Elon Musk proved many doubters wrong when he revealed over the weekend that the Tesla Semi had completed a 500 mile drive while fully loaded at 81,000lbs. Despite the claim many questioned whether it was done on a single charge since Musk didn’t explicitly state that it was.
During the special Semi delivery event at Giga Nevada on Thursday night Musk and Tesla proved those naysayers wrong again, sharing more details about the 500-mile journey and confirming that it was done on a single charge.
According to Musk and Dan Priestley Sr. Manager, Semi Truck Engineering at Tesla, the trip took place between Fremont and San Diego, and involved no trickery like special aero effects to increase efficiency.
With that in mind, the data shared about the trip shows that it was actually even more successful than Musk originally claimed. The Semi started off with a 97% charge in Fremont, and ended in San Diego with 4% still remaining in the battery as the odometer clicked onto 500 miles.
This shows the 500 miles was accomplished using just 93% of the electric truck’s battery, indicating the full capacity could get as much as 530 miles (852km) under the same conditions, or even as much as 600 miles (965km) on flat terrain.
Those conditions weren’t easy and over flat terrain either, as the Semi traversed a more than 4,000ft elevation change from start to finish.
If that’s not you, here’s the 2-minute time lapse version instead.
