The Trucks were an all-female, indie, casio-rock, dance-punk band who origi… Read Full Bio ↴The Trucks were an all-female, indie, casio-rock, dance-punk band who originally formed in Bellingham, WA in 2003 (they are currently more spread out, and are residing in Seattle, Olympia, Bellingham, and Mt. Vernon!). The Trucks are four fabulous females who write and perform catchy and edgy fun songs about bicycles, boys, life, sex, girls, big afros, girls, relationships and lots more. They are lots of fun and put on great shows, usually dressed up all crazy. Their debut CD on Clickpop Records The Trucks became a undergound favorite around the nation in early 2007. The band has announced that it will stop touring in the Fall of 2008. However they have played two shows since then (July 2009 in Bellingham and November 2010 in Olympia) and there has been talk of releasing new songs.

The Trucks have played several large festivals including Sasquatch, Bumbershoot, CMJ, and SXSW. They have been on several regional and national tours - but have played the most around Seattle and New York/Brooklyn.They were featured on the popular NPR radio program "Fresh Air" with a review by Milo Miles. They also appeared in articles on Spin.com, Blender.com and Keyboard Magazine. More recently their song Shattered was featured on the t.v. show "The L Word". Their song Zombie was used in a TV trailer for the major motion picture "Resident Evil 5 in 3D". They are not to be confused with Trucks, a one-hit wonder from Norway/England (who had the hit "It's Just Porn Mum").

Kristin Allen-Zito (Vocals/Keyboards/Guitar) has a solo career and also has albums out on Clickpop Records.

Faith Reichel has a new band called Shit Machine

Marissa Moore (vocals/keys/mallets) & Faith Reichel (Bass/Vocals) are active in the visual arts.

Drummer Lindy McIntyre was previously in the Bellingham band Everybody's Debbie.

Original drummer Liz Whitmore (a member of Ash and the Widowmakers) passed away at an early age from a rare cancer.

www.thetrucks.net

Why The?
The Trucks Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

so you could spend the rest of your life with me?
get married, settle down and have babies?
we've only been together one month,
but i can tell that you're in love...

so why the fuck won't you go down on me?
why the fuck won't you go down on me?
why the fuck won't you go down on me?

why the fuck won't you go down on me?

so you think that you can romance me?
with candles and chocolates and lilies?
you think that you're the boy of my dreams,
but there's something missing...

why the fuck won't you go down on me?
why the fuck won't you go down on me?
why the fuck won't you go down on me?
why the fuck won't you go down on me?

so you're wanting something traditional,
well traditionally
my love is conditional
on whether or not you get down on your knees

why the fuck won't you go down on me?
why the fuck won't you go down on me?
why the fuck won't you go down on me?why the fuck won't you go down?

Dear Santa,

Please don't bring me another boyfriend for Christmas.
Oh No! The last one sucked.

Overall Meaning

The Trucks' song "Why The?" is a clever and bold take on a common relationship issue - sexual satisfaction. The first two verses lead the listener to believe that the singer is happy in her relationship but frustrated that her partner isn't willing to perform oral sex on her. She asks the same question four times, with increasing frustration and anger. In the third verse, the singer seems to be calling out the societal expectation that women should be satisfied with flowers and chocolates in a relationship. She proclaims that her love is "conditional" on her partner's willingness to perform oral sex. The final line of the song adds a comedic twist, as she pleads with Santa Claus not to bring her another disappointing boyfriend for Christmas.

The lyrics of "Why The?" are an excellent example of how art can be used to express important social issues in a lighthearted and entertaining way. The song highlights the importance of sexual satisfaction in a relationship, especially from a female perspective. In many cultures, women are expected to prioritize their partner's sexual needs, often at the expense of their own. By bluntly addressing this issue in a song, The Trucks are challenging these societal constructs and promoting more open and honest communication about sexual desires in relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

so you could spend the rest of your life with me?
Asking if the person wants a long-term commitment.

get married, settle down and have babies?
Asking if the person desires a family with the singer.

we've only been together one month,
Acknowledging the short amount of time the two have been together.

but i can tell that you're in love...
Despite the short amount of time, the artist believes the person has fallen in love with them.

so why the fuck won't you go down on me?
Asking why the person won't perform oral sex on the artist.

so you think that you can romance me?
Asking if the person believes they are romantic.

with candles and chocolates and lilies?
Giving examples of typical romantic gestures.

you think that you're the boy of my dreams,
The person believes they are the perfect match for the artist.

but there's something missing...
Despite the person's efforts, something is not quite right in the relationship.

so you're wanting something traditional,
Acknowledging the person's desire for a traditional relationship.

well traditionally, my love is conditional
The singer's love is based on whether the person performs oral sex on them.

on whether or not you get down on your knees
Clarifying that the condition is performing oral sex on the artist.

Dear Santa, please don't bring me another boyfriend for Christmas.
The singer does not want another boyfriend for Christmas.

Oh No! The last one sucked.
The singer did not have a good experience with their previous boyfriend.

Contributed by Xavier O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Theo C

@Completedaudt wow, do you have any original thoughts, ir are you going to keep cutting and pasting someone elses?
There's less obstacles to adjusting your right or left mirrors than a conventional truck. You don't have to climb over your passenger or seat to do it. Wanna bet they're powered?

Toll booths? Just like the mirror, you can get up off your @ss and stand next to the window.

Tracking mud or snow? Really? Scrap your boots on the steps, or put down a rug.
Have you ever driven the Tesla truck through ice and snow? How would you know it's windows are difficult to clean? All you have to go by is your "reckonings" like designers and engineers are idiots and you're the smartest person alive.

Tactile buttons? 😂 For what? What button do you need to feel in a truck?
The radio has tactile steering wheel controls. Everything else is automatic. I'm sure the air and parking brakes are also manual.

Sitting in the center reduces right side blind spots.

You don't know if this will offer a long haul version with cab.

All comments from YouTube:

TESLA CAR WORLD

1y↑31

Something HUGE is Happening: Elon Musk - The Rebel of Reshaping The World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkHQVp3EBJ8

LustraGaming

1y↑1

@CaptainSexy plenty of resources to be found online. If the battery capacity of the truck is double of a regular tesla it could charge to full in 30 minutes using a V3 supercharger. But that's assuming that it's only double the capacity.

Point is, with very little info from tesla you can't say this truck is better than another. Keeping charging times and capacity a mystery tells me there is a reason for holding back on that info. Making it a very high risk investment.
Only once external tests are done and everything is documented someone should think about buying it. It's not because it's tesla that it is automatically awesome.

LustraGaming

@CaptainSexy no but I know that when you push large capacities over thin wire it heats up. That's how a lightbulb works. And I watched some videos about engineers talking about the tesla truck. While waiting for your comment i looked up more info and at the moment they charge it with 2 superchargers but there is no mention about the duration of the charge or the amount. I even read there is very little known because everyone testing the vehicle basically has an nda the prohibited then from telling about charging or even show pictures of the cable.

But tesla fanboys will be tesla fanboys.
If I would buy an electric truck, I would also look at the availability and speed of charging. Yet tesla is starting to roll out this one without ever mentioning how to charge it. Butt still tesla fans will buy it. Why? Because it's tesla and its owner musk who 'always delivers on his promises'

CaptainSexy

@LustraGaming oh, so you know the technical details of teslas chargers, cords etc?

LustraGaming

@CaptainSexy not at all. To charge a truck in 30 minutes they can't use the same chargers. The amount of power passing through the cable on the normal chargers would heat it up. So you need cooled cables.

CaptainSexy

@LustraGaming they take the same chargers their cars do. Teslas are American made, your bullshit internationals, peters, freights are Mexican made junk

21 More Replies...

Eugene S

1y↑2K

Worrying about a truck's acceleration is like worrying about a supercar's luggage space.

Adamast

I would worry about acceleration. It's a single gear transmission, 900 Hp at full speed is 450 Hp at half speed, 225 Hp quarter speed, ....

