The only way Tesla is going to deliver these if it they are going to let someone else make the truck using an existing line. There really is no reason for Tesla to invest in a line of their own. Similar to how school buses get made, one company provides the chassis and another does the body and interior. If Tesla was smart that would be the route to go
Tesla Semi receives another record order of 125 electric trucks from UPS
Posted this earlier but somehow it got deleted.
https://electrek.co/2017/12/19/tesla-semi-record-order-125-electric-trucks-ups/
https://electrek.co/2017/12/19/tesla-semi-record-order-125-electric-trucks-ups/
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A driver NEVER blindsides into a dock/parking spot unless there is absolutely no other possible option. Drivers back into docks using their "good side" - that's the side the driver is sitting in. Why? Because beyond certain angles with the trailer, mirrors become useless - all you can see in them is the side of the trailer on the drivers side, or absolutely nothing useful whatsoever on the passenger side. At that point, we actually look out the window to see the back fo the trailer and maneuver accordingly. Yeah, line of sight while reversing - the KISS method. Impossible on this Tesla setup.Don't you think if they just put larger mirrors on either side like 1 of the demonstration trucks (in reveal) had that that would be the same benefit. I mean if today in existing trucks you are sitting close to the left door and have a mirror on passenger (right) don't you have to look *all* the way across the cab to see that mirror in backing up? See my confusion?
Again, I'm sure in Teslas perfect world they envision cameras being the magic solution here, but it is not. Cameras get dirty, as per my earlier suggestion. They stop working, they get smashed/broken, or they just don't provide the angles the drivers need to actually accomplish backing into an extremely challenging (sometimes more than 90+ degree) dock.
The trucking industry is not as "behind the times" when it comes to technology as many who are not actually in the industry might think. The centre seating position is just dumb and provides basically no benefit to the driver, with MANY negatives.
Want another example? About 15 times every day I pass paperwork to someone in a security booth, or I have to use keycards to open gates, etc. Good luck doing that in one of these Teslas without fully parking (brakes applied and out of gear) and then walking in a hunched up position inside the cab over to the window, and then back again.
Again, unless you've done the job you wouldn't really grasp all the issues with this design. This is JUST the beginning. Lets not even mention the proprietary trailers required to actually get the range claims, etc etc.
As for some testbed tractors already having been out there in testing, trust me, the companies and drivers actually operating them were probably under ironclad non disclosure agreements that would have them sued into oblivion if they said too much, or the wrong things about the trucks.
It's no conincidence there's still a lot of question about the range claims and everything you've heard so far is all rose coloured glasses. I guarantee you the actual drivers cursed the things many times through the day when doing things that are basic or essential to the job.
It's no conincidence there's still a lot of question about the range claims and everything you've heard so far is all rose coloured glasses. I guarantee you the actual drivers cursed the things many times through the day when doing things that are basic or essential to the job.
There is a perceptual problem here. A flat mirror gives a correct perception to the driver. Camera lenses all have a distortion factor that takes this away from the driver.I would assume there's a complete surround view camera system.
Cameras can be good for showing you hidden things in places you can't see, but they are lousy at helping you align things. Backing a class 8 trailer into a narrow dock is all about alignment.
In the grand scheme of things, the center seating position in the prototypes seems like it would be relatively easy to move to a traditional position. I'd like to think if I was a trucker, I'd jump at the chance to try driving one. (Reminding me of the train engineers volunteering to be the first to run a train on the John Galt Line in the book "Atlas Shrugged".)
Ask why it didn't start there.In the grand scheme of things, the center seating position in the prototypes seems like it would be relatively easy to move to a traditional position.
The semis that were shown are prototypes. Concepts. Lots of things in prototypes don't make it to final production. Does stimulate useful discussion though.Ask why it didn't start there.
Ah, good point. We're looking at car porn.The semis that were shown are prototypes. Concepts. Lots of things in prototypes don't make it to final production. Does stimulate useful discussion though.
I hope Musk doesn't tweet "You're an idiot" at us.
But the NDAs have *nothing* to do with the tester providing feedback to Tesla but only publicly. If they provide feedback to Tesla on the seat location then it could affect the choices Tesla makes or the ordering options Tesla makes available.As for some testbed tractors already having been out there in testing, trust me, the companies and drivers actually operating them were probably under ironclad non disclosure agreements that would have them sued into oblivion if they said too much, or the wrong things about the trucks.
That is interesting feedback about security booth, keycards, etc. What percentage of truckers have those requirements and also importantly as many times of day as you personally do.A driver NEVER blindsides into a dock/parking spot unless there is absolutely no other possible option. Drivers back into docks using their "good side" - that's the side the driver is sitting in. Why? Because beyond certain angles with the trailer, mirrors become useless - all you can see in them is the side of the trailer on the drivers side, or absolutely nothing useful whatsoever on the passenger side. At that point, we actually look out the window to see the back fo the trailer and maneuver accordingly. Yeah, line of sight while reversing - the KISS method. Impossible on this Tesla setup.
