Elon Musk teased the world back in April with the promise of a Tesla Semi truck coming in September. A new report from Reuters claims they have discovered the range of the vehicle. An executive at Ryder System Inc, a semi-truck fleet operator, claims to have met with Tesla and learned about the proposed range of 321-483 kilometers (200-300 miles) on a single charge.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Saftey Administration (FMCSA), "In 2015, 4,050 large trucks were involved in fatal crashes. According to MCMIS, 53,263 large trucks were involved in injury crashes, and 95,337 were involved in towaway crashes." A report released at the beginning of the year showed that the installation of Tesla's autopilot was able to reduce crashes involving Tesla vehicles by 40 percent. Imagine the lives, injuries, and medical bills that could be saved just by automating semis.
However, the current range capabilities of the Tesla trucks will not allow this to happen swiftly, seeing as some traditional semis are able to go nearly 1610 km (1000 miles) on a single tank of fuel. For now, Tesla's semis are ideal for regional journeys, but not long interstate hauls.
Electric vehicles and their autonomous futures are an exciting evolution of modern transportation. These early iterations may not be the answer to all of our problems from the outset, but they are still an important step toward creating the cleanest and safest highways for the world.
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