Richard Minton

@Eugene S If hour in the business than you know that their are many grades that will slow down a heavy, (loaded), truck to well below 30 mph. Now if you go up a grade that is steep enough to slow you down than there is a high likelyhood the speed limit going down will be below 35mph . The driver must gear down the truck to keep it from becoming a runaway. The truck gains too much speed, due to gravity, the driver can overheat the brakes which then fail. No brakes lead to excessive speeds and a runaway situation. Operating a tractor trailer combination is very different than driving a car.

Richard Minton

@Phaze Killer Most states allow weight exemptions for APUs and electric motors. 2000 lbs for electric and 500 lbs for apus.
I would guess the Tesla semi has really good regenerative braking which should reduce stopping distance and greatly reducing brake overheating issues on steep grades. Trucking companies govern trucks to reduce fuel consumption. Driving 65 or under greatly increases fuel mileage.

Nickit85

Battery's and motors down low will add stability while the power will help with climbing hills. Acceleration is just a measure of performance just to compare.

Toby W

@Eugene S Some trucks can only make 10-20 mph up a hill, depending on the hill. An upshift may cause them to lose speed.

252 More Replies...

Jd truckin

1y↑614

The last thing a truck driver thinks about in his truck is how quickly it accelerates so the load in the back falls everywhere.

Jd truckin

@Toby W these things will be the end of truckers across the world. Millions of people wothout jobs unable to feed their families

Toby W

@Jd truckin Altitude should make no difference to an electric Truck.
They should require fans going down hill too since the charging current should be about equal to discharge current.

Jd truckin

@dchawk81 on the top 10 list of things how high is acceleration? Like 8 maybe 7. Its the torque that makes it move

dchawk81

I'm always thinking about how slow my truck is to accelerate.

It's fine off the line from a dead stop but the tall gearing makes it take forever to get up to speed.

Rich Acres Modding

@EVMANVSGAS every truck can go uphill without problems lol. highways arent too steep, and mountan roads are full of curves so you wont go 100 mph in semi

32 More Replies...

Foxspot ___________

1y↑226

The most interesting aspect for me is the brake Regen acting in place of an engine brake. You could essentially 'engine brake' in areas a normal truck is restricted from engine braking

I Am the liquor

@jmaddy3 I'm also north American. All the major truck manufacturers build extreme heavy haul trucks that can haul around 500,000 lbs and are road legal. Where I live I occasionally see them hauling giant bulldozers, front end loaders and the parts of those gigantic dump trucks like the Cat 747! Some of these machines are hauled in pieces and assembled on site! They're just to big to haul in one piece! These extreme heavy haul trucks take them right up the divided highway to Fort Macmurray!

jmaddy3

@I Am the liquor no purpose built trucks but they are usually special application like extreme heavy haul etc or anything that's usually not legal on the road

I Am the liquor

@jmaddy3 Are you talking about modified trucks?

Ruben Santos

Id be more interested in recapturing the energy. Thats the good part of it.

beer me

I give zero s** about the no engine brake sign if I'm going down a hill loaded with 10,300 gallons of jet A I'm using the engine brake no matter what

43 More Replies...

Ryan Nguyen

1y↑184

I think the biggest wow factor is how regen break will impact trucking moving foward. Once you drive with regen break, you will start to feel how "everything should be this way" because it's intutive and safe.

Adamast

It's a no gear truck, regenerative braking will be 900 Hp at full speed only, but a lot less when you try to stop.

Tinman Dallas

Brake not break lmao

jmaddy3

@Mr. Fresh it's all good but the issues are that it's still unproven you can say electric motors are reliable but only in the sense of daily driving a pov not pulling a 40k lb load daily up and down hills putting some serious mileage on them, ev semis make sense for snack and food distributors because they have alot of inner city distribution and their trailers are relatively light at full capacity usually around 30k for a coke/Pepsi trailer. As far as commercial use goes especially with a lack of features as far as safety goes, regen braking is ok an all but with an electric truck if it brakes too hard it'll shift the load and cause an incident. The cab looks like it's missing a Johnny bar too inside. Tbh it's not that don't see the advantage of ev semis, I just trust long standing semi Manufacturers over tesla, the battery ranges speak for itself too they know it'll be for deliveries in cities. But too much tech is too much for example how low the tesla rides if you have a damaged/blown out tire will you be able to replace it on your own, will a jack be able to fit underneath or even handle the weight of the truck, does it offer a ctis option for snowy and rough road conditions or will it have to stay at its psi for driveability, will the truckbe able to air up it's own tires if the psi changes. My last issue is the cab design cool it's aerodynamic but I noticed a lack of focusing on cab protection Wil the driver be fine if the truck ends up in a accident or tipping over. I know the semi will be bottom heavy but if you skid and the trailer goes either it rip off the 5th wheel or more often will take the truck with it turning both over. I don't think tesla knows how to design trucks, they often over promise on things and fail to deliver

winja

false

Erik de la Cruz

@Mr. Fresh you clearly haven't been around a truck or on the road and it shows so I would limit myself when it comes to making bold statements like those, not everything Ev is better, for local routes is a maybe but for OTR its very lack luster and will actually increase the price of goods since the load capacity is reduced

15 More Replies...

C N

1y↑33

The Tesla Semi sounds good, but real world test data will be required especially when hauling heavy loads as no doubt this will affect the range. Things like charge time, charge locations on routes, durability, quality and battery replacement cost will all be factors to consider.

Thomas Delvaille

1y↑1

@Llewellyn James Kinnaird not much telsas are notorious for shoddy quality and electrical failure. They lied and shrouded the truck without giving any real information

Umbra Weiss

Even temperature and terrain does the same, there are a lot of factors that makes electric with current battery technology very limited at what,where and when can do

Thomas Delvaille

1y↑1

@C N yeah the battery will probably cost 30k to replace with labor including and they'll have to change it every couple years if they want to keep the range

Thomas Delvaille

1y↑1

@Llewellyn James Kinnaird probably garbage considering their cars have a history of bad quality parts and excessive breakage

C N

1y↑1

If something goes wrong with the battery it will no doubt cost an arm and leg to replace. The battery will obviously be larger than the standard Tesla battery and those supposdly cost 12k -14k to replace if done through the company or dealership.

2 More Replies...

American Rambler

1y↑4

I am looking forward to the Tesla semi entering revenue service. However, the numbers supplied here are skewed in Tesla’s favor. I believe the Tesla is going to be a game changer, but the Tesla has yet to prove itself where it matters. Out on the roads hauling real revenue freight to real customers, and paying the real bills. Testing is fine for as far as it goes. But real day to day use counts. Promises are vaporware. Actual use and reliability have to be proven. The regular Diesel semis have a demonstrated use history. The Tesla has to be able to back up its claims. And get the job done.

left4a1

1y↑6

Seems weird we never talked about how far the Mack truck can travel on a full tank. Looking at some basic numbers online i found many are able to easily cross the 1000mile mark with fuel to spare. So yeah the tesla beats it in a short range test hands down but we never looked at how it does in long hauls. And with a range of 300-500miles i don’t think that it makes much sense to have a bed cabin in the first place since you will have to stop to recharge. Also with the concerns of EV car batteries catching fire and being several times harder to put out than a gas car i can’t help but feel scared for the day one of these gets into an accident. It does have much more safety but it doesn’t mean something wont happen.
The thing that concerns me is Tesla’s secrecy with a lot of the details. Then again i guess we will see how it works when its fully released and had some time on the road
Fingers crossed

Toby W

Tesla can carry 80,000 pounds of batteries in the trailer, surely someone will be able to hook them up.

Charlolel

What surprises me is that you think someone would do 1000 miles without ever stopping. Tesla Semi truck drivers can charge when they to stop to eat or go to the bathroom unlike regular diesel truck which requires the driver to be standing monitoring the refueling process..

craig cullen

1y↑3

Yep the Mack Athem is the better truck has more power “torque” can pull more weight from 70 ton to 150 ton with the mp8 or mp10. More than one trailer doubles, triples and quad combinations are common in other countries . Also more manoeuvreable “shorter wheel base” easy to back those trailers up and round a corner. Up to 1400 miles on one charge . Wider range of applications , works better in hot climates . Drive train warranty of 900,000 mile. The Mack is an excellent choice. Tesla has a way to go to catch Mack but I’m sure they will get there over time. Tesla will be a good city truck or short run truck light loads stop start work.

