Semi’s are limited to 18,000 lbs (18 kips) total load per axle. This is the basis for most roadway structural design, and the reason why overweight vahicles get a significant fine/upcharge on permits.
Batteries are going to eat up a large portion of that loading limit.
And don’t get me started on battery-powered mass transit buses. Diesel buses are already overweight for the number of axles - a sop to the American bus-building crowd back in the early days of mass transit development in the US; at the time, only European bus makers could meet the weight limits. They tear up the roads a LOT more than a semi-trailer combo. I would expect battery buses to be considerably worse.
The Tesla.semi is rated for a MAM maximum authorized mass including trailer of 82,000lbs in the USA the EU allows for 60 tonnes or 132,277lbs MAM.
Tests showed a test run of 500 miles with a trailer full of concrete K rails and a flat bed trailer. Knowing the tare weight of the trailer it was visible in the test and the standardized weight of a California K rail one can then compute the total mass of the trailer+load. The delta has to be the weight of the Tesla semi since it was not a permit load and Tesla said it was under 82,000lbs MAM then the Tesla semi could have massed no more than 27,000lb or 25,000lbs to be under the 80,000lb federal limits. So 25-27,000lbs including the battery mass. That means gross towed mass was 55,000lbs and with a tare for the flat bed of 15,000 a net payload of 40,000lbs.
The curb weight without fuel of a typical class 8 tractor is 17,000 to 25,000lbs according to the NHTSA.
It be noted that most loads max the volume out before they max the mass limits out.
Rail is way more efficient one gallon of diesel moves a tonne of mass by rail 400 miles. One gallon of diesel moves 36.2 tonnes 7 miles in a typical semi of that 17,000lb is tractor, 15,000 is trailer for a net of 21.7 tonnes over 7 miles. Or 3.95 tonnes over one mile using dimensional analysis. Rail is 100 times more efficient steel on steel plus a large very efficient motor turning a generator at near peak efficiency and the aerodynamics of the rail cars all drafting each other. Only ships are more efficient at 1000+ tonne miles per gallon of ship diesel.
Plus rail doesn’t tear up the roads at 16,000 times the rate per tire vs a light duty vehicle. Trucks should only be used for local last mile and regional duty where there is insufficient rail heads to do last mile only.
https://www.aar.org/issue/truck-size-weight/#!