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I called this last night right after the event, after another ill-informed HN user was calling for Elon to step down. (shaking my head) > I'd say Elon is doing
by nodesocket 9y ago
I called this last night right after the event, after another ill-informed HN user was calling for Elon to step down. (shaking my head)
> I'd say Elon is doing just fine. The semi business long term could be a game changer that propels Tesla beyond a car company. Think fleets, partnerships with FedEX, UPS, DHL, long haul companies, van lines moving companies, Amazon deliveries. Lot's of very lucrative business opportunities. Also, the pickup truck market in the United States is huge, Tesla is getting into that as well.
- c0nducktr 9y agoCongratulations.
- make3 9y agoWalmart ordered 5. they have 5000 trucks. this is a non event.
- tempestn 9y agoIt's something - means they're interested in checking it out at least. Obviously they're not going to order 1000 off the bat. (Also, they ordered 15 total - 10 for Canada.)
- notatoad 9y agoat $250k per unit, 15 trucks is $3.75M. That's less than the cost of a 30 second superbowl commercial for wal mart to hop on the Tesla PR machine for a day or two. The trucks could never leave the lot and they'd have gotten their moneys worth.
- skybrian 9y agoBefore you get too excited, ordering 10 trucks as a test doesn't mean fleet orders will happen. It depends on how well they do.
- toomuchtodo 9y agoAs long as they don’t break down and the numbers Tesla advertised are real world, what would be a show stopper?
- notatoad 9y ago>As long as they don’t break down that's probably the big one. They will break down. all industrial vehicles do, it's just a factored-in cost. the question is how often will they break down, and how much of a hassle will it be to repair them when they do break down?
- toomuchtodo 9y agoI would assume their Tesla Ranger service would be deployed for break downs, replacing your traditional emergency roadside contracts your fleet might have, amortizing the Rangers across both passenger and semi vehicles. When your Diesel engine fails, you’re stuck on the road. The Tesla Semi can limp home on two out of four motors (although a battery failure is going to require a tow).
- clort 9y agowhy that last - do they have only a single battery for all four motors? I would have thought in a vehicle this size, that splitting the battery bank into controllable sections would make ultimate sense. If a part of the power pack fails, just shut that off and get the service agent to replace it at the next convenient place. which reminds me of the old trope about Rolls Royce, where dealers were supposed to have a replacement vehicle ready to go in the back of an unbranded lorry at all times so that if you broke down, they could show up and get you off the side of the road in short order, avoiding bad press and maintaining their image of never failing.
- maxerickson 9y agoThe small, early order is Walmart not assuming those things. Longer term the thing that will make or break adoption is the availability of chargers. Even overnight charging will require significant infrastructure.
- ovao 9y agoThat an electric semi would be used in the same manner as conventional fossil fuel-powered semis is what you believe you’ve correctly predicted? Or am I missing something?
- noitsnot 9y agoPeople are upset because Elon made public statements about production numbers. 1,500+ Model 3's by September and 5,000 by year's end. They delivered 220 last quarter, are losing reservations, and are running out of time and money. My bet is the Semi doesn't see one delivery.
- eklitzke 9y agoThat's a bold bet. You don't think they can deliver one?
- loeg 9y agoBefore they are bankrupted? Possibly.
- nodesocket 9y agoI bet you one share of Tesla ($315 as of now) that they absolutely deliver one Semi. Put your money where you mouth is. My contact info in my HN profile if you wish to proceed. Bitcoin bet works best.
- noitsnot 9y agoOh, Justin. Get a grip.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]