Tesla's Trucks More Cost-Effective Than Initially Thought
PALO ALTO, CA - In another seemingly fantastical turn in Tesla Inc.’s long-distance semi-electric truck odyssey, Jim Monkmeyer, President of Transportation at DHL Supply Chain and one of the first to order trucks from Elon Musk (the trucks are projected to roll out in 2019), stated that the trucks will pay off the difference between themselves and traditional diesel trucks in less than two years.
“We are estimating that we could have pay back within a year-and-a-half based on energy usage as well as lower maintenance cost,” Monkmeyer told Reuters. “The maintenance savings can be enormous as well. Just because the engines are much simpler in terms of the number of parts and the complexities of the parts.”
With the cost of diesel fuel expected to remain high and the decreasing cost of electric vehicles, the savings brought on by an electric semi-truck may be even greater than anticipated.
“Am feeling optimistic about beating the Semi specs announced at the unveiling for the same price. The Tesla Semi will be something really special,” Musk tweeted last week.
To which possible specs could Musk be hinting? Could it be software for the vehicle, as Musk claims, already existent self-driving hardware?
With Sysco already signed on for 50 tractor-trailers and Meijer signed up for a semi-truck test drive, we here at AndNowUKnow await all future advancements with bated breath and hope you’ll stay with us.