Cristian Lopez

1y↑106

You can't compare Electric Motors to Combustion engines. Combustion engines have a power band where you have to keep hitting by changing gears to be able to produce enough torque to move. Electric Motors can use all the torque all the time as long as it is draining electricity from its batteries. This is why freight trains all use electric motors instead of diesel motors. They only have diesel generators to create electricity for its electric motors.

Issacar Wustrow

THIS WAY, using combustion as generators, could work, i just wonder if it wouldn't end up needing a massive engine anyways cause of the power consumption of the eletric motors.

winja

mostly false. also diesel powered trucks have more energy per pound than batteries. its about a 20 to 1 difference. 1200 pounds of diesel will take you further than 8000 pounds of batteries by more than double. most trucks that have a sleeper need to run 750 to 800 miles a day. the tesla truck currently as advertised as the long range model on level ground no hills can make about 400 miles....

Paul Rosenbaum

@Stephen Rodgers they do it’s called Cummins it’s Been put in dodge trucks since 1989

Francois

@dz i live in canada where we get -25 to -40 sometime and battery lose around 35% to 45% range in winter on some car si imagine the truck would be the same. For local delivery thought and when i say local i mean 100 miles range delivery you should have enought power to do a round trip and back to the terminal. Right now we have 2 straight truck from Lion electric companie with tailgate been 2 years that they been using it local for testing and from what i understood the idea is for local under the 100 mile is holding up just the price for it is too much. Around the same price has a full semi for a straight truck has a sleeper depending on option in.

Jet4455

@Gam1ng Legend we're reaching the theoretical limits of batteries. Unless we somehow figure out a different method to store energy more efficiently (as in, using less space and weighting less), they won't get much better than they are now

11 More Replies...

Kangenpower7

1y↑1

I think that Tesla made a huge and expensive mistake by accepting orders for the $170,000 semi before they had produced significant numbers of the trucks and came up with a total cost of production. My guess is Tesla estimated that the battery cost was going to go way down, and they could afford to install a 1,000 KW battery for less than $50,000. However battery cell cost is still above $100 per KW, so a 1,000 KW battery pack will be at least $120,000 installed in that truck. The rest will probably cost something like $80,000 to $100,000 to build the truck and install that $120,000 battery inside it.

My guess is the total cost will exceed $200,000 and might be well over $250,000. But still this is a great deal, if you can drive it for 200 miles while only using about 400 - 500 KW of electricity. In California, the cost is normally about $0.20 per KW, and then commercial buildings have to pay an additional demand charge for power consumed during peak power hours of the day! Also charging at a Electrify America station is in the range of $0.30 to 0.55 per KW, depending on the time of day and local cost per KW for the power. So my best guess is the truck can be recharged 400 KW for about $80, still significantly less than the $6 diesel fuel that they sell in California. Most long haul drivers will get fuel in Arizona or Nevada before they enter California to avoid that high cost of fuel!

While I only pay $0.10 per KW for electricity in Portland Oregon for my house rate, the commercial rates are a little higher, and the rate in California are almost twice as much.

SebastianD334

1y↑3

all the energy and cost savings of the gesla semi fall away if it can’t haul as much (due to its heavy battery pack), resulting in more drivers being needed

bbqBaconNinja

1y↑1

Couple major flaws
Telsa weighs more than an ICE semi but can have 2000lbs more cargo to make up for the weight of the battery so it can closer complete with a diesel . The cargo is still lower than a diesel though.
Supercharging is at $0.50 per kWh right now, 7X more than calculated here, resulting in the Tesla costing more per mile.
500 miles is max range to complete depletion from full, allegedly The battery will lose 15-20% of it's capacity and shouldn't be run past 15%, so reality is closer to 350 usable miles from full, then only 80% of that 70% can actually be fast charged.
HP doesn't matter as much as torque, HP is just torque over time. Also, most of the time you can't accelerate too quickly cause of the cargo, you don't want to have to decelerate too quickly either.

jjamespacbell

1y↑5

The only comparison that will matter is the cost per load and these 2 vehicles will not compete on the same loads. Tesla will do short and mid-range loads and the Mac will mostly concentrate on long-distance loads.

Roger Geyer

jjames: Nonsense: With a mere 30 minute charge, the Tesla can go a total of 850 miles vs. 500. There is only so long a driver can operate in a day, re various laws on rest for semi truckers.

And 500 miles is NOT short range trucking.

So much desperation from the deniers, but so little objective reality.

Singulosta

1y↑1

I see a lot of people are worried about the charging, but since the video does not cover this, I'd like to introduce an argument for electric trucks:
As far as I'm aware, there is a maximum of hours a truck driver in the US is allowed to drive; 30-min break every 8 consecutive hours and max 11 h after 10 consecutive hours of off time; and in the EU; 45-min break every 4h30m and 9h max per day (both highly simplified). Then assuming, that the Tesla semi will do 500 miles, and one driver can maintain 50-60mph average on their shift (not max speed; including speed limits; traffic; various other short breaks) we can assume, that the truck can be operated for 8-10h without charging. I mean, you may not want to because keeping the battery between 20%-80% of charge will increase its total life span, but you can.
Bottom line is, it's very likely, that your truck will charge its batteries while you charge yours. And this way you don't need to use a special high power charger, that is also much more inefficient, a usual supercharge could do; 150 kW would mean 6h40min of charging; 250 kW 4h (900 kWh battery 0-100% worst case scenario) From the 30 min 400 miles advertising I would assume the MEGAcharger would do something in the neighborhood of 1000kW of 1MW :D. As war as I'm aware, charging the 900 kWh battery at home 0-100% is not really an option, most homes in Germany have a 22kW household limit so charging the truck would take about 45h in best conditions (unrealistically) and in the US it's 33kW? so 34h?.
I think this concept will succeed or fail with the amount of destination (as in driver break time destinations) superchargers. But also the most companies who have confirmed buying them, move goods between multiple facilities of their own, so it's likely they will also have a charger on site.

Martin Obert

All the important information is missing here. The payload is one of the most important one. Yes, the Tesla truck can be 82,000 pounds and theoretically has a 2,000 pound advantage, but the batteries are taking that away easily as you would need about 10 Model S battery packs, which is more than 10,000 pounds alone. And no, there is no weight saving because you do not have a diesel engine, as you still have 3 electric motors, all with gears and a heavy cooling system for the batteries. The next big problem is charging as you need a 1 MWh charger that needs it's own electric substation for just ONE charger if you want to charge your truck in 1 hour. Tesla will have these super chargers along the highways in the future, but you can expect to pay for it, meaning it will cost you more than filling up your diesel truck and you have no other choice. In addition, as trucks are used way more then cars, you can expect that the battery will loose about 20% capacity after one year, so after 5 years this truck might just have 100-200 Miles in range. Replacing this battery pack will easily cost you $100,000! So, not sure were the advantage is.
Ah yes, don't forget, Mack is probably the smallest of all truck manufacturers to compare this to, so not a fair comparison. BTW, you know that parts of the battery is behind the driver, so no sleeper cabin! And how would a 2 person team drive this thing? One passenger in a jump seat for 8 hours? Also, did they mention how much the truck actually will cost? This thing is not much more than a massive fraud to lure people in. However, this time all the big truck manufacturers are already out there with electric trucks, so Musk does not have the same first mover advantage as he did the first time around with the cars. One more thing. Why do you think they used to transport Frito Lay's for the 500 mile run....because chips don't weigh anything and the truck still had only 4% battery left while driving always on the right, not overtaking a single other truck despite this mad performance.

id104335409

1y↑4

You can't street race them and call a winner. The winner is the one that is more economically viable for a company.

willie c

0 to60 times is the least important feature in a truck. Stopping the 80k pounds is far more important. Also horsepower means very little in hauling, torque is and the diesel has 1800 vs 1500 ft pounds for the tesla. Diesel can haul alot more then 80k pounds and are limited by state and federal law. So it doesn't matter if you say 82k vs 80k as you would just get an overweight ticket. I've hauled 150k in a Mack with not much difficulty. The electric cost are being substantially reduced by government assistance and I've seen actual cost at independent chargers at or above gas prices

Stephen Rodgers

1y↑5

My primary concern is charging the battery. How long does it take and where are the chargers going to be? Also horse power is a secondary consideration to torque.

