Quite brilliant to beat the current trucks in every way, including cost and profit margins.
"What’s not to like about a truck that doesn’t jack-knife, can do 0-100kms in 6 seconds (without load), can go up inclines at a steady 100kms (with load), has a cool centralised driving position, wrap-around armoured glass windows, touch screens, and doesn’t pollute. Source: Tesla
But the killer is the cost. By offering savings of 20 per cent or more, Musk is making electric trucks a no-brainer for the road transport industry, where every un-necessary detour, or rapid braking or acceleration is an assault on already fine margins. We have written before about the potential for the Tesla truck to turn the freight industry on its head, and one of the key analysts quoted in that report, Morgan Stanley, says the actual product is better than they had expected.
The Tesla truck, they note, beats diesel trucks in just about every measurable way.
“Many questioned whether the Tesla truck would have the range, performance and payload to be able to match current diesel trucks, but the numbers cited by Tesla should comfortably allay such fears,” the Morgan Stanley analysts write.
The key – apart from features mentioned above – is the range, with a 500 mile (800km) option (fully loaded), and a 300 mile option, a network of “megachargers” that will be able to give the truck 400 miles of range in 30 minutes, all wheel drive capability."
