US automaker
Tesla on Thursday delivered its first battery-powered heavy
duty truck, dubbed "Semi," and built to tackle long hauls with the
handling of a sporty sedan.
اضافة اعلان
"That thing looks like it came from the future," Telsa chief Elon
Musk said while handing over the keys to PepsiCo executives at the vehicle
maker's Nevada manufacturing plant.
With its sleek design, the Semi has been highly anticipated since Musk
unveiled a prototype in 2017, but the launch of full-scale production was
delayed well past the initial 2019 expectation.
"The sheer amount of drama between five years ago and now is
insane," Musk told a small audience invited to the factory for an event
marking the occasion.
"A lot has happened in the world. But, here we are. It's real."
In the meantime, other manufacturers have entered the market, from
traditional truck makers such as Daimler, Volvo and China's BYD, to startups
like US company Nikola.
The competition has also begun to roll out their deliveries, and have many
orders of their own waiting to fill.
However, the truck that "the market has been waiting for... is the one
from Tesla," says Dave Mullaney, a transportation specialist with
sustainability think tank RMI.
Legacy manufacturers have primarily converted their diesel-designed trucks
to electric.
Tesla's Semi, on the other hand, "was designed to be electric from the
very first design," says Mullaney.
If the vehicle lives up to expectations, "it's going to be a huge
difference," he adds.
Musk reiterated the claim Thursday that a Semi had driven 500 miles (800
kilometers) with a total weight of nearly 82,000 pounds (more than 37 metric
tons).
The range of electric vehicles currently on offer is only between 250 to 300
miles.
"You have all the power you need to get the job done," Musk said
of the Tesla Semi.
"This is a game changer."
- Climate conscious
hauling -
The use of electric light duty vehicles for short-haul deliveries has been
steadily growing, but new regulations are pushing manufacturers and
transporters to speed up the transition and build out long-haul capabilities.
The most populous US state, California, has passed a law phasing out
combustion engine trucks, which has since been followed by other states.
The European Union is also expected to debate similar standards in the
coming months.
And on the PR front, companies are also facing pressure to take more
environmentally conscious actions.
They "want to be on the right side of history," says Marie Cheron
of the Europe-based association Transport & Environment.
Those who do not commit to a decarbonization strategy, some of whom say they
are waiting for technologies to improve, "are falling behind," she
says.
While making up a scant portion of vehicles on the road, diesel-powered semi
trucks account for about a fifth of climate-harming emissions spewed by
traffic, according to Musk.
"So from a health standpoint, particularly in cities, this is a huge
impact," Musk said of the shift to electric semis.
Mike Roeth, director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency,
says that another motivation to transition is that drivers who have been able
to test them, "love the electric trucks a lot."
"They're very quiet, they don't have the smells of the exhaust, and
they are comfortable to drive."
- Cost
considerations -
For the adoption of electric trucks to accelerate, their range must truly
live up to promises and batteries ideally would shrink, several analysts told
AFP.
The charging infrastructure must also be built out to handle multiple trucks
powering up simultaneously and have storage capacity to work during power
outages.
The biggest factor, however, will be the price. The Semi price was not
disclosed at the Tesla event.
RMI's Mullaney says that an electric truck currently costs about 70 percent
more to buy than a diesel truck, but in terms of fuel and maintenance, it's
cheaper.
With the first delivery accomplished, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives
says that Tesla must now "prove they can produce at scale, they need to
execute."
In late October, Musk said that Tesla is aiming to build 50,000 Semis by
2024.
Ives says Musk's attention is unfortunately focused on his newest
acquisition, Twitter, and "the circus show there takes away a monumental
moment in Tesla history."
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