re: Tesla Semi could be ‘the biggest catalyst in trucking in decades’

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My main point is the extra weight of an electric truck versus a standard. Look at it this way, a Chevy Malibu weight 3,100 lbs. It's about the same size as a Tesla Model S. But the Tesla weighs over 4,600 lbs. That difference is huge, especially when you start talking about big trucks versus cars. The bottom line is an electric truck will weigh more than a standard truck. Period, they just will.

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The key, Potter said, is that much of the trucking industry overestimates weight needs. That leaves room on trucks for the weight of the large battery packs that provide power for electric vehicles.

About “85 percent of the Class 8 trucks on the road in the U.S. operate below the 80,000-pound legal limit, and are therefore relatively insensitive to weight,” Potter said. “Range is a potentially more challenging problem.”

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“We think many trucks could make the transition to an electric drivetrain without adding more than 4,000 pounds in gross weight,” Potter said.

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And he called the estimate conservative because it assumes manufacturers and carriers are not making any efforts to shave weight from their vehicles. Potter believes the trucking industry can “easily” find weight savings of 2,000 pounds in a semi-tractor and trailer package.

“We have concluded that making the transition to EVs will NOT be too heavy for most fleets to stomach,” Potter wrote in his report.

In fact, most fleets don't care how much their trucks weigh, Potter said.

“There is a misperception that fleets obsess over vehicle weight,” he said. “Some fleets will rightly disagree with this statement, but in fact, only a small portion (2 percent to 7 percent) of trucks frequently operate near the 80,000-pound maximum allowable combined weight limit,”

Most of those are bulk haulers that have revenue tied to the mass of the commodity they are delivering.

“But such fleets are rare,” Potter said. “Most fleets run out of space in their trailers long before they approach the 80,000-pound pound threshold.”

He estimates that 80 percent of Class 8 trucks haul less than 70,000 pounds. That leaves lots of room to absorb the weight of electric vehicle components.

“If these fleets cared so deeply about minimizing vehicle weight and maximizing payload, then they would be mimicking bulk haulers by investing in lightweight trucks,” Potter said. “But they aren't.”

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