The Tesla Semi electric truck covered more than 1700 km in one day during real-world testing as part of an independent study by NACFE in the United States. To drive this distance, it took three stops to recharge. This proves that electric semi-trailers can successfully compete with traditional diesel trucks even in long-distance transportation.
The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) is conducting research as part of its new Run on Less program to test several electric trucks in real-world conditions and publish real-time data.
This year, three new Tesla Semi trucks are participating in the program. On the first day of testing, the first Semi tractor drove 539 km on a single charge, retaining 17% of the battery’s state of charge (SoC). The average speed on the highway was 100 km/h. The second Semi drove 796 km before recharging with 21% of its charge remaining. The third Semi demonstrated a range of 606 km – its battery was discharged to less than 2% of the SoC.
Now the 18-day study is over, and on the penultimate day, Tesla Semi No. 3 managed to drive a record 1731 km in one day. According to the graphs, the tractor needed three recharges during the trip. Although the NACFE did not specify the exact load for this particular day, it noted that the trucks were carrying an average of more than 31 tons of cargo.
The data collection portion of the study has been completed, and the NACFE is expected to publish additional findings shortly.
There were many doubts about the Class 8 battery-electric semi-trailers and their ability to compete with diesel trucks. One of the skeptics was Bill Gates, who argued that all-electric semi-trailers like the Tesla Semi were unlikely to be able to function successfully because the batteries were too heavy. He doubted that they would be able to achieve the 804-kilometer range required for long-distance cargo transportation.
However, Tesla refuted these doubts last year, showing that their Tesla Semi semi-trailer can travel 804 kilometers with a full load on a single charge.