...
Want another example? About 15 times every day I pass paperwork to someone in a security booth, or I have to use keycards to open gates, etc. Good luck doing that in one of these Teslas without fully parking (brakes applied and out of gear) and then walking in a hunched up position inside the cab over to the window, and then back again.
That is why they already have real-world testers. You act like this was banged out by engineers and just built and handed off without input. Plus one of the main Tesla guys on the project came from another trucking company.Again, unless you've done the job you wouldn't really grasp all the issues with this design. This is JUST the beginning. Lets not even mention the proprietary trailers required to actually get the range claims, etc etc.
UPDATE:
Big companies would certainly go *further* down the road of customizing their trailers BUT haven't they already been doing that? Trailers have changed a lot in the past several years for better economy. Big companies look at 'spreadsheets' and small percentages of changes that add up big over the years.Jerome Guillen is a French engineer and an experienced automotive executive best known in the Tesla community for being the Model S Program Director during a crucial time for Tesla’s vehicle program (2010-2013). Prior to joining Tesla, he was a longtime Daimler engineer and led the development of the Cascadia truck.
https://electrek.co/2017/11/26/tesla-semi-vp-trucks-electric-presentation/
Tesla doesn't need to sell the truck to every possible type of owner and situation. I'm sure there is a small percentage of the market that this will work fantastic in.
Thor drives from the left.
thortrucks.com said:The ET-One was designed with the fleet-operator and truck driver in mind. Design choices were influenced by managers and drivers of fleets ranging 10 to 10,000 vehicles in size. Thor has done everything to understand the concerns of its customer and design a vehicle that integrates seamlessly with an existing fleet.
Some comments from a truckers forum.....
Wonder what they will do to their insurance rates when drivers start hitting everything in the parking lot from having to blindside on both sides....
Has anyone thought what it might be like trying to back one of these up? Sitting in the middle is a dumb idea. I don’t get this big push for middle seating.
"Back up? ..... Huh? I thought the docks came to the truck." said the concept innovator and the chief design engineer to the test driver.
Center driving position. Wonder if you would now have 2 blind sides when backing.
OMG Hell yes... two blind side backs....
If they stick 10K in camera in Ultra 4K resolution on the back of the trailer it will promptly get destroyed banging into the dock.
And finally it's a cab over design. Again. It's almost they have forgotten the problems from the last go around with them. They can ship that to Europe. I'll pass.
You sit in the center of the truck... Have they ever tried backing into a tight spot? Now both sides are blindsides, makes sense!
That truck looks like an upright vacuum.
It says that 100 trucks being charged will take enough electricity to power a town of 10,000 people.
So how much electricity will it take to charge 100,000 trucks?
I would think you would need to build at least 100,000 trucks to make a manufacturing parts run pencil out.
Sorry my calculator will not go that high. I wonder where all this extra electricity will come from?
Coal, dams, nuclear? Oh wait I know, windmills!
An average windmill produces enough electricity to power 332 homes. So it takes 30 windmills turning to charge 100 trucks. For only 100,000 trucks it would take 3 million average windmills turning at optimum speed.
Yea, That sounds realistic.
If only Tesla could design a truck powered by B.S., Musk could personally power entire fleets.
sorry, but the numbers for a semi tractor just don't seem plausible...https://youtu.be/LlvYv1SJJEY
If my Volt can automatically back up into a side parking spot or parallel park I'm sure that the tech is close to even back up a semi pretty soon?All other arguments aside, as someone who's driven a truck for over 2 decades now for work, there's a lot of issues with that truck, mainly with the centre seating position. It's a classic case of when an engineer who's never actually done someones job for a single day of their lives designs the equipment that someone relies on to do their job.
There's gonna be a lot of smashed up trailers from guys trying to back into tight docks with these things.
sorry, but the numbers for a semi tractor just don't seem plausible...https://youtu.be/LlvYv1SJJEY
Sorry but I had to laugh out loud when he said that. I think it was the matter-of-fact deliver that got me.It is a cash incinerating bullsh*t machine
Peterbilt has actually received more money from Walmart than Tesla...
https://corporate.walmart.com/_news_/news-archive/2014/03/26/walmart-debuts-futuristic-truck
https://corporate.walmart.com/_news_/news-archive/2014/03/26/walmart-debuts-futuristic-truck
Another center drive. Perhaps where the idea was borrowed from?Peterbilt has actually received more money from Walmart than Tesla...
https://corporate.walmart.com/_news_/news-archive/2014/03/26/walmart-debuts-futuristic-truck
21 - 37 of 37 Posts
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