Your Responses To Our Serious & Wacky Tesla Semi Questions (#ChartFun)
Just before the Tesla Semi unveiling, I ran a poll on what the unveiling would include. There were some wacky questions and potential answers as well as some serious ones. The wacky questions and answer choices made it perhaps my favorite piece of work in November. Yet, after a nearly sleepless night and all of the excitement and fun after the event, I forgot about the poll!
Now that I’ve had the chance to nearly recover, the poll came back to mind and you can see the results below. Note that some of the questions have not yet been answered. Maybe someday.
On to the responses…
Well, we missed a few there, and there are still some mysteries. I’m most curious to see who the first celebrity is to buy a Tesla Semi.
Regarding number of battery packs, I don’t think it was ever revealed. (Perhaps 4 packs?) For that matter, we also didn’t get a kWh figure. However, one videographer opened the charging port to find 8 pins. That along with the under 2 kWh energy use per mile and other notes have led to speculation that there’s a 800 kWh battery … or perhaps a 1 MWh one. Well, we don’t really know, and it’s not like it has to be a multiple of 100 — though, Elon does like clean numbers like that.
Battery swapping, as 39% of you claimed, is a dead concept. Okay, some are still clinging to the idea that it will be used to some extent in some scenarios. But as presented, no, there is no Tesla Semi battery swapping. Can we close speculation about that now and agree to just bring it back up if something solid is announced?
Superchargers? Fuggedaboudit. We’re talking “Megachargers.” Does that mean 1 MW of power? 1.2 MW? 1.5 MW? Well, we didn’t get specifics, but I think the most common assumption has been that it means 1 MW.
Full autonomy? Again, no clear answer. There’s a driver’s seat and talk of a driver, which would indicate it’s not “full autonomy on go,” but there’s also talk of Tesla Semi convoys with full autonomy in trailing semi trucks. Also, a common assumption is that Tesla is aiming for full autonomy in 2019 or 2020 but doesn’t want to spook the industry, potential buyers, or regulators. In the end, it comes down to the software and regulations getting there, and we still don’t have solid insight on whether that will be 2019, 2020, or beyond.
Obviously, we don’t know how many companies the Tesla Semi will put out of business, but this guy is probably going to have a rough time. We also don’t have word yet of any celebrity buyers (even though there have been many reservation/purchase announcements) — feel free to keep guessing.
Of course, Elon’s secret surprise wasn’t on the list. Though, the method of entrance was.
For more, see our big unveiling night article from the event as well as other Tesla Semi news and op-eds in our archives.
Tesla Semi Truck, Tesla Roadster 2.0, Tesla Pickup — Hot! From Unveiling Event! (101 Pics)
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