Today, Tesla unveiled the delivery-ready Semi, its long-haul truck that was first announced some years ago. But the event also brought on some huge news for the Tesla Cybertruck and megawatt charging for both vehicles.
The presentation was given… On the back of a Tesla Semi, and it was announced that the first delivery using one of the trucks had already been completed (it was a shipment of Fritolay chips to the presentation hall).
One of the key standouts of the event wasn’t Tesla CEO Elon Musk proving he was terrible at giving a presentation, rather it was the announcement of the DC charger for the Semi – a 1mW charger with liquid cooling.
Musk announced that not only would the truck be serviced by one of the ultra-powerful chargers, but that the upcoming (and U.S. exclusive) Tesla Cybertruck will be able to leverage the megawatt speeds available from this cable. Such cables would provide incredible charging speeds with a greater current.
It’s unclear whether or not other upcoming Tesla models will be able to charge using the cables, but we’ve reached out to Tesla for comment.
The new Tesla chargers are planned for superchargers next year, but will likely be restricted to markets where the Semi and Cybertruck will be available (namely, the U.S.). We’ve clipped the section below.
“Obviously to charge a truck like this quickly you need a high-powered charger,” Musk said.
“So we developed a megawatt-class charger, that’s capable of charging at a megawatt to DC.
“It’s liquid-cooled, so you don’t need a giant elephant trunk of a cable.”
Tesla also claims that the truck was able to complete a 500-mile trip (805km) with a full load, and shared a super-cut of the journey (an uncut version will be available on YouTube later, according to Musk).
Completed at highway speed, without charging on the way & over 4,000 ft of elevation https://t.co/nZomwI7DbY pic.twitter.com/9MB0ejk2o6
— Tesla (@Tesla) December 2, 2022
The presentation also briefly touched on the grunt that this thing can do and, unsurprisingly, it’s very powerful.
With a tri-motor approach where the front motor switches off when cruising (for efficiency) and turns back on for torque, the Semi is able to conquer inclines effortlessly, with a clip being shown of the Semi leaving another truck in the dust up a hill.
Semi has a tri-motor system & carbon-sleeved rotors just like Plaid. 1 unit for efficiency, 2 acceleration units for torque pic.twitter.com/MDn4cj0jzO
— Tesla (@Tesla) December 2, 2022
If you’re wondering if you’ll see a Tesla Semi in Australia anytime soon, we’re quite low on the pecking order.
The company said last year that we’d miss out entirely unless our road rules change. The truck is currently wider than what Australian design rules allow for.
Anyway, regardless, congratulations to Tesla for this pretty monumental achievement. Hopefully, it doesn’t undergo as many recalls as other Tesla vehicles.