tesla semi and roadster unveil Tesla Unveils Tesla Semi Truck and Roadster 2.0

[David]

Tesla Unveils Tesla Semi Truck and Roadster 2.0

Tesla did a full unveiling of their Tesla Semi last night, showing what the Power of Electric Powertrains brings to the Big Rig World. With a center seating position for superior visibility, a Frunk on the truck and two passenger seats behind the driver, you have a Semi that can achieve 0 to 60 in 5 seconds for the Cab versus 15 seconds for a traditional Diesel cab. 

Under full load of 80,000 lbs, Tesla Semi can go 0 to 60 in 20 seconds compared to a Diesel Semi at almost 40 seconds. The Tesla Semi shows why electrification is the future as the same Diesel truck, 80,000 lbs cannot hold more than 45 MPH on a 5% grade hill. Tesla Semi can maintain a 65 MPH up the full 5% grade hill.

Tesla also anounced that their trucks will have two options, 300 mile battery pack and a 500 mile battery pack. Most Semi's travel no more than 250 miles a day making the Tesla Semi the quietest and best solution for inner city deliveries as well as inner state transportation. Allowing for deliver and return to the hub with no charging needed during the trip.

The Cab also has adjustable wings, this being the back section of the cab to handle all types of trailers old and new. Tesla Trailer is totally flat with superior storage capacity under the traditional trailer maximizing airflow around the whole truck, giving it a coefficient equal to a Bullet. Diesel Trucks have a Cd of 0.65 to 0.70, Bugatti Chiron has a 0.38 and the Tesla Semi is 0.36 Cd.

The truck has autopilot and a 1 million mile warranty for the powertrain. Cost of the truck is recouped in 2 years compared to a Diesel cost including fuel and maintenance.

Tesla put together the following operating costs:

100 mile route (A-B-A)

60 mph average speed with 80,000 lbs. GVW, $2.50 per gallon Diesel or 7 cents per kWh electricity price.

Diesel truck is $1.51 per mile.

Tesla truck is $1.26 per mile.

They also compare it to rail transportation when you do a Tesla Semi convoy, they beat rail in price per mile.

This is all attained with four independent electric motors and can be driven by anyone with a normal auto license since there is no gears. Check out the video below for full views of the inside and out of the Semi.

Surprise announcement was the all new Roadster 2.0

This is what I would call sex on wheels, Tesla has really improved and delivered a fast 2 door sports car that anyone can enjoy. 

Tesla Roadster 2.0 Specification 0-60 1.9 seconds, 0 - 100 4.2 seconds with a quarter mile of 8.9 seconds certified and a 250+ MPH top speed. You get 3 motors, 200 kWh battery pack (620 miles) and 10,000 nm Torque (7,376 lb-ft) in a 2+2 configuration even though Musk does admit that you would not put people in the rear seat. Production 2020, taking pre orders now.

 

[Robert Hall]

Lots of interesting things going on here..the Roadster is not really a 'roadster', more of a Targa....mix of old Eclipse and C7 styling cues, IMO..

[David]

Forgot to mention in the video they also show the following images and talk about making a Tesla Semi pickup truck and making a regular size one so your Tesla Semi Pickup could haul your Tesla Pickup.

[ccap41]

7,376 lb-ft 

[A Horse With No Name]

Hopefully the three gets off of the ground and Tesla moves forward.

Just now, ccap41 said:

7,376 lb-ft 

That would put your fillings through the back window...of tow a freight train...or both...

[David]

6 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

7,376 lb-ft 

Nothing Like Torque Baby, I have yet to see a Diesel auto with that much torque.  

6 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Hopefully the three gets off of the ground and Tesla moves forward.

That would put your fillings through the back window...of tow a freight train...or both...

So totally agree. I hope either as an Independant or with a new CoOwner that Tesla gets these new products to market sooner rather than later. I think they have some very cool products.  

[Cmicasa the Great]

This is crazy.. Tesla, if they can pull it off, not to mention the Model 3.. could seriously be ushering a complete need for other OEMs to up the ante in relation to Electrification. My hope and dream is that Cadillac jumps in with an all electric sports coupe that blows this away

[David]

10 minutes ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

This is crazy.. Tesla, if they can pull it off, not to mention the Model 3.. could seriously be ushering a complete need for other OEMs to up the ante in relation to Electrification. My hope and dream is that Cadillac jumps in with an all electric sports coupe that blows this away

Agreed, I really hope that Cadillac jumps into EV's with a proper roadster and SUV/CUV Performance level. This could take the V label to a whole new level of Damn!  

