Tesla Semi spotted driving on public roads

A YouTube video shows the truck cruising down a suburban street.

Read the whole story

 

[THavoc]

I'm disappointed to see that Musk didn't mount any lasers on it to take out any road traffic it encounters.

I was looking forward to using it Car Wars style. <sigh>

 

[Bravehamster]

500 miles, sure. But what's the real range when the trucker spends the entire drive in the back watching porn on a big screen tv, toasting pop-tarts and mixing margaritas in a blender while autopilot does all the work? Less than 500 I'll betcha.

 

[The DCG]

I'm disappointed to see that Musk didn't mount any lasers on it to take out any road traffic it encounters.

I was looking forward to using it Car Wars style. <sigh>

Would you really want factory installed lasers? I mean, I don't know if I could trust it if I didn't install it myself.

 

[EvilMonkey2]

That first car is like "I GOTTA GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Also, my first thought was Goliath from Knight Rider for some reason.

 

[peterford]

500 miles, sure. But what's the real range when the trucker spends the entire drive in the back watching porn on a big screen tv, toasting pop-tarts and mixing margaritas in a blender while autopilot does all the work? Less than 500 I'll betcha.

Don't you have school?
Don't you have work?
Ahh! Touche!

 

[mjeffer]

That's awesome that they're already this far along. This could be a HUGE win for them. I can see the short haul trucking market lining up in droves for these things.

 

[GrandMasterBirt]

The aerodynamics on that shape. Wow. Surprising nobody else could do that... then again the large engine needs.

Those mirrors definitely add drag.

 

[oliv3rtwi5t]

Don't you have school?
Don't you have work?
Ahh! Touche!

Simpsons did it!

 

[Thunder005]

I'm disappointed to see that Musk didn't mount any lasers on it to take out any road traffic it encounters.

I was looking forward to using it Car Wars style. <sigh>

Would you really want factory installed lasers? I mean, I don't know if I could trust it if I didn't install it myself.

I think you're right!

Hard mount points for my own weapons system integrations would be much better.

 

[whiteknave]

here's the face of autonomous trucks:

edit: fixed image

 

[Rene Gollent]

I'm disappointed to see that Musk didn't mount any lasers on it to take out any road traffic it encounters.

I was looking forward to using it Car Wars style. <sigh>

Would you really want factory installed lasers? I mean, I don't know if I could trust it if I didn't install it myself.

I think you're right!

Hard mount points for my own weapons system integrations would be much better.

This must be how Battletech got started.

 

[RickRoyLeonPrisZhoraRachael]

I'm disappointed to see that Musk didn't mount any lasers on it to take out any road traffic it encounters.

I was looking forward to using it Car Wars style. <sigh>

Would you really want factory installed lasers? I mean, I don't know if I could trust it if I didn't install it myself.

I think you're right!

Hard mount points for my own weapons system integrations would be much better.

I'd rather see mounts for cow-catcher or deer-thumpers (bumper guards). Because, if you never have driven up the NY Thruway... I mean, I've seen red-brown stains across all three lanes and what looks like a rumbled brown carpet and ground meat...that once was a deer.
Whatever it was, it must have exploded on impact, then run over to the point, even the carrion won't touch it.

 

[Rommel102]

Yes but what happens when the self-driving Tesla Semi meets the self-driving Tesla Model S.

Find out next week on the next exciting episode!

 

[atsureki]

$180k for 500 miles is a steal. Anyone seriously considering a nicely appointed Model X will have to weigh the value of the upgrade.

 

[Thunder005]

I'm disappointed to see that Musk didn't mount any lasers on it to take out any road traffic it encounters.

I was looking forward to using it Car Wars style. <sigh>

Would you really want factory installed lasers? I mean, I don't know if I could trust it if I didn't install it myself.

I think you're right!

Hard mount points for my own weapons system integrations would be much better.

I'd rather see mounts for cow-catcher or deer-thumpers (bumper guards). Because, if you never have driven up the NY Thruway... I mean, I've seen red-brown stains across all three lanes and what looks like a rumbled brown carpet and ground meat...that once was a deer.
Whatever it was, it must have exploded on impact, then run over to the point, even the carrion won't touch it.

quite a gruesome storytelling you have there...

I've never traveled NY, but I have traveled i35 between Minneapolis and Duluth MN, where there was as you described, a Red brownish stain, for 15-30 yards covering both lanes and then seen what looked to be something tried to make a Black-Bear skin but gave up halfway thru and then turned to pull a Fargo and put it thru the chipper.

 

[haozz]

Sounds so futuristic as it whirrs by.

