Many people have doubts about the Tesla Semi electric truck, believing that it cannot compete with diesel trucks. Bill Gates is one of these doubters. Bill Gates believes that an all-electric semi-truck like the Tesla Semi will “probably never” get off the ground because the batteries are too heavy.
In actual testing in a new independent study, a Tesla Semi electric truck traveled more than 1,000 miles (Note: approximately 1,609.34 kilometers) in one day.
The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) has been conducting a study as part of its new Run on Less initiative to test several electric trucks under real-world conditions and publish the data in real time.
Now, the 18-day test is over, and on the penultimate day, the Tesla Semi managed to set a new record by driving 1,076 miles in one day:
While NACFE did not specify the payload on this day, it said the average load on these trucks was more than 70,000 pounds (about 31.78 tons). The Tesla Semi needs to be parked three times a day for charging. Judging from the test pictures, the car can be transported normally while being filled with cola drinks.
Tesla has only delivered a small number of Semi electric trucks so far, most of which are likely going to PepsiCo. PepsiCo was the first company to order Tesla Semis five and a half years ago, and Tesla began deliveries in early December 2022. Semi. A recall notice issued by the U.S. NHTSA agency in June showed that PepsiCo may have received 36 of the 100 Semis ordered: 15 of them are running at subsidiary Frito-Lay’s plant in Modesto, California, and the other 21 operating out of primary location Sacramento.
PepsiCo previously confirmed in a video that the Sacramento location has four Tesla chargers installed, each with 750 kilowatts of charging power that can charge batteries to 80 percent in less than 45 minutes. The video also mentions that the Semi can be charged from 5-10% to 95% in 20 to 30 minutes.
