Elon Musk has confirmed Tesla Semi’s efficiency at 1.7 kWh per mile, which means it has a roughly 900 kWh battery pack. It’s an important piece of information, but there are still more questions to answer before Tesla Semi can officially be a truly disruptive product.
At the event, Tesla described an electric truck that could truly disrupt the trucking industry.
However, we noted that there were a few pieces of information that Tesla omitted from the event that could really be major difference makers.
The two main ones are the weight of the actual truck and its price:
After digesting yesterday’s Tesla Semi presentation, Tesla has potentially a massively disrupting product on its hands, but it omitted two things that need to be confirmed to make it official: weight of the tractor and its price. I wish I could ask Tesla or Elon about it…
The trucking industry is all about the economics of moving products by the pound. The main thing that will drive that is the cost of operation per mile, which is mainly affected by the vehicle’s efficiency.
Tesla has already reported an efficiency under 2 kWh per mile which is impressive, but not exactly clear when you are trying to determine your cost per mile for electricity.
On Twitter last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that it is 1.7 kWh per mile. That’s more precise, and truck operators can input their electricity rates to get an idea of fuel costs and savings compared to diesel.
It also gives us an idea of the Tesla Semi’s battery pack. It’s not perfect since we don’t have the exact range of the truck. At 500 miles, which Tesla claims, that’s 850 kWh, but the pack generally has a buffer, and based on the 500-mile trip it completed, it looks like the electric truck might have some more in it.
Now what we need to know is how much cargo can a Tesla Semi carry. A class 8 truck fully loaded needs to weigh 80,000 pounds or less as per regulations, but electric trucks have been allowed an extra 2,000 pounds.
In order to know that, we need to know the weight of the truck itself. You have to deduct the weight of the trailer, which is about 10,000 pounds for a 53-foot trailer, and the weight of the truck from the 82,000-pound limit.
Tesla says that it will roughly have the same capacity as a diesel truck, but diesel tractors have a wide range of weight from roughly 12,000 to 25,000 pounds. The Tesla Semi’s power would certainly need to be compared more to the higher end of that range, but at the end of the day, trucking companies want as much cargo capacity as possible.
The automaker hasn’t confirmed the weight of the Tesla Semi, but we can deduce from its load test with concrete blocks that it is around 27,000 pounds, but that’s unconfirmed at this point.
That’s not the best, but it would still give the Tesla Semi the capacity to move about 45,000 pounds of cargo, which still makes the vehicle super useful. Also, it is safe to assume that the number will improve greatly over the years as battery technology improves.
But nonetheless, it would be useful if Tesla could confirm the weight of the Tesla Semi.
Then we need the actual price of the truck. In 2017, Tesla said the trucks would be $150,000, $180,000, and $200,000, depending on the model, but those prices are expected to have changed over the last five years.
Those prices with that capacity would make the Tesla Semi revolutionary since it would pay itself back in about three years just from fuel savings in most markets, but we don’t know that for a fact without the official price.
Electrek’s Take
This is pretty wild. We are super close to being able to confirm that the Tesla Semi can change the entire paradigm of the trucking industry, but Tesla just needs to release a few more pieces of information to make it happen.
The fact that Tesla doesn’t let the press into its events and only superfans is really a bad look for the company at this point. Yes, the press can be annoying, even malicious in some cases, and I don’t say they should let those people in, but there are also plenty of people whose goal is just to keep their readers as best informed as possible, and they would ask important questions at those events that need answering – questions that a lot of fans don’t bother asking. Everything Musk says is good enough for them.
I can’t ask any of those questions because Tesla doesn’t have a PR department, and the only official comments you can get these days are from Musk on Twitter, where he blocks me and surrounds himself with sycophants:
This is basically confirmed now. Here’s the chronology:
1- Elon announced a wave spam accounts being banned.
2- Several of his top supporters get banned because they are indistinguishable from bots by the algo.
This is just not how a company that aims to be transparent should operate. And obviously, I’m not talking about trade secrets here.
Anyway, the rant is over. I hope Tesla is going to release that information soon, and if it is on the right side, I’ll be the first to celebrate Tesla revolutionizing the trucking industry.
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Hyundai has unveiled the design refresh of its Ioniq 6 sedan, and announced that it will become a family of cars rather than a single model, with an N Line trim and upcoming N performance model, much like its sister car the Ioniq 5.