 

[test6554]

500 miles, sure. But what's the real range when the trucker spends the entire drive in the back watching porn on a big screen tv, toasting pop-tarts and mixing margaritas in a blender while autopilot does all the work? Less than 500 I'll betcha.

There will be a period where humans are still needed in cars, but don't need to be at the wheel 100% of the time. If companies tie employee pay to the amount of range they can squeeze out of these vehicles, then they will be in the back looking at adult magazines in candle light while putting on a puppet show using their feet and eating cold pop tarts.

 

[DoomHamster]

I'm disappointed to see that Musk didn't mount any lasers on it to take out any road traffic it encounters.

I was looking forward to using it Car Wars style. <sigh>

Would you really want factory installed lasers? I mean, I don't know if I could trust it if I didn't install it myself.

I might trust factory mounted lasers...but factory mounted sharks? No way.

 

[mjeffer]

I'm disappointed to see that Musk didn't mount any lasers on it to take out any road traffic it encounters.

I was looking forward to using it Car Wars style. <sigh>

Would you really want factory installed lasers? I mean, I don't know if I could trust it if I didn't install it myself.

I might trust factory mounted lasers...but factory mounted sharks? No way.

But what about factory mounted sharks with lasers?

 

[MMarsh]

500 miles, sure. But what's the real range when the trucker spends the entire drive in the back watching porn on a big screen tv, toasting pop-tarts and mixing margaritas in a blender while autopilot does all the work? Less than 500 I'll betcha.

There will be a period where humans are still needed in cars, but don't need to be at the wheel 100% of the time. If companies tie employee pay to the amount of range they can squeeze out of these vehicles, then they will be in the back looking at magazines in candle-light while putting on a pupped show and toasting pop tarts with candle heat.

The first step will probably be for the human to hitch up, handle the paperwork, and drive as far as the highway.

Then the computer will drive the highway leg, while the human (at this point *not* earning driver's wages) naps.

Then the computer will say "hey human, your turn" and the human will drive the final in-town leg and deal with the destination tasks.

Not too many years after that, the human might not even be needed in the vehicle anymore.

 

[new2mac]

I'd rather see mounts for cow-catcher or deer-thumpers (bumper guards). Because, if you never have driven up the NY Thruway... I mean, I've seen red-brown stains across all three lanes and what looks like a rumbled brown carpet and ground meat...that once was a deer.
Whatever it was, it must have exploded on impact, then run over to the point, even the carrion won't touch it.

These trucks have auto-braking. I believe a first. It should help cut down on roadkill -- as the tech gets better at least. I couldn't find stats on cars with auto-braking and the incidence of roadkill.

 

[peterford]

I'm disappointed to see that Musk didn't mount any lasers on it to take out any road traffic it encounters.

I was looking forward to using it Car Wars style. <sigh>

Would you really want factory installed lasers? I mean, I don't know if I could trust it if I didn't install it myself.

I might trust factory mounted lasers...but factory mounted sharks? No way.

But what about factory mounted sharks with lasers?

We have sea bass?

 

[THavoc]

I'm disappointed to see that Musk didn't mount any lasers on it to take out any road traffic it encounters.

I was looking forward to using it Car Wars style. <sigh>

Would you really want factory installed lasers? I mean, I don't know if I could trust it if I didn't install it myself.

I might trust factory mounted lasers...but factory mounted sharks? No way.

But what about factory mounted sharks with lasers?

Well duh!

Who wouldn't want that?

Stupid fools, that's who wouldn't want that.

 

[darkstar4386]

I look forward to this tech making its way to school buses. The relatively short routes they take are perfect for rechargeables and would save municipalities over the long term vs gas.

 

[Deleted member 545801]

500 miles, sure. But what's the real range when the trucker spends the entire drive in the back watching porn on a big screen tv, toasting pop-tarts and mixing margaritas in a blender while autopilot does all the work? Less than 500 I'll betcha.

There will be a period where humans are still needed in cars, but don't need to be at the wheel 100% of the time. If companies tie employee pay to the amount of range they can squeeze out of these vehicles, then they will be in the back looking at adult magazines in candle light while putting on a puppet show using their feet and eating cold pop tarts.

That, my friends, is the American Dream.

 

[mmiller7]

$180k for 500 miles is a steal. Anyone seriously considering a nicely appointed Model X will have to weigh the value of the upgrade.

Errr, what? You think the market for a fancy SUV/crossover with lots of seating would be interested in a semi? Those are completely different markets...

Eh, just bolt the back half of an old schoolbus on where the trailer is supposed to hitch...now it has lots of seating.

 

[nehinks]

I look forward to this tech making its way to school buses. The relatively short routes they take are perfect for rechargeables and would save municipalities over the long term vs gas.

