Photo: u/Actuator-5976 via Reddit
Tesla finally delivered the first electric Semi trucks to its launching partner PepsiCo, but the first reports don’t paint a bright picture of the truck’s reliability. Although only 36 trucks were delivered, people have already seen several receiving assistance on the side of the road. The latest incident happened on the I-80 from Sacramento to San Francisco on February 2.
Although electric vehicles are slowly but surely entering the mainstream, many people still consider them unworthy to replace the “real cars.” With the launch of the first electric pickup trucks, the debate became more heated. This is especially true in the U.S., where the market is only warming up to electric vehicles. We thought the Tesla Semi launch would heat things even more, but it wasn’t the case.
Sure, a professional truck driver from Europe offered his opinion about the truck, and it wasn’t a favorable one. In his view, Tesla missed many aspects of a truck driver’s everyday life. While he had valid points, remember that he is a European truck driver, and things are very different across the Ocean. Surprisingly, North-American truck drivers look more sympathetically at the Tesla Semi, even when reports showed that they malfunction more often than expected.
Although PepsiCo received only 36 trucks, we’ve already seen several of them break down on the side of the road and need assistance. Reading the comments, we were surprised to see many professional truck drivers taking sides with Tesla and saying that all tracks break down from time to time. Moreover, they expected the Semi to be worse because it’s the first product from an inexperienced company. We think American truck drivers seem rather excited to drive a Tesla Semi.
We’re not sure how big rigs fare in reliability, but seeing so many Tesla Semis on the side of the road is disturbing. After all, not many Teslas spend most of their lives in service, despite alleged build quality issues. Nevertheless, a new Tesla Semi was seen stopped on the side of the I-80. Wearing the Pepsi livery, we can assume it was based in Sacramento and heading to San Francisco when it happened. We’ve learned that PepsiCo assigned 100-mile (161-km) jobs to Tesla Semis operated from the Pepsi production facility in Sacramento, and the trip to San Francisco is roughly 90 miles (145 km).
According to the post on Reddit, the truck was stopped with the hood opened while an orange fluid was spilled on the ground. A service van was also parked nearby, probably trying to fix the problem. There aren’t many uses for fluids on a Tesla Semi, considering it uses pneumatics instead of hydraulics. This means this could be either washing fluid, which is unlikely to warrant an emergency stop, or battery coolant, a more serious problem.
This incident again questions Tesla Semi’s reliability. We know that Tesla Semi features a modified Model S Plaid drivetrain, although the use cases for the two EVs are clearly different. Tesla promised the Semi would last a million miles, but we’re still skeptical about this claim. Right now, other companies are awaiting feedback from PepsiCo, and Semi’s reliability should be their top concern.
Sure, a professional truck driver from Europe offered his opinion about the truck, and it wasn’t a favorable one. In his view, Tesla missed many aspects of a truck driver’s everyday life. While he had valid points, remember that he is a European truck driver, and things are very different across the Ocean. Surprisingly, North-American truck drivers look more sympathetically at the Tesla Semi, even when reports showed that they malfunction more often than expected.
Although PepsiCo received only 36 trucks, we’ve already seen several of them break down on the side of the road and need assistance. Reading the comments, we were surprised to see many professional truck drivers taking sides with Tesla and saying that all tracks break down from time to time. Moreover, they expected the Semi to be worse because it’s the first product from an inexperienced company. We think American truck drivers seem rather excited to drive a Tesla Semi.
We’re not sure how big rigs fare in reliability, but seeing so many Tesla Semis on the side of the road is disturbing. After all, not many Teslas spend most of their lives in service, despite alleged build quality issues. Nevertheless, a new Tesla Semi was seen stopped on the side of the I-80. Wearing the Pepsi livery, we can assume it was based in Sacramento and heading to San Francisco when it happened. We’ve learned that PepsiCo assigned 100-mile (161-km) jobs to Tesla Semis operated from the Pepsi production facility in Sacramento, and the trip to San Francisco is roughly 90 miles (145 km).
According to the post on Reddit, the truck was stopped with the hood opened while an orange fluid was spilled on the ground. A service van was also parked nearby, probably trying to fix the problem. There aren’t many uses for fluids on a Tesla Semi, considering it uses pneumatics instead of hydraulics. This means this could be either washing fluid, which is unlikely to warrant an emergency stop, or battery coolant, a more serious problem.
This incident again questions Tesla Semi’s reliability. We know that Tesla Semi features a modified Model S Plaid drivetrain, although the use cases for the two EVs are clearly different. Tesla promised the Semi would last a million miles, but we’re still skeptical about this claim. Right now, other companies are awaiting feedback from PepsiCo, and Semi’s reliability should be their top concern.
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