Want to race a Tesla semi around a test track?

John & Angela wrote:
I’m kinda wondering if Tesla is using the same business approach to the semi truck side of the business as he is to the car side of the business when it comes to charging infrastructure. What I mean by this is: Right now if you look at the plug share App and look at the new charging sites that have come on line in the last few hours probably 75 percent of those are Tesla sites. Some of these are Superchargers but most are level two chargers that businesses and hotels and restaurants and parking plazas are installing. It varies depending on time of day and time zone etc but just looking at the last few hours it looks like about 100 new charge stations have come on line in the world. Hard to count because it keeps scrolling as new ones are added but I would bet 70 to 75 are Tesla. So here is an example of how it affects buying decisions. We are a few years away from replacing our Nissan Leaf. Great car and does what we need, but when we retire in a few years we want something different. We really like the new hatchback Leaf and are comparing it to the Tesla Model 3 sedan. We actually lean towards the Leaf for a few reasons. But at this point would probably buy the more expensive Tesla Model 3 for one reason. The charging infrastructure is just simply so much better. There are 7000 ish pre-ordered leafs right now. There are literally hundreds of thousands of pre ordered Tesla Model 3’s. I would think some of those are because of the better infrastructure and certainly the TMC forum supports that.

So I am wondering if this also wouldn’t play out in the heavy and medium truck industry. The article talks about different companies collaboratings on the charging infrastructure. I can see this market approach working. Obviously there are a bunch of trucking companies testing the waters but I wonder if an established infrastructure will have an effect on purchase decision.

Time will tell. Interesting though.

I think how the charging infrastructure plays out for the trucking industry will depend on how the electric trucks are used. If they are used primarily for short delivery and line haul (which their current projected range suggests) then there isn't much need for a stand alone charging infrastructure- the trucks will charge at their home base. If they are used for over-the-road, then it makes sense for Tesla to partner with existing truck stops to install chargers. One consideration is that each semi requires 4 times as much parking space as a car.