Tesla Semi looks incredible as an electric motorhome
Tesla Semi could make an awesome electric motorhome based on the specs released by Tesla this week and how incredible these renders of the electric truck look as a motorhome.
There’s something about the idea of an all-electric and solar-powered motorhome that is extremely attractive to many people.
During the day, you drive without emissions and can power your life from the same battery pack that moves you around. At night, you can charge up in order to do it all over again the next day.
With solar power, you can also take the entire experience off-grid.
There are a few electric motorhome projects that are looking to deliver that kind of experience to customers, but most of them are still in the concept stage or have a very limited range.
We recently reported on the new Mercedes-Benz eSprinter having impressive enough specs to potentially enable an electric “vanlife”, but what if you need, or want, something bigger?
Tesla Semi could make for an interesting platform for an electric motorhome.
The team at Jowua, an interior accessory maker, thought so while watching the unveiling of the production version of Tesla Semi this week and decided to build renders of what a Tesla Semi motorhome could look like:
That’s pretty badass-looking and the electric truck as the specs to back up that look.
The biggest problem with most of the electric motorhome projects right now is that they have a limited range. For example, Winnebago built its own full-size electric motorhome, but it only has 125 miles of range.
With the unveiling of the production version this week, Tesla confirmed that the Tesla Semi has a roughly 900 kWh battery pack and can travel more than 500 miles with a full load at 82,000 lbs total.
And the Tesla Semi would likely achieve an even greater range as a motorhome since it would likely be lighter than 82,000 lbs. Some of the heaviest 40+ feet-long motorhomes today rarely weigh more than 50,000 lbs. Tesla Semi is heavier than most class 8 trucks, but there should be a way to build a motorhome on the platform and keep the weight under 70,000 lbs, which should result in efficiency gains.
You could likely drive over 600 miles in a single day in a Tesla Semi motorhome without charging and then charge overnight. You’d be able to cover impressive distances in just a few days. All without emissions.
Jowua also produced a render of the interior of their vision of a Tesla Semi motorhome:
It would probably require some cooperation from Tesla, but there should be a way to power the living features of the motorhome with the powertrain’s battery pack. You add some deployable solar panels for when you are parked for extended periods of time and you are in business.
If Tesla doesn’t do it, I am sure that other companies will decide to build electric motorhomes based on the Tesla Semi – not unlike what Cyberlandr is trying to do with the Tesla Cybertruck.
In the same vein, famous DJ and music producer Deadmau5 said that he would buy a Tesla Semi and turn it into a travelling music studio.
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An Oakland, California, school district is the first in the US to transition to a 100% electric school bus system with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.
Modern student transportation platform Zum has provided Oakland Unified School District with a fleet of 74 electric school buses and bidirectional chargers. Utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) supplied 2.7 megawatts (MW) of load to Zum’s Oakland EV-ready facility. The fleet will be managed through Zum’s AI-enabled technology platform.
“Oakland becoming the first in the nation to have a 100% electric school bus fleet is a huge win for the Oakland community and the nation as a whole,” said Kim Raney, executive director of transportation at Oakland Unified School District. “The families of Oakland are disproportionately disadvantaged and affected by high rates of asthma and exposure to air pollution from diesel fuels.”
The 100% electric school bus fleet is not only emissions-free but also plays a critical dual role as a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), giving 2.1 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy back to the power grid at scale annually. Here’s how it works:
Student transportation is the largest mass transit system in the United States, moving 27 million students twice daily. Today, over 90% of the US’s 500,000 school buses run on carbon-based fuels, releasing over 8.4 million tons of greenhouse gases annually.
Zum, which already has a presence in 14 states, says its next step is to electrify the school bus fleets of San Francisco Unified and Los Angeles Unified school districts, which have fleets three and six times the size of Zum’s Oakland fleet, respectively.
Read more: EPA announces $1B in grants for electric school buses and heavy-duty vehicles
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China’s leading electric car maker, BYD, just hit a new YTD EV sales record last week in its home country. BYD expects the momentum to continue with new EVs rolling out in key segments globally.
BYD hit a new weekly EV sales record in May
New data from Morgan Stanley (via Investing.com) shows electric vehicles outpaced their gas-powered rivals last week after recovering from the recent holiday in China.
Domestic brands had the biggest gains, with automakers like BYD, Li Auto, and NIO all seeing double-digit week-over-week (WOW) sales improvements. BYD had the biggest WOW improvement, with registrations up 30% to 69,500 last week.
Through May 12, BYD had 101,300 registrations in China. BYD sold 300,114 EVs globally in the first three months of the year, up 13.4% YOY. In April, BYD sold another 134,465 EVs, up 17% over April 2023. Through the first four months of 2024, BYD sold 434,579 electric cars.
Other domestic EV makers like Li Auto saw sales climb 50% WOW to around 8,000. NIO had a 23% improvement with new promotions pushing sales to 4,400 units.
NIO introduced the first EV, the L60 electric SUV, under its mass-market Onvo brand Wednesday. Starting at just $30,500 (219,900 yuan), NIO aims to compete with Tesla’s Model Y.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s sales declined 11% in China last week, with around 9,800 units sold. According to China Passenger Car Association data, Tesla sold 31,421 cars in China in April, down nearly 50% from the 62,398 sold in March.
New models launching
BYD launched its own Tesla Model Y rival last week, the Sea Lion 07. The BYD Sea Lion 07 starts at $26,250 (189,900 yuan) as the first EV based on its new e-Platform 3.0 Evo.
Designed by ex-Lamborghini and Audi designer Wolfgang Egger, you can see influence from the iconic brands integrated into the electric SUV’s design.
The new electric SUV is available in three powertrains, two single-motor, and one dual-motor AWD option.
| BYD Sea Lion 07 trim | Starting price | Range (CLTC) |
| 550 Standard | 189,800 yuan ($26,250) | 550 km (341 miles) |
| 610 Long Range | 199,800 yuan ($27,625) | 610 km (379 miles) |
| 610 Smart | 219,800 yuan ($30,389) | 610 km (379 miles) |
| 550 4WD Smart Navigation | 239,800 yuan ($33,154) | 550 km (341 miles) |
The single motor variants are offered with 71.8 kWh or 80.64 kWh BYD Blade batteries for up to 550 km (341 mi) or 610 km (341 mi) CLTC range, respectively. The dual motor model gets up to 550 km (341 mi) CLTC range.
BYD’s new electric SUV undercuts Tesla’s best-selling Model Y, which starts at 249,900 yuan ($34,550) with up to 554 km (344 mi) CLTC range.
The new electric SUV comes after BYD revealed a series of lower-cost “Honor Edition” versions of its most popular EVs. For example, its cheapest Seagull EV Honor Edition starts at just $9,700 (69,800 yuan).
BYD plans to launch a new Seal electric car, which currently competes with the Tesla Model 3. Little is known about the new EV, but it’s expected to debut in June.
The automaker is expanding into new segments like luxury with its Yangwang brand launching several new EVs.
Most recently, BYD introduced its first PHEV pickup, the BYD Shark, this week in Mexico. The BYD Shark will start at 969,800 pesos ($58,100) to rival the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger.
Source: CnEVPost, Investing.com
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