I agree the use case seems like a good fit, but the problem is the repayment period. School buses aren't driven all that much each day - which means efficiency savings take a lot longer to repay. And school districuts don't usually have extra money to put into something that will take a decade or two to repay but requires a large upfront payment. I think we're going to have to wait till the initial costs are cheaper, and even then it'll probably be a piecemeal replacement.

On the plus side, costs have been decreasing steadily, so it may be sooner than I expect. One can hope at least!

 

[Statistical]

$180k for 500 miles is a steal. Anyone seriously considering a nicely appointed Model X will have to weigh the value of the upgrade.

Errr, what? You think the market for a fancy SUV/crossover with lots of seating would be interested in a semi? Those are completely different markets...

If I had that kind of money I would buy a semi just for the lolz. I would also take it to the track.

Plus a semi that size could pull one hell of a camper with plenty of seats.

 

[mjeffer]

I look forward to this tech making its way to school buses. The relatively short routes they take are perfect for rechargeables and would save municipalities over the long term vs gas.

I agree the use case seems like a good fit, but the problem is the repayment period. School buses aren't driven all that much each day - which means efficiency savings take a lot longer to repay. And school districuts don't usually have extra money to put into something that will take a decade or two to repay but requires a large upfront payment. I think we're going to have to wait till the initial costs are cheaper, and even then it'll probably be a piecemeal replacement.

On the plus side, costs have been decreasing steadily, so it may be sooner than I expect. One can hope at least!

I could see them getting replacement vehicles that are electric once they become available so long as they can get the price somewhat close, however it would take a LONG time for fleets to be replaced and I'm not sure a company could really afford to develop an electric school bus with the pace of sales and how long it would take for school districts to turn over their fleet. My guess is it probably won't happen until the majority of the cars on the road are electric and running on diesel becomes too expensive.

 

[THavoc]

I look forward to this tech making its way to school buses. The relatively short routes they take are perfect for rechargeables and would save municipalities over the long term vs gas.

I agree the use case seems like a good fit, but the problem is the repayment period. School buses aren't driven all that much each day - which means efficiency savings take a lot longer to repay. And school districuts don't usually have extra money to put into something that will take a decade or two to repay but requires a large upfront payment. I think we're going to have to wait till the initial costs are cheaper, and even then it'll probably be a piecemeal replacement.

On the plus side, costs have been decreasing steadily, so it may be sooner than I expect. One can hope at least!

I dunno about that.

A lot of buses are used for each school type (elementary, secondary, high) each day.

Edit: This PDF says the average is about 75 miles per day:
https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/60068.pdf

 

[Statistical]

I look forward to this tech making its way to school buses. The relatively short routes they take are perfect for rechargeables and would save municipalities over the long term vs gas.

I agree the use case seems like a good fit, but the problem is the repayment period. School buses aren't driven all that much each day - which means efficiency savings take a lot longer to repay. And school districuts don't usually have extra money to put into something that will take a decade or two to repay but requires a large upfront payment. I think we're going to have to wait till the initial costs are cheaper, and even then it'll probably be a piecemeal replacement.

On the plus side, costs have been decreasing steadily, so it may be sooner than I expect. One can hope at least!

I could see them getting replacement vehicles that are electric once they become available so long as they can get the price somewhat close, however it would take a LONG time for fleets to be replaced and I'm not sure a company could really afford to develop an electric school bus with the pace of sales and how long it would take for school districts to turn over their fleet. My guess is it probably won't happen until the majority of the cars on the road are electric and running on diesel becomes too expensive.

Daimler already has one and will be bringing it to the US market in 2019
https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/10/166 ... ilt-jouley

Honestly this is one thing the government should probably subsidize to encourage schools to buy electric. Nobody will get rid of their existing buses early but at a minimum it would be a good idea to replace buses that need to be replaced with an electrified one.

 

[The DCG]

I look forward to this tech making its way to school buses. The relatively short routes they take are perfect for rechargeables and would save municipalities over the long term vs gas.

I agree the use case seems like a good fit, but the problem is the repayment period. School buses aren't driven all that much each day - which means efficiency savings take a lot longer to repay. And school districuts don't usually have extra money to put into something that will take a decade or two to repay but requires a large upfront payment. I think we're going to have to wait till the initial costs are cheaper, and even then it'll probably be a piecemeal replacement.

On the plus side, costs have been decreasing steadily, so it may be sooner than I expect. One can hope at least!

I dunno about that.

A lot of buses are used for each school type (elementary, secondary, high) each day.

Yeah, around here that's why they stagger school times - so that the same fleet can pick up and drop off the children of the different schools.