Toby W

Horsepower is rate of doing work, more HP will get you up a hill faster. HP is proportional to the torque times RPM

Todd Kes

1y↑1

This is likely to be the key. An electric truck would be perfect for in-city transportation, while an ICE truck is better for long-haul transportation. Electric engines can handle stop-start traffic far better than a diesel. A diesel is better for 'recharging'. A car gas pump can do 12 gallons per minute, which is about 1.75 GJ/minute, or ~30 MW. The current fastest recharger is ~500 kW. So the smaller gas pump is about 60* faster than the fastest recharger.

Basically if you expect to need to refuel during the day, go with an ICE. If you expect to be able to recharge overnight, go with electric.

Rafael C

1y↑12

Many questions have yet to be answered. I definitely respect Musk for his ingenious capabilities!
My questions and concerns: The test stated 500 miles w/82k GCW, where did this test take place? What was the terrain like? Weather conditions? I can see 500 on slight to mild hilly terrain, definitely flat but mountain terrain of 6% or greater, definitely not, how hot did the motors get? What is the operating temp (minimum to max)before the system sends warnings?
What is the warranty like? Hrs to yrs? (Electric motors are based off hrs not miles) what is the cost of the motors and batteries to replace? As one has to know that they are and will be EXTREMELY expensive! I've worked in the oil industry and we've had to replace our 3 phase 1200hp motors time to time and let's just say, for 1, would equate to a in-frame on a CAT and if a battery replacement cost $28k on a chevy volt, imagine on a ES!?
How long does it take to fully charge? As we run on Electronic Log Devices w/11hr drive time, 14hrs total daily shift. Off 11hrs we can travel 700 +/-, on a full tank (I hold 280 gal) I can go 975 miles and have a 1/7 tank left (70 gals) fill up in 15 min and move on... If a ES can't at least travel 700 miles with a good tail wind on a 60k to 70k GCW, then it's not worth a OTR's time. It'll definitely be worth carriers time that do local and regional work, that's it.
Lastly, when it comes to performance, I'd say, maybe 1% of the individuals in the trucking industry think of how fast they can get to 60mph. We O/O's think of quality, durability, longevity, gear ratio, hp and tq (no not to race but to match to what we haul).

IF you wanted to make a true statement, you can make a ES w/a small NG generator (as NG is one of the most purest forms of clean fuels with zero emissions) that ONLY kicks on when a low battery signal is sent, the NG gen would automatically start while the driver continues on his/her travels and once the batteries are fully charged the gen shuts down. Until something like this is offered, individuals that do OTR will never entertain a ES.

Brian Jones

@Zach Chadwick yep, sorry about that.

Zach Chadwick

1y↑1

@Brian Jones it wasn’t from Pasadena lol. It was from Fremont, CA, down to San Diego, CA.

Brian Jones

They did the 500 mile test runs loaded to just under 82k and went from Pasadena to San Diego, which included the Grapevine which is a 6% grade. They do not even have to touch the brakes on the downhill side due to the regenerative breaking keeping the vehicle at a steady speed. Also, they were going up the 6% grade with NO speed loss. They climbed it at speed limit. You can see the video on it here. https://youtu.be/fKhIoNqvBdU

1SLUGGO1

@Bodhisfattva So you are admitting that without the regulations in place the Tesla wouldn't be competitive.

Bodhisfattva

@Bike life Boston you dont seem to be acquainted with Part 395 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations...you cant legally drive more than 715 miles in a day if you average 65 miles an hr. There is nowhere in the USA that you can operate a semi for longer than 11 hrs with a mandatory 30 min break after no longer than 8 hrs of operation. You should educate yourself on the 11 and 14 hour driving limits set by the federal government. Oddly enough 500+350 is more than 715 miles so...the tesla can be in operation for the full 11 or 14 hr windows. It is better to know facts than to be ignorant and spout garbage.

2 More Replies...

Steve Close

1y↑1

You didn't mention a diesel has about three times the range and can be refueled in just a few minutes compared to hours for the Tesla. There may be a future for electric cars and trucks, but now the guinea pigs will be the first try them out. I have to say, I love my electric bike and there's definitely a bright future for them. The link between carbon dioxide and the climate is delusionary. If anything, and increase in carbon dioxide would be beneficial for plant growth. Greenhouse Growers pump in carbon dioxide to maximize plant growth and the Earth has experienced CO2 levels multiple times higher than they are now long before the burning of fossil fuels. So this Hysteria over CO2 his cover for another nefarious agenda for the Elites to rule over the masses.

Slade

The Mack will be lighter overall therefore allowing more cargo capacity so realistically the Tesla is useless unless the gross mass of the truck can be around the 5-8 metric ton fully loaded otherwise it will not be competitive if a regular long haul semi is a 50 ton gross mass 5 tons of trailer on average and 5-10 tons of prime mover gives 35 tons of cargo can be hauled unless the Tesla can do that without breaking weight laws it’s inefficient and not plausible

Steve Spence

1y↑1

an electric motor in most cases is going to beat a diesel engine both in power, acceleration, and overall performance and maintenance is also an advantage. however, the weakness with electric is range and the weight of the batteries and charging times. these are massive weakness in a truck the Mack Anthem wins

EVMANVSGAS

1y↑1

No the motors are supposed to be from the model s/model x plaid, they changed that too. That's why it's more powerful than any ice semi on the road. That will give it ~1500hp, not 900.

Troy Savary

Well Pepsi just said in an interview that the range is 400 miles pulling chips and 100 mies pulling soda. I don't think there will be any regret from the companies who choose a diesel truck over the Tesla.

xxxtrucksxxx

1y↑1

It's not just about going fast. Trucking is about endurance. I'm sitting in Mifflinville, PA at the liberty truck stop. In 38 hours, I will be in Seattle, WA. With only a 500-mile range and needing to stop as long as 30 minutes to recharge, could Tesla's new semi do that?

Ba_Boozer

a good option for trucks is a low structure waring system. where the driver inputs his load height before departure and the system warns of possible collisions. I thought the tesla semi would have it or offer it as an add on option.

Jordan Shackelford

that's a thing in any trucker gps i'm sure

Ricky Johnson

1y↑280

Just curious why you chose MACK as the main competitor for the Tesla semi. Next time you drive on the highway count how many Mack Anthems you see pulling a trailer and let us know.

33 88

I’ve been seeing Anthems here in Arizona

beer me

No they should have compared it to a Volvo or Freightliner if you're going with what you see the most of

jmaddy3

@Jon Noble Noble one They create a more dangerous situation if the brakes fail which everything that moves eventually does, regen braking is a gimmick at best otherwise they wouldve harped on it while doing the presentation and shown numbers I know that 8hr drive mustve had some stop and go or descents when they couldve used it and given some kind of numbers. A runaway motor isnt all that bad if it runs out of fuel or fuel lines are removed or shut off you can stop it but if a electric battery catches fire, you could put out the one or 2 cells that started but the rest can cook off any time later so while that truck is being towed to a factory or shop to be repaired itll catch again and again and again till the battery back is removed or the truck burns down. Not to even mention techwaste, battery packs cant be recycled or reused and have to be thrown into a land fill, and the carbon footprint of those battery packs are ridiculous with the rare earth metals that are used to make them viable for electric truck usage. IE the lithium mines that run tons of heavy duty equipment daily just to mine enough to make battery packs for EVs, or the stuff that goes into them like heavy duty tires even for regular teslas due to their weight or the oil used to lubricate the parts of any moving machinery. Dead dino juice or oil isnt the only fuel diesels can run off of bio diesel which is man made and can be produced easily can be used or you can even modify diesels to run off of used cooking oil and various other things, and while battery packs cant be reused engines can if they arent destroyed while driving, you can bore out or remanufacture a used engine by tearing it down and rebuilding it or replacing key components that can still be melted down later for use in another application, One engine block so long as it holds material wise can be rebuilt multiple times and reused and if not can get wrecked and scrapped for metal. Diesel or combustion engines will be around for a long time to come especially in heavy duty useage if its not an oil crisis itll be a lithium crisis or enviromental crisis involving the mining of lithium.

