Art of Gears
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Tesla Semi Will “Learn The Hard Way” Says Daimler

By Nathan Piscopo

HINSDALE, IL - JUNE 10: A truck driver navigates a rain-covered highway on the outskirts of Chicago on June 10, 2014 in Hinsdale, Illinois. Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate that would ease restrictions on the number of hours truckers can drive each week is being questioned following a crash on the New Jersey Turnpike in which an allegedly sleep-deprived truck driver crashed into a bus, seriously injuring comedian Tracy Morgan and killing Morgan's friend, fellow comedian James "Jimmy Mack" McNair. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
HINSDALE, IL - JUNE 10: A truck driver navigates a rain-covered highway on the outskirts of Chicago on June 10, 2014 in Hinsdale, Illinois. Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate that would ease restrictions on the number of hours truckers can drive each week is being questioned following a crash on the New Jersey Turnpike in which an allegedly sleep-deprived truck driver crashed into a bus, seriously injuring comedian Tracy Morgan and killing Morgan's friend, fellow comedian James "Jimmy Mack" McNair. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) /
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Stop Talking About Fuel For Two Seconds!

That’s a question that nobody brings up, but it’ll take a nationwide army of specially-trained technicians to maintain the trucks and keep them roadworthy. What happens when a battery inevitably dies somewhere inconvenient?

Are operators expected to foot a hefty tow bill (truck towing isn’t cheap, by any far stretch of the imagination) to tow the Tesla Semi from a remote location to an authorized service center?

You can’t just say fuel savings will offset these costs. If a solid network of service and repair facilities aren’t in place to adequately service the Tesla Semi, commercial operators will reject it in favor of something of a safer, more reliable bet.

Everybody Has An Opinion – But None Of Them Have Experience

Electrek’s prediction is that “Daimler is in for a rude awakening.” But a quick overview of the article will quickly reveal that it’s nothing more than second-hand information, passed on by a proponent of electric vehicles, with absolutely no indication of any first-hand transportation experience!

"“How do we survive? Because we run a global business. I don’t just look at the 176,000 North American trucks, I look at the more 500,000 trucks we sell worldwide… And that is a unit number you need to survive ultimately. Of all players in the North American market — Volvo, Navistar, in the association with the Volkswagen Group, and Paccar — we all have one big global footprint.” – Martin Daum, Daimler Truck CEO / Business Insider"

Author Fred Lambert obviously loves his electric cars, but I don’t think he’s ever spent a quarter-mile behind the driver’s seat of a class 8 truck.

He can quote stats until his keyboard faulters and his fingers fall off, but a fair and comprehensive assessment of the REALISTIC challenges that face the Tesla Semi haven’t even been mentioned, let alone addressed, in a realistic framework that outlines the true nature of the chaotic and volatile landscape that is the commercial transportation industry.

Next. AB-210 Will Roll Back Smog Laws For California!. dark

I’m not saying that we’re not in for a technology shift, and I’m not saying that it isn’t coming sooner, rather than later. But I want answers! I want answers to the hard questions that everybody seems to shy away from. And none of that is anything we seem to find with Electrek’s assessment of the situation.

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