The Tesla Semi is proving to be a workhorse in the real world, as per data released by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency\u2019s (NACFE) Run On Less program. It\u2019s the first independent real-world test of the Semi, and the range and charging figures appear encouraging.<\/p>\n
We reported last week how the electric trucks covered over 300 miles on a single charge with an unspecified amount of payload. It now turns out that one of PepsiCo\u2019s three Tesla Semis participating in the program covered 1600 miles in under 48 hours with three full charges and two brief range-extending charging stops.<\/p>\n
The Semi conducted nine deliveries in that timeframe, covering 794 miles on day two, and 806 miles on day three, around California. It drove at highway speeds for roughly 90 percent of the distance. \u201cNACFE has verified that these are fairly fully loaded when they leave and stay fairly loaded,\u201d said NACFE\u2019s director Mike Roeth.<\/p>\n
NACFE\u2019s principal of carbon-free transportation, Dave Mullaney, confirmed that these are beverage trucks, without chips and rarely running empty. Due to the heft of the battery, they lose some payload capacity compared to diesel trucks, but the figure isn\u2019t significant, Roeth added.<\/p>\n
The lost payload capacity is between 2,200 to 4,400 pounds, including the extra 2,000-pound allowance that EVs get, guessed Mullaney. Note that the payload figures are speculative, and there\u2019s no official data on the exact load the Semis are carrying. Although, it\u2019s clear that they\u2019re not running empty.<\/p>\n
Fast charging speeds have been a key enabler of this performance, indicated Mullaney. Tesla\u2019s 750-kilowatt Megachargers allow 5-80 percent state of charge (SoC) in just an hour. As per Geotab\u2019s day two data for the Semi, it took 55 minutes for the truck to charge from 18-80 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cHigh-powered charging isn’t only tough on the battery, it is also tough on the grid. I hope all the electric utilities out there notice this because this is a look into the future for their business,\u201d Mullaney added. On a separate occasion earlier this year, PepsiCo\u2019s electrification program manager Dejan Antunovic said that the Semi\u2019s operational efficiency was 1.7 kilowatt-hour per mile.<\/p>\n
There are several other participants in the Run On Less program, including UPS with the Freightliner eCascadia, and Penske with the Brightdrop Zevo 600 and Ford E-Transit, among many others.<\/p>\n