As I stated in another thread where Drew talked about Cadillac easily holding off the Navigator by updating the interior and tweaking the exterior. I stated an AWD EV Escalade would truly put Lincoln, MB and BMW in their place. 

I really hope Cadillac surprises us this auto show season with some EV concepts / production models.

[Robert Hall]

Elon M is very ambitious and driven, no doubt...will be interesting to see how they are able to execute on these ideas. 

[David]

Just now, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Elon M is very ambitious and driven, no doubt...will be interesting to see how they are able to execute on these ideas. 

One cannot say we live in boring times. Technology is allowing us to finally put our dreams into reality and with that make the future an exciting place of new job creation, new product learning etc.

I was talking to a friend who has a son that said he wanted to become a mechanic and this friend wanted me to talk to his son and convince him to become a computer engineer.

I told my friend that there is nothing wrong with becoming a mechanic if that is his passion. My only suggestion is to focus on the future of where auto's are going and learn all he can about electricity, EV powertrains and how to troubleshoot EV systems. That is a future job that will replace many mechanics who do not want to go beyond ICE auto's.

Future mechanics will be more like computer service repair people. They will need to troubleshoot the electrical system and be comfortable with electricity as they change out parts and repair the electrical systems. 

I do not see a loss of mechanics, just a change in the type of work they do. The future is exciting for those of us that embrace change.

Like the early 1900's custom coach builders, think of all the possibilities for customer auto's as OEM companies move to skateboard platforms that will allow for an easier time to customize an auto.  

[smk4565]

Tesla does want to lay the smack down to the gas engine.  If batteries and electric motors get cheap enough it will happen fast.  With the new Roadster where price isn't an concern, it can just lay waste to anything with a gas car.   The real challenge though is to make an $25,000 EV that doesn't suck.  If some billionaires speed around in Tesla Roadsters it doesn't really change anything, the world changes when the electric drivetrain is more common than the gas in an average family sedan.

Think of this, the Tesla Roadster has as much torque as ten Mercedes-AMG S65's!   If Tesla can pull all this stuff off, the future will be awesome.

[David]

I see they updated the web page, the reservation price for the Roadster is now $50,000 dollars not the $5,000 that was posted last night and mentioned in some other stories.

Guess Musk wants only serious people to reserve a Roadster.

Have to say, I am impressed with his marketing strength.

https://www.tesla.com/roadster/

If he gets his initial 1,000 reservations that is $50,000,000 infusion into the company.

Interesting that the Semi reservation is less at $5,000 per Semi.

https://www.tesla.com/semi/

[frogger]

Ridiculous in a good way, hope they can pull it off.

 

[smk4565]

If he could sell 10,000 Model 3's it would be a $500 million infusion into the company.  Musk is genius in how he gets all these interest free short term loans from people, but if they had cars to sell, they wouldn't have cashflow problems.

[balthazar]

Tesla doesn't have a cash flow (revenue) problem, they have a spending problem. Company needs to strike a balance, yesterday.

This is over extension. Sure; it's cool, gee-whizzy, and it keeps the buzz going (or is it merely taking focus off the Model 3's disastrous launch?

Roadster looks pretty cool, claimed specs are ridiculous... but it's not affordable. And it's not a move toward balance. Where is the Model Y? Where is the Model 3??

[David]

@ocnblu Trying to help you out, here is the Semi Truck platform they show in the video.

Interesting that someone did the math to try and figure out the Semi truck battery pack size. Course Tesla says 400 miles in 30 min of charging. Recharge while you unload your freight.

[David]

Interesting comparison between the 2008 Tesla Roadster 1.0 and the 2017 Tesla Roadster 2.0

Tesla Roadster 2008:

248 hp
270 Nm
53 kWh
244 miles (393 km)
0 — 60 mph: 3.9 sec
Top speed: 125 mph

Tesla Roadster 2020:

1,500 hp
10,000 Nm
200 kWh
620 miles (1000 km)
0 — 60 mph: 1.9 sec
Top speed +250 mph

[balthazar]

Roadster 2.0 is a 1-off concept car. I'm not sure of the value of using it's claimed figures...