Tesla Semi: What is the (secret) battery capacity?

By confessing the vehicle’s mileage consumption, Elon Musk has revealed the capacity of his truck’s battery, the Tesla Semi?

On Twitter, with his legendary telegraphic style, Elon Musk shared that the record-breaking consumption of his Tesla Semi when hauling a 35-ton trailer is: 1.7 kWh/mile. This would be better than the initial promise of 2 kWh for the project. One mile equals 1.6 km, so it means 1.06 kWh/km. For 100 km, that would be 106 kWh, compared to the 40 kWh/100 km of a very disappointing Tesla Cybertruck.

That’s the first act. Next, we know that the commercial promise of the Tesla Semi, confirmed by tests conducted by partner Pepsi Cola, is an autonomy of 500 miles (804 km) per charge. So, let’s do the math: 500 x 1.7 kWh = 850 kWh!

1000 kWh Battery?

During a recent trip, a Pepsi Semi managed to cover 1400 km in 24 hours at an average speed of 60 miles/hour, which is 96 km/h. In France, trucks are limited to 90 km/h for reference. Tesla states that the optimal average speed for its Semi to maximize distance in the shortest time is 52 miles/hour, or 83.6 km/h. Why? Because the impact of aerodynamic drag, which increases with speed, is minimized here.

The Pepsi test also revealed an important detail: with a 500-mile trip between two charges, one truck consumed 93% of its battery charge. If we add the remaining 7% to the estimated size of the battery, it increases to 910 kWh. Assuming there is a technical margin, it appears Tesla has optimized the size of its Semi’s battery to about 1000 kWh.

This would mean that the Tesla Semi has a battery eight times larger than that of a Cybertruck, which isn’t so large when viewed in perspective. In terms of weight, it’s estimated at around 4 tons for the battery!

Mass production of the Semi has been delayed for years, and no date has yet been confirmed.

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