Jon Noble Noble one

@jmaddy3 Tesla semi came out like yesterday so you’re right they haven’t gone 1,000,000 miles yet. Tesla semi can lose 2 of 3 electric motors (break down) and still move its Haul. And yes it’s a lot of energy but that energy can and will eventually all come from the Sun, not dead dinosaur juice which is running out. Regen breaking creates more energy and virtually eliminates dangerous run away conditions. Diesel engines had a time and a place but that time and place is quickly disappearing.

jmaddy3

@Jon Noble Noble one you have plenty of million mile trucks to choose from but what tesla semi has reached a million miles yet? With the same capacity or range? You act like tesla don't break down and strand their owners in the middle of traffic or catch fire releasing all the toxic chemicals used to make and cool batteries. Diesels are better for hauling stuff long distance and remote areas evs can keep it short distance even with mega chargers and stuff that's a lot of energy to charge one truck. Not to include issues salt give ev trucks in general

38 More Replies...

cyclone1973

1y↑1

Did I miss a part where he talked about how long the Tesla will need to sit and charge it's batteries while other trucks are rolling almost 24/7?
And you can fuel other trucks almost anywhere but where do charge a Tesla Rig while on the freeway in the middle of nowhere?

Ian

Might be good for local trucking, but charging that large of battery, especially fast charging it over and over and over again, is going to obliterate its range and longevity. Not to mention the wide variety of inviroments and weather the trucks will see. Not enough active charging stations because tesla keeps withholding payments to small business that let them install a super chargers. Even if there was enough, there is no possible way for our grid to support trucks and cars. Shit people in California aren't even allowed to charge sometimes for that very reason. A truck is someones home. I definitely wouldnt want to rely on the ifs and maybes that come with charging EVs while its below freezing outdide. Besides, the energy that goes into a battery is most likely from a coal burning plant that operates at around 30-48% thermal efficiency. Diesel trucks thermal efficiency ranges between 30-50%.

EVs are not green like the government likes to tell you. The batteries are hard to recycle, the mining of materials causes irreversible inviromental damage, and they are powered by coal plants in most cases. So it just taking more steps to get to the same results. Gasoline catalytic technology has advanced to the point of almost zero tailpipe emissions. Diesels have countless emissions devices that also make their emissions pretty damn clean as well.

Unless there is a battery that can maintain its range after suffering the abuse of trucking, I dont understand why we think that is somehow better than 2 fuel tanks that will consistently give the same range for years and years and years.

bricknose

1y↑2

How do they compare on distance between refueling/recharging and length of time to recharge/refuel? Unless they’re comparable, I feel like the acceleration and most of those specs are minor by comparison, apart from the max haul weight.

winja

diesel truck will have 1200 to 1500 mile range and will take about 10 to 15 minutes to refuel. tesla has a range of about 400 to absolute max of 500 miles and takes around 10 hours to recharge.....

Leontestedevorant

1y↑4

Very interesting and well done. We will be very happy if you also make the units of measurement understandable for the rest of the world, thank you in advance :-)

denunci mesmo

I think one of the important things to say is that the Tesla semi truck is within the standards for trucks accepted in Europe.

And another thing that is very, very important is maintenance, which crushes the wages of truck owners.

Mark Wijnen

Love the Tesla!!! And the way they are offering alternatives…….

Stephan Weinberger

@5:39 I think you may want to revisit this section of the video... Unfortunately Tesla has not yet released the actual weight of the tractor, so we can only estimate the payload from the videos we've seen so far. But in any case the payload should be closer to 50,000 lbs (ok, technically this is "greater than 2000 lbs").

Jacob

1y↑1

I like how he said diesel was "oh my gosh $4.99" when clearly under it was $5.59. Kind of makes you wonder where they get the other numbers from if they can't even read the sign of the price of fuel.

Chris B.

1y↑1

There are many things I don't like about the Tesla Semi. 1. the "mirrors", cameras are less intuitive than mirrors. 2. The seating position makes it so that there can be no copilot. 3. That infotainment system is going to get people killed from distracted driving especially if the driver is overly trusting in simply trusting the lain keep and auto braking. however my bigest complaint is with the way they are marketing speed/acceleration. You do not want nor do manufactures want semis to accelerate or decelerate quickly. Goods will break; pallets will tip; liquids will slosh, trucks will flip over on on ramps. Faster is not always better.
Regen braking will be great. Higher efficiency, wonderful. less fine particulate in the air, beautiful. This guy calling a Semi a car sad; talking about diesel price and showing a clip of someone zooming in on the gas price specifically, face palm.

Purple Tiger Racing

These vehicles are good for local ltl. That's it. And in most cases, it'll be city use, so the 0-60 time is pretty much useless.

Let us know when a Tesla sleeper truck and trailer weigh 35 000 lbs or less and can haul 45,000 lbs or more, can go 1200-1800 miles (6 mpg avg @ 80k for a diesel) between charges and charge in 20 minutes or less.

Nathan Bishop

battery weight cuts into load capacity. diesel trucks can move larger loads than electric. 0-60 doesnt matter for a semi, its a mostly irrelevant stat. drag coefficient would greatly be effected by the type of load the truck is hauling. load capacity, reliability and travel distance. tesla doesnt have a great reliability record.

Andrew Doolittle

1y↑1

The question is "how well is your truck still driving after putting 7 MILLION miles on it" as I know that truck and it was a Peterbilt not a Mack.

COOLING IS CRITICAL ESPECIALLY IN PURE BEV but yes of course far less an issue in a modern diesel but still At Issue.
The two huge advantages Tesla offers up
A: standard automatic transmission as it needs no transmission and
B safety features that can only be imagined in one of the DEADLIEST occupations in the USA especially this time of Year Winter/Snowstorm Ice and Slush Season.

Anyhow the GREAT news is that Tesla has had many Years testing and validating their 2 prototypes....so what the actualized production en masse be ... well it will be fun to drive of that there is no doubt. The only platform change I would have made would be to have 2 wheels up front parallel to the eight drive wheels. Indeed "bobtailing" a Tesla Semi could in fact be truly LETHAL.

r p

If we give the Tesla the benefit of the doubt a d it's a LIFPO4 battery they are good for around 6000 charges. The truck has a 500 mile range. That would be 14,000. So it would probably be at least on battery number 3 at that time.

Drake Smith

1y↑51

I could see this being a viable day cab route option as an owner operator considering operating costs imagine doing fuel runs as a tanker w/ a Tesla, maybe make the switch from Mack after I build my house. I wonder headache racks, frame thicknesses, suspension options, tri-axle, wheel base options, transmission heavy duty, strobe light options, they have the general freight concept but I’m curious to see what heavy haul options coincide with this a lot of freight variables options to offer to surpass Mack & electric stations to add to be considered for long haul they’re far to young but off to a big impact start w/ lots of work to do to surpass & overtake the industry in every aspect.

Joey D

since Tesla has not built a single charging station for the semi. Do you seriously think it's a good option? Do you want to have your route options restricted as well?

winja

if you're not leaving town heavy haul might be an option with a tesla, but anything trying to go over the road will be a disaster. diesel trucks have more than double the range of a tesla semi

Brian Jones

First thing I noticed is no place to attach a grill guard. Hitting deer at highway speeds is a daily occurrence for trucks and you wont see any long haul trucks that don't have one on. As far as other options like headache racks that is still up in the air for development. Since these are electric motors, they don't have transmissions or even gears that change, which is a large part of where the faster acceleration comes from. So you have less moving parts to fail. I think the only thing keeping these from being a viable heavy long hauler is the lack of sleeper and availability of charging stations for them.

Mr. Fresh

@Nate L Unless you factor in facts, and reality.

Do you see how many awards and #1 ratings Tesla cars get? Literally the safest cars on the road, the Model S has the best safety score ever.

Want to hear stupid crap? Listen to this guy.

Nate L

You want your business to fail? Buy a tesla. Snake oil.

