Elon Musk confirms Tesla Semi has battery pack around 900 kWh, but more answers are needed
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.
Yesterday, Tesla unveiled the production version of its Tesla Semi class 8 electric truck and delivered the first units.
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:
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 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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Wind energy powered 20% of all electricity consumed in Europe (19% in the EU) in 2024, and the EU has set a goal to grow this share to 34% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050.
To stay on track, the EU needs to install 30 GW of new wind farms annually, but it only managed 13 GW in 2024 – 11.4 GW onshore and 1.4 GW offshore. This is what’s holding the EU back from achieving its wind growth goals.
Three big problems holding Europe’s wind power back
Europe’s wind power growth is stalling for three key reasons:
Permitting delays. Many governments haven’t implemented the EU’s new permitting rules, making it harder for projects to move forward.
Grid connection bottlenecks. Over 500 GW(!) of potential wind capacity is stuck in grid connection queues.
Slow electrification. Europe’s economy isn’t electrifying fast enough to drive demand for more renewable energy.
Brussels-based trade association WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson summed it up: “The EU must urgently tackle all three problems. More wind means cheaper power, which means increased competitiveness.”
Permitting: Germany sets the standard
Permitting remains a massive roadblock, despite new EU rules aimed at streamlining the process. In fact, the situation worsened in 2024 in many countries. The bright spot? Germany. By embracing the EU’s permitting rules — with measures like binding deadlines and treating wind energy as a public interest priority — Germany approved a record 15 GW of new onshore wind in 2024. That’s seven times more than five years ago.
If other governments follow Germany’s lead, Europe could unlock the full potential of wind energy and bolster energy security.
Grid connections: a growing crisis
Access to the electricity grid is now the biggest obstacle to deploying wind energy. And it’s not just about long queues — Europe’s grid infrastructure isn’t expanding fast enough to keep up with demand. A glaring example is Germany’s 900-megawatt (MW) Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm. The turbines are ready to go, but the grid connection won’t be in place until 2026.
This issue isn’t isolated. Governments need to accelerate grid expansion if they’re serious about meeting renewable energy targets.
Electrification: falling behind
Wind energy’s growth is also tied to how quickly Europe electrifies its economy. Right now, electricity accounts for just 23% of the EU’s total energy consumption. That needs to jump to 61% by 2050 to align with climate goals. However, electrification efforts in key sectors like transportation, heating, and industry are moving too slowly.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has tasked Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen with crafting an Electrification Action Plan. That can’t come soon enough.
More wind farms awarded, but challenges persist
On a positive note, governments across Europe awarded a record 37 GW of new wind capacity (29 GW in the EU) in 2024. But without faster permitting, better grid connections, and increased electrification, these awards won’t translate into the clean energy-producing wind farms Europe desperately needs.
Investments and corporate interest
Investments in wind energy totaled €31 billion in 2024, financing 19 GW of new capacity. While onshore wind investments remained strong at €24 billion, offshore wind funding saw a dip. Final investment decisions for offshore projects remain challenging due to slow permitting and grid delays.
Corporate consumers continue to show strong interest in wind energy. Half of all electricity contracted under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in 2024 was wind. Dedicated wind PPAs were 4 GW out of a total of 12 GW of renewable PPAs.
Read more: Renewables could meet almost half of global electricity demand by 2030 – IEA
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the official unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
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Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
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The Chinese EV leader is launching a new flagship electric sedan. BYD’s new Han L EV leaked in China on Friday, revealing a potential Tesla Model S Plaid challenger.
What we know about the BYD Han L EV so far
We knew it was coming soon after BYD teased the Han L on social media a few days ago. Now, we are learning more about what to expect.
BYD’s new electric sedan appeared in China’s latest Ministry of Industry and Information Tech (MIIT) filing, a catalog of new vehicles that will soon be sold.
The filing revealed four versions, including two EV and two PHEV models. The Han L EV will be available in single- and dual-motor configurations. With a peak power of 580 kW (777 hp), the single-motor model packs more power than expected.
BYD’s dual-motor Han L gains an additional 230 kW (308 hp) front-mounted motor. As CnEVPost pointed out, the vehicle’s back has a “2.7S” badge, which suggests a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint time of just 2.7 seconds.
To put that into perspective, the Tesla Model S Plaid can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 2.1 seconds. In China, the Model S Plaid starts at RBM 814,900, or over $110,000. Speaking of Tesla, the EV leader just unveiled its highly anticipated Model Y “Juniper” refresh in China on Thursday. It starts at RMB 263,500 ($36,000).
BYD already sells the Han EV in China, starting at around RMB 200,000. However, the single front motor, with a peak power of 180 kW, is much less potent than the “L” model. The Han EV can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.
At 5,050 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,970 mm, BYD’s new Han L is roughly the size of the Model Y (4,970 mm long, 1,964 mm wide, 1,445 mm tall, wheelbase of 2,960 mm).
Other than that it will use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack from BYD’s FinDreams unit, no other battery specs were revealed. Check back soon for the full rundown.
Source: CnEVPost, China MIIT
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