times the power level of a standard Supercharger to be able to replenish 400 miles of battery range in 30 minutes. This, of course, is based on the assumption that the Tesla Semi will consume 2 kWh of energy per mile which in reality will probably be less, as Tesla notes.

That would be a problem challenge.

I can see several major problems for the Tesla truck in Australian long distance work

400 miles may be a useful range in Europe or parts of the USA, where reasonable sized cities are around that distance or less apart.

In many parts of Australia, the places around 400 miles apart may well be "roadhouses" in the middle of nowhere, with a bunch of fuel pumps, a restaurant/fast food place, & that's all!
Usually, these are powered by a largish solar array, with a standby diesel, but in some cases, a diesel alone is used.

Such a setup would be unable to supply enough energy to operate one "megacharger", whereas even the smallest sites can refuel several diesel trucks simultaneously.
Even if they could do one charger, with, say, 4 Tesla trucks, lined up, the last arrival will be waiting for 2 hours, not 30 minutes.

Another thing is the very poor ground clearance----- there are still truck routes which traverse unsealed roads, although they are usually quite good ones, (in the dry season ).
In the "wet", all bets are off, & ground clearance becomes important.

All of the above means that the best "fit" for Tesla trucks is urban delivery, where their advantages  are more evident, whilst their shortcomings are not so important.

[mtdoc]

Yeah, in the USA. Doh. Please dont use them as an example. They use 33% coal and 33% gas as main source of electricity. The worst polluters of the world after china.

In absolute numbers yes. If comparing pollution produced per capita, China turns out super green compared to US.

Yeah, I believe China also has the fastest renewable energy growth rate.  It's kind of a chicken and egg problem - they need to produce large amounts of PV under their current paradigm of electricity production in order for PV adoption to grow at a high rate.  Same for other low carbon sources -  hydro and geothermal. Of course while they are trying to do that their overall energy use is growing as their economy grows.

IMHO - in the end it's a Red Queen's Race - for China and all countries. In the end - we'll have a greater percentage of electricity production from PV but it will only be  because our total energy consumption will fall - not by choice but by necessity.

[jonovid]

it would be interesting    would like to see TESLA make transformers! autobots & decepticons   construction machinery
love robots ..But not in to the Co2 politics.

[Someone]

The fact is a electric car will cause more pollution in its lifetime than regular combustion engine car.

They just are dead end technology and waste of resources and effort.

More feasible solutions hopefully will appear in future.

Oh, really, which part? Dont tell me the battery.

Analysis of lifecycle impacts from different car types can produce numbers all over the place, its easy to find well produced reports which say a battery electric vehicle is more polluting than conventional vehicles:
http://kimmoklemola.fi/data/documents/SF-comparison-USA-20160110.pdf
"?Lifecycle impacts of Tesla model S85 and Volkswagen Passat"
A lot depends on the mix of electricity generation assumed, and recycling/recovery/waste costs for the batteries which are yet to be proven in practice and will likely have changed substantially over the life of the vehicle. What the world needs is smaller/slower/short range vehicles for urban environment if they want to make a big change in energy use.

Yeah, in the USA. Doh. Please dont use them as an example. They use 33% coal and 33% gas as main source of electricity. The worst polluters of the world after china. In a country, like Sweden, driving an electric car is greener than riding a bicycle. And other european countries are going in that direction. and even then I question the validity of those numbers.

We dont need a bunch of hippi cars. They are pathetic. All of them has a name like "smart" and IQ, while they should be named: "I dont have money for a proper car" .  And a "smart" with a 0.6 liter engine uses more fuel than a full sized hybrid.

Clearly you didn't read through the linked paper, the majority of the lifecycle "costs" can be incurred in hypothetical recycling of the product at end of life. These processes of recycling metal in existing cars is well established but inflating the expected lifecycle of battery vehicles.

You're welcome to provide some reference for your claim that an electric car is "greener" than a bicycle but very few people would agree with that:
http://www.eurobike-show.com/eb-wAssets/daten/rahmenprogramm/pdf/LifeCycleAssessment_DelDuce_englisch.pdf
Especially when you can consider an electric bicycle which eliminates the "petrol equivalent" of food conversion factor that seems to dominate people who think bicycles are an inefficient form of transport.

