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Tesla Semi shows impressive efficiency in 3,000-mile DHL test

Credit: DHL

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The Tesla Semi has now been tested by a few different companies, and recent client DHL has just shared its results from a two-week trial period with the Class 8 truck, noting that it significantly outperformed the company’s expectations.

On its website, DHL has posted initial results from a two-week testing period with the Tesla Semi, in which it drove the electric Class 8 truck over 3,000 miles of its normal operating routes based in Livermore, California. Part of the trial included a 390-mile haul with the Semi fully loaded with a gross combined weight of 75,000 pounds, which the company says confirmed the electric vehicle’s (EV’s) ability to haul “typical DHL payloads over a long distance on a single charge.”

Impressively, DHL says that, for more than half the time the crew drove the Semi, it averaged 1.72 kWh per mile when operating at speeds exceeding 50 mph (80 km/h). As the company notes, this went way beyond DHL’s expectations as well as Tesla’s own rating for the Semi.

On its website, Tesla says the Semi can achieve a driving efficiency of “under 2 kWh” of energy consumption per mile with a total full-load range of 300 or 500 miles. The Semi also has a battery pack of around 900 kWh.

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“Maximizing range and efficiency is crucial to proving that long-haul electric vehicles can perform equivalent work to diesel,” writes Graham Caroll, DHL’s Head of Business Development for semi-trucks. “We’re excited to see DHL confirm the benefits of the Semi’s advanced technology and driver-centric features in live commercial operations.”

Following the trial, DHL says it’s now evaluating how to integrate the Semis into its fleet when Tesla begins volume production of the Semi at an upcoming Gigafactory Nevada facility in 2026.

The trial also comes as the latest in a series of companies sharing early testing results for the Semi. The first company to get access to Tesla’s Semis was PepsiCo, and it’s currently operating the vehicles out of hubs in Modesto, Sacramento, and Fresno, California. PepsiCo’s early performance results with the Semi also showed promising efficiency results.

During the IAA trucking conference in Münich, Germany last month, Tesla Semi Engineering Head Dan Priestley also shared a few additional details about the Semi’s early fleet data. One of the highlights from his presentation was that the Semi pilot fleet so far has a 95-percent uptime including scheduled and unscheduled maintenance.

Additionally, Priestley said that more than 4.65 million miles have been driven since the Semi pilot programs began, while one single Semi unit alone has driven over 248,000 miles after just 18 months.

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Tesla Semi sleeper section and large side storage teased in new video

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Elon Musk

Tesla’s new Robotaxi geofence shape is an FU by Elon Musk to the competition

Maybe it’s all pareidolia. But maybe it’s not. After all, Tesla embraced the first geofence expansion for what it appeared to be.

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tesla austin robotaxi geofence and elon musk laugh from meme review

Tesla expanded its Robotaxi geofence in Austin once again early Sunday morning. The new shape seems to be somewhat of a proverbial, and potentially literal, middle finger to the competition.

If you thought the first expansion was a message to the competition and doubters of the company’s ride-hailing service, you probably will believe the second expansion is an even stronger gesture.

Tesla’s first expansion did not go unnoticed, as its shape was particularly recognizable. The company has always operated with a sense of humor, and it embraced what it did. Some, including me, took it as a message to competitors: We can expand in any direction, in any size, at any time. We’ll prove it.”

They picked a shape and went with it:

Tesla’s Robotaxi expansion wasn’t a joke, it was a warning to competitors

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It is evident that Tesla is keeping its humor up to continue to show a few things. The first is that it really can expand in any direction it wants and that’s how it is choosing to show it.

The second, well, maybe it’s an edgier way to show doubters that it is really executing on Robotaxi:

Maybe it’s all pareidolia. But maybe it’s not. After all, Tesla embraced the first geofence expansion for what it appeared to be. This might be a similar occurrence, and it might be sending another message to the competition, critics, and doubters.

The expansion was a near-doubling of the geofence Tesla offered previously. After the initial geofence covered just about 20 square miles, Tesla was able to more than double it to 42 square miles with the first growth. This new geofence shape was just under double, and is about 80 square miles.

