Tesla Semi Covered 1,600 Miles in Under 48 Hours in Independent Testing

Image: PepsiCo

PepsiCo's Tesla Semi covered 1,600 miles in less than 48 hours. The result was recorded as part of independent testing, which is designed to show that electric trucks are an excellent alternative to diesel ones.

The Tesla Semi's real-world testing data continues to surprise. According to information released by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency's (NACFE) Run On Less program, the electric truck's range and charging performance appears encouraging. One of the three Tesla Semis participating in the program covered 1,600 miles in less than 48 hours. Meanwhile, the truck performed only three full charges and two short recharges to increase range.

In 48 hours, Semi made nine deliveries, covering 794 miles on day two and 806 miles on day three. The data showed that it drove approximately 90 percent of the distance at highway speeds. “NACFE has verified that these are fairly fully loaded when they leave and stay fairly loaded,” said NACFE’s director Mike Roeth.

NACFE's principal of carbon-free transportation, Dave Mullaney, in a post on LinkedIn (via InsideEVs), confirmed that the test trucks were indeed nearly fully loaded. Roeth provided some details:

“We're tracking the beverage. It's impressive, a fairly heavy haul at nearly 80,000 pounds. It goes to one location and drops off soda, but maybe picks up some waters, goes to another location to drop off waters but pick up Gatorade. We don't really know the payload, [but] NACFE has verified that these are fairly fully loaded when they leave and stay fairly loaded. They're not out there gaming Run on Less.”

Mullaney added:

“So these things are running heavy (no chips and rarely empty), all efficiency numbers should be understood in that light. Given that heavy load, the efficiency numbers that can be inferred from the data should be understood to be on the low end of the spectrum - same for the range on a single charge.”

Due to the heavy weight of the battery, electric trucks lose some loading capacity compared to diesel trucks. However, it must be clearly understood that this figure is insignificant, Roeth explained. The lost carrying capacity is “1t-2t when including the extra 1t allowance that electrics get,” Mullaney suggested.

Mullaney also explained that fast charging speeds were a key factor in the Tesla Semi's strong results. Tesla's 750-kilowatt Megacharger provides 5 to 80 percent charging (SoC) in just an hour. According to Geotab's day two data for Semi, the truck took 55 minutes to charge from 18 percent to 80 percent.

“High-powered charging isn't only tough on the battery, it is also tough on the grid. “I hope all the electric utilities out there notice this because this is a look into the future for their business,” Mullaney added.

© 2023, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.

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