6 More Replies...

Stanley Okpara

Horsepower is somewhat inconsequential with regards to application. What’s important is torque and from the analysis it appears that the Tesla is minimal at best

Ohman

1y↑4

They'll have to come up with something better much better than the current batteries to really be able to compete with what's available already. We were promised something that would beat rail. This doesn't beat what's there already.

Bodhisfattva

no they dont...freight haulers can not even legally drive 715 miles in a "day" unless they can average 65mph which is impossible unless you speed. Days are different for freight haulers and normal people. Look up the regulations for the 11 and 14 hour days for freight as you dont know what you are talking about.

Ohman

1y↑1

@Roger Geyer it's called skepticism. And it doesn't beat what's already available. Take a good look at current freight trains. Diesel is it's battery essentially, maybe power plant. Like I said, they need to come up with something better than the current batteries. They've already shown that long hauling with batteries is outside the realm of possibility for batteries.

They overhyped what it can do, and many people to that bait.

Roger Geyer

Ohman: You have no idea what you're talking about. On the Dec. 1 delivery ceremony, the Tesla semi has ALREADY been clearly demonstrated to be FAR superior on performance, with CURRENT battery tech. It totally blows away the diesel semi performance.

Being in denial doesn't make you even close to right.

Troy Jackson

1y↑2

Trucks are going to need to park and charge in their parking spaces they will not be able to charge their trucks from a fuel island. The issue is when rookies and other truck drivers crash into the chargers I am sure there will be less available chargers. Also if they have to put chargers in it will have to be concreted in and a barrier plus they will have to set it so each truck has access to power. Copper is expensive so you may find thieves who will cut the power cords and run with them. So you will have to have a full time attendant watching 24/7

Dillard715

1y↑1

Diesel all day. Imagine hundreds of trucks in line waiting to charge because it takes longer.

Martin Day

Not sure where the cost of the Tesla-Semi came from as I haven't seen that announced, also load carrying capacity. The fully laden 500 mile trip didn't actually say how much of that weight was truck and how much was cargo. It makes people wonder why the unladen weight of the Tesla is never stated, surely if it was good, it would be, after all, the design of the coffee cup holder and the mobile phone charger get a mention

0-60 speed for a semi is completely irrelevant but if it does become a factor it needs to also say how much each maximum launch would then impact on the range.

There was much talk of the charging capacity being a whopping 1+ MW (1,000+ kW) DC, but that was "planned", is that in another five years, and when it comes it will take some infrastructure development because having a few trucks charging at that rate will need their own electrical sub-station.

It wasn't clear how many Tesla-Semis Pepsi were getting and after the Tesla-semi delivery event, there were more questions than answers.

Metalcell

1y↑1

For those in the Musk cult, our friend here is not calculating the driving range with a full shipping load, if he did it would show that diesel trucks have a longer mile range. He is also not considering that business put productivity above everything as it means more profit. Max range and load capacity are the most important factors for trucking business because time is money. Skewing the numbers to make Tesla look better, but what can you expect from a channel with Tesla in its name.

Philip Nations

The Tesla because it’s saved the company so much on fuel even if the cost to buy it is higher the overall cost would be lower because of the fuel savings and it has so much better speed especially acceleration vs a Diesel powered model.

Keylor Avila

I just feel like the Tesla semi should be used for Local trips and Diesel Engines semi's should be used for long trips. I don't think the Tesla Semi charges that quick. Plus we dont have enough charging stations

subwarpspeed

1y↑60

Tesla has said it should be a loss in usable cargo weight. So it's not 2000 lbs better. Regulations allow trucks with new power sources (I assume a fuel cell counts here to) to be 2000 lbs. The Tesla semi is surely utilizing that granted extra to be comparable. It's not hauling more pepsi bottles.

Jordan Shackelford

@Scott McElhiney It's been a year already and the bank I took the car loan from repo'd the car. I lost over $15k on it >:(

Scott McElhiney

@Jordan Shackelford sounds like bullshit,... how did the dealer determine you hit a pothole? Did you break a wheel and destroy the suspension/steering with the hit? And how would that void the battery warranty? If that happened, get a lawyer...

Jordan Shackelford

@Roger Geyer I had a chevy bolt for a year then it stopped charging and they said it was my fault for hitting a pothole and it wasn't covered under warranty or whatever. so I lost all I invested in the car

Alan May

@Roger Geyer stop talking nonsense!!! Diesel truck advantage is massive compared to EVs! The tesla semi needs 1000hp to haul 82,000lbs while diesel trucks even with 600hp can literally haul 4x80,000lbs, in Europe mostly in Scandinavia trucks have even much higher loads than American ones.

Bodhisfattva

1y↑1

@Kon Rad they have been estimated at around 10,000 pounds heavier than the systems that dont exist on normal fuel powered semi trucks...the tesla will end up hauling around 6k or less freight by the guestimates i have seen but it is all guess work till they release the actual semi weight.

8 More Replies...

Marcelo Sasso

I just couldn't hold my laughter when he said that the Tesla semi trumps conventional semis in payload. That is an absolute gem. Also, how much time to charge one of those bad boys? I really can't understand these Elon simps.

Andreas Klossek

5:51 It would be important to know, what a Tesla Semi weights, to calculate the max payload it can take.... posting 80,000 pounds, sounds much.... but depends on what the Truck weight.... Limit is 80,000 pounds truck + payload.... Example? Truck is 18k pounds... so remains 62k pound of payload maxed.

Dominik MJ

There’s one big issue- according to several science based people, Musk is lying. Let’s put aside the 3 years (+) delay; the Tesla have seen pulling away of a diesel semi with a quarter of the typical load. There are huge issues with the charging (there are non of the promised mega stations built). Also in the test video the Tesla semi truck exactly was overtaken 18 times by regular trucks and overtook just once!
I love the idea of a cleaner saver way of transporting goods, but Musk is a Charlatan.

Mr Bob

1y↑2

We know absolutely zero about this truck until it’s actually on the road in consumers hands 😮

Bodhisfattva

did you not watch any videos about this semi? there are many things we know if you arent stupid or willfully ignorant.

Justin

1y↑12

I have a newer Ram and the climate controls are mostly in the screen. I can't imagine everything including my park brake being controlled by a screen. I like buttons and valves they break less often.

Sharon Braselton

kike ßçí fi ivé touçh scréeñnbeßt

BrainySurfGirl

The Mack will blow Tesla away in pulling power, especially up hills.

william lanphar

Your assessment of the area behind the drivers seat as being " a significant amount of space " is , let's say generous. You are , also , ignoring the fact that the entry door is in this area effectively preventing ANY bed installation.

Pepperidge Cookies

1y↑1

Sadly, no traditional truck companies have technology to compete against Tesla.

poor little biker

1y↑31

If they allow an exemption for Tesla’s to carry more weight, it’ll only be a matter of time that either diesel truck makers or truck companies push to be able to carry that same weight. And call me crazy, but I’ve seen how some truckers drive like they are on a race track, having a performance truck like this is scary in the hands of some of these drivers 😓

Alan May

In Europe trucks are much powerful and also hauls significantly way more payload just look at Scandinavian trucks

Bodhisfattva

1y↑1

the extra weight is to mitigate the extra weight of electric semis as they are much much heavier than diesel...diesel semis already can haul more than any electric truck even with the 2k extra weight they get.

Lafly84

Get ready for more cries of trucks are destroying our roads...

marcilio junior

Most trucks are carring more weight than the law says already

FORD GT40

1y↑1

Wow, 5 second 0-60? Thats like caring about a mustang's towing capacity. Some Diesel trucks can go 3000 miles on a single tank of fuel. Then proceed to refuel in 10 minutes. Also lots of these trucks can break 1.25 million miles, get a rebuild and do over another million miles. These EVs are going to easily need 3 batteries in this time. You are a tesla shill.