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Tesla’s rapid expansion has impressed many, especially considering the service area has roughly doubled for the second time in well under two months. The Robotaxi service was first offered on June 22.

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Tesla executes ‘a must’ with Musk as race to AI supremacy goes on: Wedbush

Dan Ives of Wedbush says Tesla made the right move getting Elon Musk his pay package.

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elon musk
Steve Jurvetson, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) executed what Wedbush’s Dan Ives called “a must” this morning as it finalized a new pay package for its CEO Elon Musk.

The move helped give Musk his first meaningful compensation at Tesla since 2017, when the company offered a pay package that was based on performance and proven growth. That package was approved by shareholders on two separate occasions, but was denied to Musk both times by the Delaware Chancery Court.

On Monday, Tesla announced on X that it had created a new package that would give 96 million shares of restricted stock to Musk to compensate him for the “immense value generated for Tesla and all our shareholders.”

The details of the pay package are designed to retain Musk, who has voiced some concerns about his control of Tesla, as “activist shareholders” have used lawsuits to disrupt the previously approved package.

You can read all the details of it here:

Tesla rewards CEO Elon Musk with massive, restricted stock package

Ives says Musk’s retention is ‘a must’

Ives said in a note to investors on Monday that with the raging AI talent war that Tesla made a smart move by doing what it could to retain Musk.

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He wrote:

“With the AI talent war now fully underway across Big Tech, we believe this was a strategic move to keep TSLA’s top asset, Musk, would stay focused at the company with his priority being to bolster the company’s growth strategy over the coming years. With this interim award increasing Musk’s voting rights upon this grant, which Musk honed in on and mentioned was increasingly important to incentivize him to stay focused on the matters at hand, this was a strategic move by the Board to solidify Musk as CEO of Tesla over the coming years with this framework for Musk’s pay package and greater voting control removing a major overhang on the story.”

He went on to say:

“While the groundwork is now in place for the next few years, it will be critical for the Tesla Board of Directors to get this long-term compensation strategy in place prior to the company’s November 6th shareholder meeting which would address the elephant in the room and remove a significant overhang on the stock.”

Wedbush maintained its Outperform rating and its $500 price target on the stock.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk reveals ideal timeline for insane self-driving feature

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has extremely optimistic expectations for Full Self-Driving progress by the end of 2025.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed his ideal timeline for what would likely be the most insane self-driving feature: the ability for drivers to play video games at the wheel.

There are a handful of videos out there of drivers already performing this task. Nobody using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite should perform these activities, as the company maintains the system is not fully autonomous.

Drivers are responsible for the vehicle and should be prepared to take over.

Tesla has put a lot of faith in its development of Full Self-Driving and has made tremendous strides over the past few years. Capabilities have gotten more refined and accurate through various methods, including data collection and hardware improvements.

Tesla kicks Robotaxi geofence expansion into high gear in Austin

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It has gotten so good that Tesla launched a Robotaxi platform in Austin, Texas, on June 22. Passengers can hop in the back of a Model Y and will be transported around the city in a confined geofence that is about 90 square miles in size. There is nobody in the driver’s seat, but there is a Safety Monitor in the passenger’s seat.

Tesla launched a similar experience in California’s Bay Area last week, but the company has placed the Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat for that region for the time being.

Eventually, Tesla will get to a point where no monitor is needed, and the vehicles will be able to drive themselves. Many believe that it is a few years away, but Musk believes Tesla could achieve it very soon.

After a video of someone playing Grand Theft Auto in their Cybertruck while operating Full Self-Driving was shared on the social media platform X, Musk said this capability would be available in “probably 3 to 6 months, depending on regulatory approval in your city and state.”

It is important to remember that Musk has been very optimistic regarding autonomy timelines with Tesla projects. We heard for many years that the company would have self-driving vehicles “by the end of the year,” and those projects did not come to fruition.

While there was progress, there were no fully autonomous vehicles or software versions for customers.

With that being said, Tesla has made tremendous strides in its quest for autonomous vehicles this year, and launching a Robotaxi platform was a huge step in the right direction.

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