As the famous saying goes, "slow and steady wins the race." That appears to be the game plan for the prolonged rollout of the Tesla Semi. The all-electric semitrailer truck is methodically targeting new markets, facilitating new production, and rolling out to new customers.
Electrek reported on Saia, the latest company to add a pair of Tesla Semis to its fleet. The United States-based trucking company has a fleet of approximately 5,000 trucks, and it collaborated with Tesla on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. In a press release, Saia gushed about the "unparalleled innovation" of the "state-of-the-art" vehicles. The trial tested the Semi on "range, payload capacity, grade performance, and driver comfort."
"We were very impressed with the Tesla Semi as it demonstrated an ability to handle both local and longer haul applications," said Saia Executive Vice President of Operations Patrick Sugar. When it comes to efficiency, Sugar noted the Semi achieved 1.73 kilowatt-hours per mile.
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Good driving range 🔋 While that falls short of a 1.6-kWh benchmark achieved in Tesla's internal testing, it's in line with a DHL trial and well ahead of the early projections of 2 kWh per mile. Other companies to also run successful trials include logistics solutions provider NFI and logistics company Martin Brower.
For now, the majority of Tesla Semis on the road are for internal use or by their lone major customer, PepsiCo. Pepsi drivers and executives have been effusive in their praise, which adds excitement to Elon Musk's comments indicating that the trucks will be coming to Europe and the rest of the world soon. It's anticipated a new factory in Nevada will start mass-producing the vehicle in 2025 with a goal of rolling out 50,000 new vehicles per year.
That could make a major dent in the trucking industry's pollution. Medium and heavy trucks account for more than a quarter of national fuel use despite representing only 4% of the vehicles on the road, per the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Widespread moves to all-electric fleets could reduce planet-heating pollution that's warming the earth to record-setting and dangerous levels.
Although it was a limited run, Saia touted the "enormous potential" of the Tesla Semi. Sugar made it seem like their drivers would be very interested in widespread adoption.
"Our drivers were equally impressed, noting the smooth acceleration, comfortable design, and its ability to maintain speeds on steep inclines, even while hauling heavy payloads," he said.
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