[3roomlab]

Another thing is the very poor ground clearance----- there are still truck routes which traverse unsealed roads, although they are usually quite good ones, (in the dry season ).
In the "wet", all bets are off, & ground clearance becomes important.

haha i saw that 1 too i was thinking the same as you
but i also noticed in 1 of the TESLA visitor's video, 1 of the guys shot a view into the axle area, and it appears the axle may have hydraulics? adjustable ground clearance? maybe?

eCANTER from mitsubishi

launched before TESLA's
217mi range (kinda short for large cities?)
11ton load
83kWh battery (0.38kWh/mi ??), this kinda makes TESLA semi look very inefficient?

[MT]

Clearly, the audience hysterically cheering and recklessly applauding in the video is not truckers at all, rather clueless
pro environmental leftist liberal hipsters who cant tell the difference between spruce and pine as real heavy haulers do!

[Rick Law]

When I first caught the article, I read it in detail and it occurred to me that the whole thing is likely probably just a publicity stunt.

The benefits they mention (such as auto-pilot, "train" them together, etc.) are not things that cannot be done with diesel powered trucks.  Today's diesel trucks are largely electronically controlled anyhow so it being fully electric may make the tasks easier but in no way game changing.

This Tesla truck is certainly not a pioneer of heavy duty electric mobility either.  Besides the large number of trains/subways carrying heavy loads using electric motor, many large gigantic earth-movers dump trucks seen in open-pit mines are electrically driven using diesel–electric transmission.  The Tesla, as oppose to running a diesel to generate the electricity by running an electrical motor, the Tesla truck merely stored the energy with batteries first.  The rest of the electrical drive train is a much-deployed technology already

That "store it first" of course bring up the main issue -- the range. 

It is easy to say range of X miles, but how is it measured?  Does the math include accelerating the load, and if so, accelerate to what speed and how many times?  After all, we here all understand that once the truck is moving, the energy need is then just to overcome friction and air-resistance.  In the news story, with the repeated mention of putting multiple trucks following closely, it is reasonable to assume there will be more "middle of the pack" trucks than lead truck.  So it invites the other question: "Is that truck dragging when that X mile range is mathematically achieved?"   The range of the lead (and tail) truck baring the main force of the air resistance would have a very different range when compared to the truck in the middle of the pack.

After thinking a bit about those issues, I came to the conclusion that it was just a move to keep the Tesla name in people's minds rather than something new/revolutionary that is real.

[vk6zgo]

Clearly, the audience hysterically cheering and recklessly applauding in the video is not truckers at all, rather clueless
pro environmental leftist liberal hipsters who cant tell the difference between spruce and pine as real heavy haulers do!

Or, maybe "rent a crowd"!

[Brumby]

Electric cars are a joke 

I a way they jokingly outperform ICE cars?

No i mean they are joke in terms of resources pollutants and feasibility.

I won't get into the schoolyard antics that followed this comment earlier - but I do have this observation...

Being hypercritical of today's electric vehicles is, in my view, much the same as writing off the Sopwith Camel as a nice toy, but useless for commercial aviation.

It's early days - and I believe exploring technology in every direction possible is essential to find optimal solutions.  That includes travelling down paths that may fail terribly - but at least we would then know there was no future in them.

However, even if a journey is started in a direction that seems less than optimistic at the outset, you may well encounter a magic moment when something spectacular comes to the fore.

You never know until you check out all the ideas .... even the "dumb" ones.

[expinkolator]

I came to the conclusion that it was just a move to keep the Tesla name in people's minds rather than something new/revolutionary that is real.

More like to keep people's minds off the farcical solar city buyout and the 3k staff they sacked.
Off the model X being in the top 10 least reliable cars.
Off high Tesla insurance costs due to ridiculously expensive repair costs.
Off the flat model S sales.
Off the model 3's they have not made and are not making.
Off the $480k per hour they have been burning for the last 12 months.
Off the increasing competition from other manufacturers who already know how to make quality cars in volume.

One day they will run out of 'bigger fool' investors although I read Musk plans to turn customers into 'bigger fools' by getting them to pay in advance.