Joe Rubalcava

I 2017 just about everything Musk said about the Tesla truck!! He hasn’t been able to deliver on. So by far the Tesla isn’t the king of the road, it hasn’t truly even been tested in normal driving conditions. Especially like the current weather we are having all across the country right now. The Mack can haul much more payload than the Tesla, because the Tesla is so much heavier. Isn’t it always been the heavier the load the more it pays. For Tesla to haul the same payload the Mack can, Tesla would have to use 2 of its trucks. How muck money would that save a shipper,HA. Since the Tesla only has a 500 mile capability without we charging. The Mack can go at least 200 miles further, in the 11 hr. drive time and can go about 1200 miles on full tanks, more than twice the distance of a Tesla. And as far as the 30 min break, the Mack driver can top off it fuel tanks use the restroom and get something to eat. While the Tesla driver is using that 30 mins to recharge it batteries then need more time off the eat and use the restroom. Bottom line The Mack will get to its destination much faster. Who’s the KING of the road, obviously the true and tried MACK !!!! in comparison to the Tesla.

Terran Chow

1y↑8

I’m so surprised by the price of the semi! It’s much more competitive than I would have initially thought

Lance Millward

@Bodhisfattva to charge quickly as promised it needs significant infrastructure that Tesla will not be providing. So factor that in as well as battery replacement and the semi might not stack up as promised

33 88

I was impressed at the price point as well even without the $40k “incentive”

Bodhisfattva

1y↑2

@Lance Millward without it it will still be cheaper after a about a year if you are able to charge during non peak times or can set up charging stations that only acquire power during non peak moments or from solar and wind.

Lance Millward

1y↑1

With a government rebate it is.

Ben Lou

Honestly probably the most appealing thing for drivers would be the technology and entertainment it brings. If you're going to live in your truck a lot, having entertainment from Tesla computer would be nice. Otherwise it would be auto-pilot would I'm sure Truck drivers would love.

Derek Frigon

1y↑177

I had a 2020 Mack Anthem and it was the the biggest piece of junk I've driven in 35 years of trucking. Everything breaks from normal non-severe highway service. It literally falls apart on you while you're driving. Several major breakdowns in the first year. Anything is better.

winja

sounds like a volvo semi truck. shits falling off them as they leave the dealer. floppy headlights are the first sign the truck is doomed and that happens in the first 1000 miles

Dakota Herren

Also doesn’t help that Mack redesigned the mp7/8 engine to have the timing gears in the back of the engine to help reduce engine noise. It did reduce it, but they have issues of idler gears coming off the shafts or gears spinning causing the engine to come out of time. That means the transmission has to be pulled, clutch, flywheel, flywheel housing, then gears and hope no internal engine damage. Had a few that had that happen to in our fleet. But they are great working engines and they can definitely haul the weight. Our heaviest truck was 120-130k on 6 axles. 3 steer, 2 drive, 1 straight/dead axle. That truck had the mp8 in it

Alvin Long

@Luke Gray The whole line of Anthems are junk. I've had 2 of them both junk.

Alvin Long

@farmerboy777 Then I must have a faulty unit too. Everything in it rattles and feels like front end is getting ready to fall off.

Volodymyr D

Wait until you get Tesla. Then you will find out, how something breaks without possibility to fix😉

26 More Replies...

John Sadler

1y↑1

One trucker friend wondered about seeing to back up while sitting in the middle of the cab. He stated backing up with 2 inches on one side and 4 inch on the other side would be a challenge. He hangs out the window on his truck.

Bodhisfattva

that is what the camera's are for with large screens...I also imagine before the hoi polloi can get these they will have perfected automated park functions. It will be years before individuals will be able to get these.

Matt Hughes

Is there an independent review of this truck yet? Has anyone taken delivery yet? Has the battery weight and payload been announced yet? Or are we still taking Elon at his word? He's not exactly historically on the right side of telling the truth is he?

Banana Cam

9:37"Forward collision warning" As if you can stop a 20 ton truck going highway speeds within 50 m without jackknifing.(yes they have that anti-jackknife system but how well is that going to work when you NEED to stop quickly)

cecasander

1y↑28

Mack truck specs are based off decades of truck building
Testa truck specs are based off Elon Musk saying "Trust me bro"

KINO CORNER

@Manuel Olivo Truth me bro has never built a truck that can go millions of miles and go where alot of shit can’t.

Manuel Olivo

1y↑1

Trust me bro is the biggest Auto maker in US over all hundred year old others not including the guy also has a 🚀 company out doing NASA wasteful rockets

Terry Boots

Tesla refuses to state how much its semi can haul or how long it takes to recharge. The "drives and parks if driver is incapacitated" system is not ready. The 5-second zero to sixty figure is a fantasy; maybe the tractor can do it without a trailer, but fast acceleration is not a priority for most truckers. What we have here is a pricy and oversized local delivery truck.

Cian O'Mahony

1y↑1

Impossible to answer till feElon's famous "next year" (that never comes). Tesla hasnt disclosed how much it can haul. How long to charge? May have ludicrous acceleration but at what cost to range- it was slowest truck on road when demonstrating it could do 500 miles. Laughable. For now, Semi is all hot air and fancy cupholders. Investors didnt even blink, just kept dumping TSLA... only starstruck fanboys are impressed by this b.s.

Guerson Urbina

1y↑20

Diesel semis are going to be the best always

Matthew Nelson

Wouldn’t say always, but they are great for now.

bill carver

@kxv Thats not gonna happen for a while, scientist say the gulf of mexico alone has enough oil to last at least another 500 years.

kxv

“Always” yea until oil inevitably runs out

bill carver

1y↑1

I will never trade in my diesel trucks for something that looks like shit. If it gets to the point diesel is no more, that will be the day I retire.

Bodhisfattva

the best for noise and air pollution sure...once solid state batteries leave the lab and enter vehicles you will be able to drive thousands of miles in electric vehicles between charges...you are either ignorant or stupid which is it?

3 More Replies...

MrCuffs

1y↑9

There was no Frightliner no Peterbuilt no Kenworth
But there is the Mack
💀😂

Chris Mayer

Between you and I, I’d take the Mack over the Tesla; the T is a little TOO Area-51 for my tastes. 🪐🛸

Win Con

1y↑149

Looks like the Tesla semi is more of a day cab kinda truck not for OTR

Toby W

@Foxis / Jeremy Solar panels charge as long as there is sunshine. Tesla gives charging capacity (number of panels) on their solar panels on the Tesla website click the Solar Panel tab. They require your address since this is an estimate for your home's roof.

Bodhisfattva

@silent_ride_home nobody drives a sleeper in town unless they have to...only long haul makes sense for driving sleepers

zmavrick

@Foxis / Jeremy I hope you realize that for every pound of solar panels and mounting you reduce your load capacity by the same amount.

Lafly84

@Foxis / Jeremy I'd love to see the property owner that will allow charging of non-company trucks on their premises - they pinch a penny until it screams as is. If there is a mandate for them to allow charging, you can be assured the cost will be passed on to the consumer.

traffic jam

Especially since u have to recharge every 3-500 miles

6 More Replies...

Mike Sampson

In two years, let’s see how Tesla holds up to the Mac on repair prices ? We all know those batteries don’t last as long as that Mac will !

Beaux Toxic

1y↑3

Thing is, when you bung up the Mack’s door, there are about 300 locations to pick one up, in about a day (unpainted, of course). Where do you get a Tesla door? And how long will it take? At what cost? I think I’ll stay with my Mack for a while longer...

Juan Vega

My dad owns a diesel semi repair shop and constantly have parts back ordered and that’s considering we have many many suppliers. Repairs and maintenance will definitely be an issue for Tesla

Adam O'Brien

The Tesla's tonnage may be 2000lbs greater than a normal semi, but you have to consider the base weight of the truck. How much of that is load weight.

Andreas Klossek

11:56 Keep in mind, when the prices where announced. Even the CT will cost more.... Why not Semi?

FAST EDDIE

1y↑48

I think the idea is cool but my only question is range and charge time. I haul a train set of fuel tankers and a full tank of fuel runs me 1-1/2 days and takes me 15 minutes to fill it from E my GVWR full is 120,000 LB’s you would need a fleet of these to replace one of our kenworths not to mention the time wasted on swapping rigs to the trailer set. Also the 18 speeds really help on steep grades not to mention on downhills with the Jake on

33 88

I’m sure teslas will be terminal hoppers where customer terminals will initially adopt the chargers 🔌

Scott McElhiney

@Floof I wouldn't bet on that... Tesla has over 40K superchargers out there, the Megachargers will start with where the early buyers need them.

