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I don't see how that is relevant. Nearly all of the criticisms posed (maybe not the snow one?) would still be relevant to a driver in the situation you describe

I don't see how that is relevant. Nearly all of the criticisms posed (maybe not the snow one?) would still be relevant to a driver in the situation you describe. This has nothing to do with range or even the fact that it's electric

hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
While I largely agree with you, there are at least a subset of the complaints in the Twitter thread that are pretty inconsequential if the truck is only intended for < 500 mile routes (for example, the "no space for a bed" complaint).
- anigbrowl 4y ago
  You think that drivers won't be asked to do 3 trips a day, or that the truck will never break down miles from anywhere?
  - hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
    Who cares if they do 3 trips a day, it's not like they won't need to stop and unload on each trip. Beds-in-cabs is really only a thing for long haul truckers. There are tons of vehicles used for trips of the length that the Tesla Semi is for that don't have beds, and nobody would expect they would.
    - deely3 4y ago
      > There are tons of vehicles used for trips of the length that the Tesla Semi is for that don't have beds, and nobody would expect they would. Citation needed.
  - kristjansson 4y ago
    The driver sleeps in the truck in neither of those scenarios. The driver drives back and forth from the port until his shift is over, then another driver takes over. If the truck breaks down ... you're in the middle of Los Angeles. Someone from the company picks you up, and you drive another truck, or go home. GP's (very reasonable) thesis is that these are for truck driving as a day-job, in fair-weather locales, which obviates most of the complaints.
    - kelnos 4y ago
      Not even, though. GP mentions the NYC metro area. I wouldn't call that a "fair-weather locale" in the winter. All the snow-related complaints seem to apply here.
    - anigbrowl 4y ago
      I mentioned 3 trips a day because you could wake up in Los Angeles, drive deep into the inland empire, drive back to Los Angeles, and then back into the inland empire again. This was the context mentioned by an earlier top-level comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33926883 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33926883 You are quite right that running into problems in the Los Angeles is only a minor inconvenience. Having worked at both ends of this route, I regret to tell you that the other end is not the most welcoming environment. You probably wouldn't be out there too long if you did break down, but the desert gets pretty chilly at night.
  - DoesntMatter22 4y ago
    People have day cabs now that they cant sleep in... So what's your point? This is a day cab.
themagician 4y ago
Most of the criticism assumes people will be in these cabs for 8 hours at a time. They won't. This is for very short trips. We are talking 80-100 mi each way. 2-3 hrs in each direction, max. It's not for independent truckers.
- another_devy 4y ago
  Even in this case what advantage it has over existing electric trucks which don’t have these design flaws?
  - hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
    What existing electric trucks?
    - mentalpiracy 4y ago
      Here are four examples for you: Mercedes: https://electrek.co/2022/09/19/mercedes-benz-eactros-longhaul-electric-truck/ https://electrek.co/2022/09/19/mercedes-benz-eactros-longhau... Scania: https://www.scania.com/group/en/home/products-and-services/trucks/battery-electric-truck.html https://www.scania.com/group/en/home/products-and-services/t... Volvo: https://www.volvotrucks.com/en-en/trucks/alternative-fuels/electric-trucks.html https://www.volvotrucks.com/en-en/trucks/alternative-fuels/e... DAF: https://www.daf.com/en/about-daf/sustainability/alternative-fuels-and-drivelines/battery-electric-vehicles https://www.daf.com/en/about-daf/sustainability/alternative-...
      - TheRealDunkirk 4y ago
        Are any of these actually for sale yet? I work for a trucking company that says they ”have” alternative energy vehicles, but nothing is shipping yet.
        deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
jackmott42 4y ago
The central seating position issues become less relevant for this use case.
lukas099 4y ago
> It has the potential to dramatically reduce costs for some routes/corridors. This alone is extremely relevant.
- philosopher1234 4y ago
  What on earth are you talking about? What has that got to do with the criticisms in the post? If they were taken into consideration, how would that in any way affect their cost savings?
luckydata 4y ago
all the criticism is from the point of view of a european trucker dealing with weather. The only weather those trucks will be dealing with is hot and hotter, and the cab shape and size is normal for US trucks. That tweet stream is mostly an uninformed nothing burger and this comment comes from someone that HATES Elon Musk.
braingenious 4y ago
These sorts of posts always show up anywhere that somebody posts anything remotely critical of a Tesla product. They could make a combination trash compactor-bassinet that randomly switches modes and somebody would come out of the woodwork and post “People don’t realize the value in maximizing functionality in small spaces”
kiratp 4y ago
Except the driver (user) is not the buyer. See also - medical health record systems.
- pclmulqdq 4y ago
  The driver is the buyer for at least half the trucks in the US.
scyzoryk_xyz 4y ago
What if it is relevant and all the criticisms are true? It’s a big world - a company targeting a very specific narrow niche in a specific location sounds like a great strategy for getting started. And it wouldn’t invalidate the euro truck driver insights on what would work for Europe’s logistics reality.