Hyundai has been doing great with its EVs lately, hitting sales records and getting great reviews.
Much of that focus has been on the Ioniq 5, an attractive crossover SUV with lots of capability at a good price – and a bonkers N performance version which has been breaking different kinds of records.
The Ioniq 6, conversely, hasn’t attracted quite as much attention, even though it has some records of its own (it’s the most efficient vehicle in the US… for under $70k).
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Between its admittedly odd looks – much more aerodynamic and rounded than the comparatively blocky 5 – and it fitting into the less-popular (but better) sedan form factor, it just hasn’t captured as much imagination as the 5.
But that’s about to change, as Hyundai is giving the model some love with a design update and some hints at new things to come.
We’ve seenspyshots of these design updates before, but now Hyundai is showing them to everyone at the Seoul Mobility Show.
Hyundai showed two models today, the standard Ioniq 6 and the “N Line,” an upgraded trim level with some interior and exterior changes to look a little more sporty. Hyundai has used similar nomenclature for its other models, and that carries over here.
Both have a redesigned front end, making it look more aggressive than the prior bulbous and aerodynamic shape, and narrower headlights.
The N Line looks even more aggressive than the standard model, though, with an even more aggressive front and rear end.
Hyundai says that the redesign will also include interior enhancements for “a more comfortable, intuitive experience,” with a redesigned steering wheel, larger climate control display, upgraded materials and redesigned center console with more physical controls.
Beyond this, the refresh was light on details – intentionally, with a full unveil of specs and changes coming later. We can imagine a lot of the improvements on the 2025 Ioniq 5 will be carried over, such as a native NACS port for example, and potentially a slightly larger or faster-charging battery.
We had also previously heard hints that an N version (yes, “N” and “N Line” are different, no, we don’t know why they used these confusing names) of the Ioniq 6 is coming, and Hyundai reiterated those hints today – even giving us a glimpse of the car in the background of one of its shots.
Now THIS one looks quite aggressive, with a bigger double wing and potentially some changes to the diffuser (it’s hard to tell from the shot, as the N Line also has a modified diffuser).
The ioniq 5N has earned rave reviews from enthusiasts for its bonkers driving dynamics and comparatively reasonable price for a true performance vehicle. But it’s still an SUV format, and frankly, an SUV will never be a sportscar no matter how many horsepower you put into it (I will die on this hill).
The 6, however, with its sedan shape and footprint, could make for a much more compelling sports package once it’s all put together. So we’re very excited to see what Hyundai can do if they apply the same magic they put into the 5 into a new 6N. Looking forward to July.
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Over the next two years, homebuilder Lennar is outfitting more than 1,500 new Colorado homes with Dandelion Energy’s geothermal systems in one of the largest residential geothermal rollouts in the US.
The big draw for homeowners is lower energy bills and cleaner heating and cooling. Dandelion claims Lennar homeowners with geothermal systems will collectively save around $30 million over the next 20 years compared to using air-source heat pumps. Geothermal heat pumps don’t need outdoor AC units or conventional heating systems, either.
Geothermal systems use the sustained temperature of the ground to heat or cool a home. A ground loop system absorbs heat energy (BTUs) from the earth so that it can be transferred to a heat pump and efficiently converted into warmth for a home. Dandelion says its ground loop systems are built to last for over 50 years and should require no maintenance.
Dandelion’s geothermal system uses a vertical ground closed-loop system that is installed using well-boring equipment and trenched back into the house to connect to a heat pump. The pipes circulate a mixture of water and propylene glycol, a food-grade antifreeze, that absorbs the ground’s temperature. A ground source heat pump circulates the liquid through the ground loops and it exchanges its heat energy in the heat pump with liquid refrigerant. The refrigerant is converted to vapor, compressed to increase its temperature, then passed through a heat exchanger to transfer heat to the air, which is circulated through a home’s HVAC ductwork.
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Daniel Yates, Dandelion Energy’s CEO, called the partnership with Lennar a “new benchmark for affordable, energy-efficient, and high-quality home heating and cooling.” By streamlining its installation process, Dandelion is making geothermal systems simpler and cheaper for homebuilders and homeowners to adopt.
This collaboration is happening at a time when Colorado is pushing hard to meet its clean energy targets. Governor Jared Polis is excited about the move, calling it a win for Coloradans’ wallets, air quality, and the state’s leadership on geothermal energy. Will Toor, executive director of the Colorado Energy Office, said that “ensuring affordable access to geothermal heating and cooling is essential to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and we’re excited to be part of such a huge effort to bring this technology to so many new Colorado homes.”