Scott McElhiney

1y↑1

@Razvan Dejan The best use scenario at the moment is short haul and having your charging stations installed at the distribution centers. Charge while getting loaded or unloaded.. I can imagine long haul becoming viable on popular routes for companies like USPS...

Raphel Walker

@Old Dog my guess is that they will move towards having parking with charging because of the 10hour break

Take your 10 then work. Need a little bit more before time is up? Change for 30min then keep driving. Once your time is up park at charging station and charge for 10 hours.

Theo C

10 More Replies...

T Wayland

Acceleration doesn't matter when the down time for each charge will make the delivery take way way longer. Warehouses already run into issues where Electric forklift charge time needing to be worked around. A bigger vehicle with a way way bigger battery bank will not replace diesel trucks any time soon.

Travis H

the electric tesla semi economics is so good that they can make and ship out worldwide 1,000,000 units and still have demand.

Brommear

Time will tell what the cost advantages/disadvantages will be over a million kilometers or more. Servicing cost on the diesel vs replacement batteries on the Tesla for example.

Donovan Mills

1y↑1

🇺🇸 Truckers need at least 600 horse power with 8 wheel lock capability. I would say Volvo 750 HP is the best besides of course the new electric semi great job Elon Musk 💪

Athol

1y↑13

I would want to see what a truck hyped over five years actually performs AFTER a real example is actually delivered. My pick is delivery date, cost, numbers delivered and performance will turn out to be underwhelming. Feel free to point out my errors once there is a real truck actually hauling freight.

Kamal LB

@꧁RadicalRick꧂ what universe are u living in?

Robert Healey

Actually, Tesla has been using the trucks internally for a few years between Nevada and CA plants for hauling parts and vehicles. I would imagine they have internal operations numbers for that.

It could be why they switched from 4 motors to 3 when they discovered cruise mode could be maintained by just one motor.

Athol

@Russ Sorvi Sure. Diesel is dead. But we only know the costs when we know the price of the truck, its payload and costs of the infrastructure (chargers) required. Those costs are known but we aren't being told what they are. I suspect they are close to the costs of competing electric trucks from Volvo and Daimler.

Russ Sorvi

@Athol Not trying to argue, just bring up discussion. But dont you think the money saved on fuel and def cost offset the slightly lower capacity.

Athol

How did I do on my predictions?
Delivered on time. My bad.
Cost. No mention of cost in a presentation which included details down to showing a coat-hook. Picking it won't be the original figure.
Numbers. Pepsi ordered 100. Maybe 5 delivered? Call it a pass.
Performance. Range is as promised. Great.
BUT we still were not told how much the semi can deliver. The 82 000 lb (a legal limit) is tractor, trailer, and load. A trucker is paid by load delivered and every pound of battery weight is one less pound of load. This may not matter as these trucks were delivered to a Frito-Lay plant and snack foods are light. Load it up with beverages and the truck may not able to match the load capacity of a diesel.
So still undecided.

13 More Replies...

Joe Rubalcava

About the 0-60 in 5 seconds which Musk made such a big deal about, how often will the Tesla be able to use that with all the traffic one the city streets and entering a fwy, that it would actually make any legitimate difference. None!!! Then going up hill the Tesla was faster, but I bet going down hill the Mack would catch right up because the heavier weight it is caring. In the video of 2017, they kept showing the the Tesla was pulling 82,000 lbs, isn’t that illegal in all States.80,000 is the Max weight you can legally pull. I’m sure if it was legal, the Mack would have the capacity to pull up to 100,000 pounds of payload

Raul De Jesus

The problem I I see coming for the Tesla truck is maintenance . There are more Diesel engine mechanic shops than they are electric truck shops. The Tesla track can make it within state if you have sufficient charging stations and mechanic shops if you try to take the Tesla truck and use it as al long haul truck I doubt the Infrastructure is in place to support it for now.

Johny C

1y↑1

It's just only a matter of time before Mack releasing MackTruck Pro to compete with Tesla Semi.

Josh Brown

You can give tesla all perfect specs but it still falls short bc you can't just charge them and go. Even the tesla cars take hrs for half a charge. If we had the electric grid that could handle it yes but we are WAY to far for that

theTruckerKid

1y↑8

I wonder how the demand on the power grid will be while multiple trucks are charging

Bodhisfattva

that all depends on the infrastructure the charging stations use...if they have large power storage not much because they will pull power to the storage facility in off peak hours. If it is free flowing power from the grid it will be considerable if folks are using it during peak hours but folks will attempt to not do that as the expense will be pretty high.

Robert Healey

I’m betting the truck stops will soon have new roofs over the asphalt that are suspiciously black with silver lines…

gamtax

1y↑3

Expect a power plant near the truck stop...

Sebastian Lopez

You'll never see an electric semi doing over the road driving especially with team drivers to much down time waiting for the truck to recharge

Corey King

I think the Tesla Semi is ground breaking, but not the best truck to use and iut might be a little while before you can make a practical case for the everyday truck driver. I think the Tesla Semi will end up being perfect for the local and regional companies like UPS, Fedex, Walmart etc. But long distance not so much for the moment.

Athol

I said it 3 weeks ago. The 500 mile range is for hauling Frito lay smack foods. Pretty much a cargo of air. Soft drinks, the range drops to a 100 miles, according to Reuters. And the weight STILL has not been received.

NOoNe21

1y↑1

It's likely VERY telling that the Load Capacity was never mentioned. To break it down what i mean as low as i can. How much of the 82K pounds total capacity is allotted to cargo? Just saying it can move 82K or whatever is not enough. The point of a semi is to move a shit ton of cargo. Not 0 to 60 acceleration. Speed can damage the freaking cargo guys. All of the fluff like wireless phone chargers, an extra tall cab and 2 screens should absolutely not take away from the facts. No Autopilot as standard as previously promised, the need for extra infrastructure just to charge them and the missing price should be shooting up more red flags than praise.

Garrrett p

1y↑1

Tesla needs to co figure the trucks height a bit. Depending where they deployed these.. most overpasses in certain states will possibly be a bit to short

B Johnson

Neither the exhaust issues with diesel VS electric charge time and ambient temp issues make them both equally useless

MichaelTB

That 0.36 is meaningless unless the trailer is included. A trailer with a flat back will increase drag significantly, and any load on a flat trailer will cause losses.

PJ W

I'm not a truck driver (I wish!).
But it seems to me trucking is about energy efficiency. That's where the transport costs are. And then the Tesla would be a hands down winner.
But Mack being Mack knows about driver experience, which Tesla seems to have neglected. What about those Tesla screens blocking downward visibility left and right (6:10)? Looks amateurish. Unless those screens are on adjustable flexible arms this would be a deal breaker for me. Entertainment system? Blah!

Andreas Klossek

4:55 Till a certain speed, the cD value adds nothing to the 0-60 time.... but hey :) what ever makes Tesla shines brighter :)

And money Hoes

The difference is that the mack will actually be struggling and still pulling loads close to a quarter of a million pounds while the Tesla just won't do it.

K M

Peterbilt. All day, everyday. Specifically a 1985 359 with a 13 speed. Like my truck. Cheapest truck to run. Reliable, tons of parts and easy on the eyes. Not to mention cheap! Only expense is diesel, maintenance, and insurance. Insurance on these teslas will be ridiculous since there are no parts and no mechanics. Not to mention paying $2000 a month for your loan.

Dino Distefano

1y↑83

I can see that kind of acceleration turning into alot of freight claims pallets gonna be all over the place.

Theo C

@phatfarmer farmer why? Because the accelerator pedal only has two positions?
And "pallets" aren't secured?

Dino Distefano

@Chery Saldivar back then you kinds had to know what your doin to drive trucks. Trucks weren't that easy to drive. And im not talkin bout your simple hi/lo straight H pattern either.

phatfarmer farmer

My thoughts as well. Palleted loads like pepsi will be a learning cerv for their drivers.

Toby W

I expect the acceleration should be welcome at higher speeds, say over 30-40 mph. Diesels should have more danger with acceleration since I've read they can snap an axle in low gear.