hn_throwaway_99 4y ago

While I largely agree with you, there are at least a subset of the complaints in the Twitter thread that are pretty inconsequential if the truck is only intended for < 500 mile routes (for example, the "no space for a bed" complaint).

anigbrowl 4y ago
You think that drivers won't be asked to do 3 trips a day, or that the truck will never break down miles from anywhere?
- hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
  Who cares if they do 3 trips a day, it's not like they won't need to stop and unload on each trip. Beds-in-cabs is really only a thing for long haul truckers. There are tons of vehicles used for trips of the length that the Tesla Semi is for that don't have beds, and nobody would expect they would.
  - deely3 4y ago
    > There are tons of vehicles used for trips of the length that the Tesla Semi is for that don't have beds, and nobody would expect they would. Citation needed.
- kristjansson 4y ago
  The driver sleeps in the truck in neither of those scenarios. The driver drives back and forth from the port until his shift is over, then another driver takes over. If the truck breaks down ... you're in the middle of Los Angeles. Someone from the company picks you up, and you drive another truck, or go home. GP's (very reasonable) thesis is that these are for truck driving as a day-job, in fair-weather locales, which obviates most of the complaints.
  - kelnos 4y ago
    Not even, though. GP mentions the NYC metro area. I wouldn't call that a "fair-weather locale" in the winter. All the snow-related complaints seem to apply here.
  - anigbrowl 4y ago
    I mentioned 3 trips a day because you could wake up in Los Angeles, drive deep into the inland empire, drive back to Los Angeles, and then back into the inland empire again. This was the context mentioned by an earlier top-level comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33926883 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33926883 You are quite right that running into problems in the Los Angeles is only a minor inconvenience. Having worked at both ends of this route, I regret to tell you that the other end is not the most welcoming environment. You probably wouldn't be out there too long if you did break down, but the desert gets pretty chilly at night.
- DoesntMatter22 4y ago
  People have day cabs now that they cant sleep in... So what's your point? This is a day cab.

themagician 4y ago

Most of the criticism assumes people will be in these cabs for 8 hours at a time. They won't. This is for very short trips. We are talking 80-100 mi each way. 2-3 hrs in each direction, max. It's not for independent truckers.

another_devy 4y ago
Even in this case what advantage it has over existing electric trucks which don’t have these design flaws?
- hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
  What existing electric trucks?
  - mentalpiracy 4y ago
    Here are four examples for you: Mercedes: https://electrek.co/2022/09/19/mercedes-benz-eactros-longhaul-electric-truck/ https://electrek.co/2022/09/19/mercedes-benz-eactros-longhau... Scania: https://www.scania.com/group/en/home/products-and-services/trucks/battery-electric-truck.html https://www.scania.com/group/en/home/products-and-services/t... Volvo: https://www.volvotrucks.com/en-en/trucks/alternative-fuels/electric-trucks.html https://www.volvotrucks.com/en-en/trucks/alternative-fuels/e... DAF: https://www.daf.com/en/about-daf/sustainability/alternative-fuels-and-drivelines/battery-electric-vehicles https://www.daf.com/en/about-daf/sustainability/alternative-...
    - TheRealDunkirk 4y ago
      Are any of these actually for sale yet? I work for a trucking company that says they ”have” alternative energy vehicles, but nothing is shipping yet.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]

jackmott42 4y ago

The central seating position issues become less relevant for this use case.

lukas099 4y ago

> It has the potential to dramatically reduce costs for some routes/corridors. This alone is extremely relevant.

philosopher1234 4y ago
What on earth are you talking about? What has that got to do with the criticisms in the post? If they were taken into consideration, how would that in any way affect their cost savings?

luckydata 4y ago

all the criticism is from the point of view of a european trucker dealing with weather. The only weather those trucks will be dealing with is hot and hotter, and the cab shape and size is normal for US trucks. That tweet stream is mostly an uninformed nothing burger and this comment comes from someone that HATES Elon Musk.

braingenious 4y ago

These sorts of posts always show up anywhere that somebody posts anything remotely critical of a Tesla product. They could make a combination trash compactor-bassinet that randomly switches modes and somebody would come out of the woodwork and post “People don’t realize the value in maximizing functionality in small spaces”

kiratp 4y ago

Except the driver (user) is not the buyer. See also - medical health record systems.

pclmulqdq 4y ago
The driver is the buyer for at least half the trucks in the US.

scyzoryk_xyz 4y ago

What if it is relevant and all the criticisms are true? It’s a big world - a company targeting a very specific narrow niche in a specific location sounds like a great strategy for getting started. And it wouldn’t invalidate the euro truck driver insights on what would work for Europe’s logistics reality.