 

[xWidget]

500 miles, sure. But what's the real range when the trucker spends the entire drive in the back watching porn on a big screen tv, toasting pop-tarts and mixing margaritas in a blender while autopilot does all the work? Less than 500 I'll betcha.

There will be a period where humans are still needed in cars, but don't need to be at the wheel 100% of the time. If companies tie employee pay to the amount of range they can squeeze out of these vehicles, then they will be in the back looking at magazines in candle-light while putting on a pupped show and toasting pop tarts with candle heat.

The first step will probably be for the human to hitch up, handle the paperwork, and drive as far as the highway.

Then the computer will drive the highway leg, while the human (at this point *not* earning driver's wages) naps.

Then the computer will say "hey human, your turn" and the human will drive the final in-town leg and deal with the destination tasks.

Not too many years after that, the human might not even be needed in the vehicle anymore.

I would imagine the human driver would drive it to some sort of dropoff point (like a truck stop sorta thing nearby the edge of a town, or it could be a distribution warehouse parking lot) and then let the truck drive itself to the dropoff point at the other end where someone would go drive it to the place it needs to be.

 

[THavoc]

I look forward to this tech making its way to school buses. The relatively short routes they take are perfect for rechargeables and would save municipalities over the long term vs gas.

I agree the use case seems like a good fit, but the problem is the repayment period. School buses aren't driven all that much each day - which means efficiency savings take a lot longer to repay. And school districuts don't usually have extra money to put into something that will take a decade or two to repay but requires a large upfront payment. I think we're going to have to wait till the initial costs are cheaper, and even then it'll probably be a piecemeal replacement.

On the plus side, costs have been decreasing steadily, so it may be sooner than I expect. One can hope at least!

I dunno about that.

A lot of buses are used for each school type (elementary, secondary, high) each day.

Yeah, around here that's why they stagger school times - so that the same fleet can pick up and drop off the children of the different schools.

Found a PDF that says the average is about 75 miles per day. I edited my original comment.

 

[Jobot]

That's awesome that they're already this far along. This could be a HUGE win for them. I can see the short haul trucking market lining up in droves for these things.

These won't just be for short haul. There's a huge business opportunity for forward-thinking truck stops to setup charge stations and quick battery swap services.

 

[coolblue2000]

I'm disappointed to see that Musk didn't mount any lasers on it to take out any road traffic it encounters.

I was looking forward to using it Car Wars style. <sigh>

Would you really want factory installed lasers? I mean, I don't know if I could trust it if I didn't install it myself.

I might trust factory mounted lasers...but factory mounted sharks? No way.

But what about factory mounted sharks with lasers?

We have sea bass?

Are they angry?

 

[mjeffer]

That's awesome that they're already this far along. This could be a HUGE win for them. I can see the short haul trucking market lining up in droves for these things.

These won't just be for short haul. There's a huge business opportunity for forward-thinking truck stops to setup charge stations and quick battery swap services.

In the long term of course, that's the logical solution. Quick swap of the batteries and the trucks keep on going.. But for the moment the infrastructure isn't there for long haul trucking. I have no doubt it will be, but when these come out it will be an immediate win with short and intermediate haul trucking.

 

[kruzes]

500 miles, sure. But what's the real range when the trucker spends the entire drive in the back watching porn on a big screen tv, toasting pop-tarts and mixing margaritas in a blender while autopilot does all the work? Less than 500 I'll betcha.

There will be a period where humans are still needed in cars, but don't need to be at the wheel 100% of the time. If companies tie employee pay to the amount of range they can squeeze out of these vehicles, then they will be in the back looking at magazines in candle-light while putting on a pupped show and toasting pop tarts with candle heat.

The first step will probably be for the human to hitch up, handle the paperwork, and drive as far as the highway.

Then the computer will drive the highway leg, while the human (at this point *not* earning driver's wages) naps.

Then the computer will say "hey human, your turn" and the human will drive the final in-town leg and deal with the destination tasks.

Not too many years after that, the human might not even be needed in the vehicle anymore.

Why would they not be earning "driver wages" (whatever that is)? Are wages even that high in terms of the cost structure? Besides, companies are already paying (somehow) for hours of sleep, parked in a service station of some sort. This will reduce those hours, and make these workers more productive, potentially increasing their hourly wages for total time spent traveling.

Airline piltots don't do much "manual piloting" for most of an intercontinental flight, but they're still "piloting", and I assume they don't make less per hour/mile than other pilots. You'll argue those are responsible for the lives of passengers, but how much less do cargo (DHL, Fedex) pilots make?

Also, it's normal to have two persons in a delivery truck that goes around town. Is the one that doesn't drive less well paid? Always? Why?