"An
electric semi-truck is not possible"
The typical semi-truck
("18-wheeler") hauling a 40 foot trailer
Who said, "Electric vehicles will never be a practical solution for things like 18-wheelers"? Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Gates also said that the Internet would never amount to anything (which is why Microsoft didn't bother including a web browser in their Windows operating system at first). So Bill is 0 for 2 because an electric semi-truck is not only possible, it's better than its diesel counterpart (costs less for the company owning it to fuel and maintain, and it doesn't pollute because it doesn't have a tailpipe).
Who else said something equally as ridiculous? Mercedes. They make electric semi-trucks too, but when Tesla announced their truck's specs (range specifically), Mercedes said that this "breaks the laws of physics", implying that Tesla will not be able to actually make a semi-truck that has that kind of fuel efficiency. But Tesla did!
A real-life demonstration by the North American Counsel for Freight Efficiency showed that electric trucks can easily match the operation of their diesel counterparts. The graph below is a representative sample of Class 8 trucks that participated in their Run on Less event. The data illustrates each operator's miles traveled. Some days, trucks did not leave their depots. Each color represents an operator.
Notice, Mercedes' electric
truck didn't even bother to participate
"The data indicates that Tesla is the leader in terms of performance and range," said John Boesel, CEO of Calstart, a clean transportation industry organization. "They are also the only ones demonstrating superfast charging capability."
Truck drivers say they
love the Tesla semi! Much more comfortable and easier to
drive.
Now, if only their trucks would start hauling fruits 'n vegetables..
