Tesla Semi: A Charging Network Between California and Texas

To ensure the commercial success of its first electric semi-truck, Tesla is working to develop a dedicated charging network for its Semi.

According to our American colleagues at Bloomberg, Tesla aims to replicate the scenario already planned for its cars to now be applied to its first truck, the Semi. That involves heavily investing in an extensive charging network so that its customers do not run out of energy.

The American manufacturer is currently seeking $100 million from three states – California, Arizona, and Texas – to deploy a 2,900-kilometer “electric” route connecting Fremont (California) to Laredo (Texas). The plan is to include 9 stations, each equipped with 8 megachargers of 750 kW each, along with 4 additional chargers compatible with other brands besides Tesla.

As a reminder, the Tesla Semi is said to have a range of 800 km between charges and consume less than 2 kWh per mile (1.6 km) when pulling a 39-ton load… and accelerate from 0 to 98 km/h in just 20 seconds. The 800 km range would be achieved on secondary roads with energy recovery during braking, not on highways. 39 tons is a massive inertia to manage. On highways, the range would be around 500 km.

With a 750 kW fast charge, Tesla estimates that it would take about 30 minutes to recover 70% of the range, roughly 500 kilometers. Enough for a break… Finally, Tesla supports its commercial approach with the disastrous carbon footprint of road freight in the United States, which is responsible for 18% of all vehicle emissions.

Tesla claims that the kilometer cost of its Semi is about 2.5 times lower than that of an equivalent diesel truck, leading to an estimated savings of $200,000 per vehicle over three years.

Once this first route is established, others will need to be developed. Not an easy task considering the country is one of the largest in the world.

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