In 2017, Elon Musk presented a prototype of a battery electric Class 8 highway tractor, predicting that electrification will fundamentally change the American trucking industry. Trucking in America is a 700-billion-dollar annual industry, and with 4 million Class 8 vehicles registered on American roads, the fleet is considerable. While electrification looks promising, current lithium-ion battery technology suggests that 500 to 600 miles is the reasonable range that can be expected from a battery electric highway tractor. For long-haul with a single driver, this range corresponds roughly to the allowable hours of service mandated by U.S. Federal regulations, suggesting that short and medium distance intercity transportation with electric heavy trucks is feasible with current technology. With the first units now in the hands of PepsiCo, it will be possible to get real-world data on Tesla Semi performance.  

Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as End of the Line, Designing the Future, and, Manufacturing the Future.