And it’s not just about cutting emissions – geothermal heat pumps help reduce peak electric demand. Analysis from the Department of Energy found that widespread adoption of these systems could save the US from needing 24,500 miles of new transmission lines. That’s like crossing the continental US eight times.
Colorado is making this transition a lot more attractive through state tax credits and Xcel Energy’s rebate programs. These incentives slash upfront costs for builders like Lennar, making geothermal installations more financially viable. The utility’s Clean Heat Plan and electrification strategy are working to keep energy bills low while meeting climate goals.
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Polestar has removed the Polestar 2 from its US website header in an early sign of how new tariffs will restrict choice and competition for American consumers, thus increasing prices.
The Polestar 2 is Polestar’s first full EV – the original Polestar 1 was a limited-edition plug-in hybrid.
It started production in 2020 in Luqiao, Zhejiang, China, where Polestar and Volvo’s parent corporation, Geely, was founded.
Unfortunately, that interacts with some news that has been getting a lot of play lately: tariffs.
The US has been gradually getting stupider and stupider on the issue of tariffs, apparently determined to increase prices for Americans and decrease the competitiveness of American manufacturing in a time of change for the auto industry.
It is widely acknowledged (by anyone who has given it a few seconds of thought) that tariffs increase prices and that trade barriers tend to reduce competition, leading to less innovation.
It started with 25% tariffs on various products from China, implemented in the 2018-2020 timeframe. Then, in 2024, President Biden implemented a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs, effectively stopping their sale in the US. These tariffs included some exceptions and credits based on Volvo’s other US manufacturing, which Polestar had used to keep the most expensive versions of the 2 on sale in the US, while restricting the lower-priced versions from sale. Nevertheless, they were a bad idea.
Now, in yet another step to make America less competitive and inflate the prices of goods more for Americans, we got more tariff announcements today from a senile ex-reality TV host who wandered into the White House rose garden (which he does not belong in). These tariffs do not include the same exceptions as the previously-announced Biden tariffs.
Apparently this has all been enough for Polestar, as even in advance of today’s tariff announcements, the company suddenly removed its Polestar 2 from its website header today.
The change can be seen at polestar.com/us, where only the Polestar 3 and 4 are listed in the header area. On other sites, like the company’s Norwegian website or British website, the car is still there. The Polestar 2 page is still up on the US website, but it isn’t linked to elsewhere on the site (we’ll see how long it stays up).
We reached out to Polestar for comment, but didn’t hear anything back before publication. We’ll update if we do.
It makes sense that the Polestar 2 would still be for sale elsewhere, as it only started production in 2020. Most car models are available for at least 7 years, so this is an earlier exit than expected.
So it’s likely that all of the tariff news is what had an effect in killing the Polestar 2.
Then again, this is also just the second day of a new fiscal quarter. Perhaps the timing offers Polestar an opportunity to make a clean break – especially now that the lower-priced version of its Polestar 3 is available.
Despite the lower $67.5k base price of the new Polestar 3 variant, that represents a big increase in price for the brand, which had sold the base model Polestar 2 for around $50k originally, before all of these tariffs.
Update: Polestar got back to us with comment, but understandably, it doesn’t say much:
Polestar is a three-car company and Polestar 2 is available for customers now. There are a select number of Polestar 2s in stock at retailers that can be found on Polestar.com, but Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 will be the priority in the North American market.
Volvo decided to build the car in Belgium and export it to the US, but now that new tariffs apply to the EU as well, maybe that low-priced, awesome, fast, small EV will instead stay in Europe instead of being shipped overseas.
This shows how mercurial tariff fiats from an ignoramus are bad for manufacturing, as they mean that companies can’t make plans – and if they can’t make plans, eventually, they’ll probably just write the country making the random decisions out of their plans so they don’t have to deal with the nonsense.
And we’ve heard this from every businessperson or manufacturer representative we’ve talked to at any level of the automotive industry. Nobody thinks any of this is a good idea, because it objectively is not. All it does is make business harder, make the US less trustworthy, make things more expensive, and overall just harm America.
Yet another way that Americans are getting screwed by this stupid nonsense. 49% of you voted for inflation, and 100% of Americans are now getting it. Happy Inflation Day, everyone.
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