
Tesla’s Electric Semi Truck Gets Orders from Wal-Mart and J.B. Hunt - hourislate
https://www.wsj.com/articles/teslas-electric-semi-truck-gets-orders-from-wal-mart-and-j-b-hunt-1510950438
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sundvor
Was anyone actually surprised to see this? I had two thoughts:

Imagine the advertising impact - and value - of one of these trucks clad in
corporate livery. The initial (and I'd expect it to be fairly long lasting)
wow factor is going to be huge.

As a sometimes bicycle rider who struggles with diesel fumes (as would
anyone), I for one would love if all trucks were electric. Meanwhile, my
Respro mask helps protect my lungs.

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IshKebab
Do these things even have wing mirrors? Looks like a death trap for cyclists.

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JungleGymSam
Have you not seen pictures of it? And don't you think they thought of that?

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partiallypro
This is only 15 trucks in Wal-mart's fleet of thousands. I wonder how longer
the delivery is on these limited orders, given they have failed so badly in
meeting delivery for their other models? One thing I find interesting about
Tesla is that it has immense cash burn, and in a way is doing a backdoor
capital raise by taking preorders.

I think Tesla is a great company, but their cash burn is frighteningly high.

Off topic, but Tesla also started selling USB powerbanks and I really want
one. I have a feeling it's no more special than other powerbanks, but...Tesla.

I guess in the end, Tesla can get away with a lot because people believe in
the brand. I believe in the brand, I just am skeptical about its balance sheet
or its current stock valuation.

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11thEarlOfMar
> but their cash burn is frighteningly high.

In 2004, I sold a small position in AMZN because they were taking on $100
Million in debt every quarter and taking losses with no end in sight. I lost
faith.

That was expensive.

~~~
Hypx
TSLA is taking on $1.5 billion in debt every quarter or so. Not sure if this
is the same situation.

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aerovistae
That's because Amazon's core business was in a domain where they could make
sizable revenues from day one and scale as they went along.

Building 500,000 cars is a bit different than building out a website on which
to sell stuff other people already made.

So yeah, I would expect Tesla to be spending more along the way and making
less in the beginning.

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riffraff
But Probably it's also easier to raise $400M more than $6B for one more year
of losses, which means Tesla has a far higher chance of running out of runway
(I am optimistic anyway, I presume once the factory and charger network is
built up costs will go down).

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PinguTS
Isn't that normal, that if you are one of the big guy that you look into all
possibilities and always re-evalute what gives you the best option for the
money?

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JumpCrisscross
It's common enough that these orders, alone, don't single-handedly vouch for
the product. It's unusual enough to be worth mentioning, particularly since
the trucks are heading for actual deployment. Strategically, this is Tesla
pissing on their post, primarily with the aim of deterring new entrants.

~~~
kmonsen
We are only talking $5k deposits so far, peanuts for these companies.

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nodesocket
I called this last night right after the event, after another ill-informed HN
user was calling for Elon to step down. _(shaking my head)_

> I'd say Elon is doing just fine. The semi business long term could be a game
> changer that propels Tesla beyond a car company. Think fleets, partnerships
> with FedEX, UPS, DHL, long haul companies, van lines moving companies,
> Amazon deliveries. Lot's of very lucrative business opportunities. Also, the
> pickup truck market in the United States is huge, Tesla is getting into that
> as well.

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noitsnot
People are upset because Elon made public statements about production numbers.
1,500+ Model 3's by September and 5,000 by year's end. They delivered 220 last
quarter, are losing reservations, and are running out of time and money. My
bet is the Semi doesn't see one delivery.

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eklitzke
That's a bold bet. You don't think they can deliver _one_?

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loeg
Before they are bankrupted? Possibly.

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pasta
It would be great to have electric semis in our cities. Less noise and less
air polution.

This order already show that Tesla's semis are a succes because it's the first
small step to a better world.

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dmoy
> This order already show that Tesla's semis are a succes because it's the
> first small step to a better world.

I'm all for electric trucks (buses, garbage trucks, etc). But how can we call
this a success before they ship their first unit? For all we know it might end
up failing so bad that everyone gets spooked off of the idea and delays
actually getting sizeable traction on electric trucks. Or maybe they will be
successful. But not yet...

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bch
Walmart Canada apparently ordered 15 and Loblaw (Canadian grocery retailer)
ordered 25, on a claimed move to a completely low-emissions fleet.

[http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/tesla-electric-truck-
walmart...](http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/tesla-electric-truck-walmart-
test-1.4407198)

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wallace_f
During the unveiling Musk's cost was 1.51/mile for diesel semi, 1.21/m for
Tesla @2.5/diesel & $.07/kwh.

But a bit of Googling says avg. US prices are $.12/kwh, so $2.07/mile--133%
the cost of a diesel semi.

So is Tesla able to negotiate subsidized rates? Or are buyers purchasing for
some other reason? Or is somehing way off here? 0

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jimrandomh
$.12/kWh is the residential price; for industrial consumers the average price
of electricity is $.0725 (
[https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.ph...](https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a)
). A truck depot with chargers is more like an industrial consumer than a
residential one.

~~~
wallace_f
Thanks for pointing that out.

Given the grid is 65%+ fossil fuels, it is counter intuitive that:

A) Fossil fuels+nuclear+renewables to generate chemical/heat energy ->
converting to mechanical energy -> converting to DC electric energy ->
converting to AC -> transmitting over long distances -> charge & store it in a
chemical battery -> convert electrical energy back to mechanical.

Is cheaper than just the first two steps in the above,

B) Burning fossil fuels to generate chemical/heat energy -> converting to
mechanical energy.

Large heat engines (power plants) can be more efficient than small heat
engines, but all those conversions above have significant losses.

I suppose it's some combination of coal & gas being cheaper than gasoline, but
I suspect some significant regulatory manipulation (whether for better or
worse) is at play here.

In other words, perhaps if electric semis are viable, it will have more to do
with Regulatory Capture than purely a free market outcome.

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maxerickson
Fuel has a step equivalent to the "transmitting over long distances".

In many areas a considerable portion of fuel transport is a semi hauling a
tanker, which is a bit less convenient than a pipeline or power line.

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thisisit
This is great for Tesla but have they increased production for batteries? If
they can't pump out batteries just as fast this all will be for naught.

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Overtonwindow
If a semi truck is all electric, does that mean it could be allowed in the HOV
lanes? Especially the restricted lanes, like those around DC?

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RickJWag
Wow, Wal-Mart and JB Hunt.

Elon Musk had better spend some vacation time in Arkansas. That 'tiny' state
is helping him at an opportune time.

