Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has questioned the success of Tesla’s ambitious electric truck Semi project in Nov.28. Elon Musk extended a special invitation to Gates though Twitter platform and hope he test-drive the electric truck by himself On Sunday.
Back in 2020, Gates wrote an article about his views on the next generation of transportation. Gates has always supported the development of the electric vehicle industry, but he doesn’t think batteries can be a good solution for heavy-duty vehicles. This includes heavy-duty vehicles such as the Tesla Semi. Gates said cheap alternative fuels are the way to go for heavy-duty vehicles such as 18-wheeler trucks.
Gates wrote at the time, “Electric cars excel at short trips, which means they’re an excellent choice for family vehicles, or even for medium-sized vehicles like city buses and garbage trucks. Electrification is not an option for many types of transportation, even if we develop cheap, long-distance electric vehicles powered by zero-carbon energy. The problem is that batteries are big and heavy. The more weight you want to carry, the more batteries you need to power the vehicle. The more batteries you use, the more you in turn increase the weight of the vehicle, which in turn requires more power.
Gates also praised General Motors for its breakthrough in electric vehicles in this article, but did not mention Tesla. Even with major breakthroughs in battery technology, electrification may never become a good solution for vehicles such as 18-wheelers, cargo ships and passenger aircraft,” he concluded.
After more than two years, Tesla is preparing to deliver its first Semi electric truck on December 1 of this year. A Twitter user posted On Nov. 26, “I wonder how Gates feels about his past comments that the Tesla Semi will ‘never be a reality’? Tesla Semi will be delivered next week!” To which Musk replied, “He can even test drive it himself if he wants!”
Musk tweeted on Saturday local time that the Semi completed its first 800-kilometer driving journey with a total weight of 81,000 pounds (about 37 tons)in the earlier time. The Tesla Semi, an all-electric truck, was announced in the fall of 2017, when the company promised production in 2019. However, the production date kept getting pushed back, from the year 2021 to 2022, and finally to 2023.
The electric truck is said to have a range of 300 to 500 miles (about 480 to 800 km), depending on the version. The 480-kilometer version starts at $150,000 and the 800-kilometer version costs $180,000. The Semi will be the first new vehicle delivered by Tesla in these two years.Semi will help Tesla enter a lucrative new market at a time when the industry is grappling with rising energy costs and ongoing supply chain disruptions. Tesla may be able to capture more market share. In addition to PepsiCo, Tesla has received orders from a number of companies, including Wal-Mart and United Parcel Service.
However, the Semi also has many competitors: Nikola Motors is developing three electric trucks, including the Tre Bev, Tre FCEV and Two FCEV.