Final month’s “Run on Much less” occasion organized by the North American Council for Freight Effectivity (NACFE) proved an actual success for the Tesla Semi, full knowledge launched by the group exhibits.

Tesla’s all-electric Class 8 truck demonstrated its vary and charging effectivity benefits in contrast with opponents from established truck makers comparable to Freightliner and Volvo.

“Tesla is the chief by way of efficiency and vary,” John Boesel, CEO of Calstart, a clear transportation business group, instructed Automotive Information, citing early knowledge. “They’re additionally the one ones demonstrating superfast cost functionality.”

For greater than two weeks, the trucking analysis group tracked data on a sequence of metrics as 22 vans traveled throughout North America fulfilling precise orders. Information coated the charging infrastructure, cost administration, truck efficiency, value of possession, and different metrics.

Tesla Semi vans operated by PepsiCo coated extra miles per day on common than another automobile throughout the size of the Run on Much less occasion. Information collected throughout the occasion confirmed the Semi can journey about 400 miles after which recharge to about 80 % state of cost in 45 minutes.

PepsiCo’s best-performing Tesla Semi coated a mean of about 574 miles per day over the course of the 18 days. The subsequent non-Tesla automobile was WattEV’s Nikola Tre BEV with a mean of about 255 miles per day, adopted by OK Produce’s Freightliner eCascadia with a mean of about 181 miles and Efficiency Workforce’s Volvo VNR Electrical with a mean of about 175 miles.

One PepsiCo Tesla Semi traveled 1,076 miles in a single day with three fast-charging stints at 750-kilowatt chargers that introduced the battery cost to about 47 %, then 89 %, after which 52 %.

PepsiCo stated 60 % of the miles pushed over the 18 days of the occasion have been with a gross automobile weight of greater than 72,000 kilos. That is a weight typical of the logistics business and it is fairly near the 82,000-pound restrict for zero-emission semi tractor-trailer combos.

Maybe a very powerful takeaway from the occasion was electrical vans’ capacity to match the operations of their diesel counterparts. Drivers working from a number of depots efficiently used chargers all through every day, serving to dispel myths about trucking battery vary. Nearly half of the vans have been utilizing “second cost occasions” throughout the shifts, together with Tesla.

Whereas the Semi’s efficiency throughout the Run on Much less occasion is nice information, Tesla has solely produced the Semi in small numbers – 60-70 in keeping with Tesla’s Senior Supervisor of Semi-Truck Engineering Dan Priestley. Manufacturing must see a dramatic ramp-up to match established truck makers.