I think the Tesla Semi Truck is a fine piece of engineering, but in the end, the issue is still with the batteries.
They may eventually find a way around that electric battery stupidity, cost, complexity, charging time, maintenance, and most of all, fire hazard. But it has not arrived yet.
The concept of electric vehicles is attractive. The drawbacks of battery technology are not.
The first time some kind of EV battery fire occurs on a crowded ferry far from land, this is going to come to a head.
There are insurance financial hazards on the near horizon. At some point, insurers are going to jack premiums way up on ferries, buildings that garage EVs including personal homes.
Sure. Standard ICE vehicles suffer car fires too. But those issues are not even in the same universe as EV fires.
Did you see that - Felicity Ace, carrying ~4,000 vehicles including Porsches, Audis and Bentleys, electric cars with lithium-ion batteries, caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean .. then it sank..
The lithium-ion batteries burned for ~ two weeks after the crew was safely evacuated from the smoking hulk of the Felicity Ace..
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4040097/posts
Associated Press (March 1, 2022): Massive cargo ship carrying cars sinks in mid-Atlantic
Excerpt:
It wasn’t clear how many cars were onboard the ship, but vessels of the Felicity Ace’s size can carry at least 4,000 vehicles... The ship was transporting electric and non-electric vehicles, according to Portuguese authorities. Suspicion on what started the fire on Feb. 16 has fallen on lithium batteries used in electric vehicles, though authorities say they have no firm evidence about the cause.
Follow-up from the Daily Mail: Race to salvage fire-ravaged US-bound cargo ship drifting in the Atlantic with thousands of supercars on board including Porsches, Bentleys and Lamborghinis with blaze fueled by batteries in electric vehicles
Associated Press (July 27, 2023): A car-carrying cargo ship burning near a Dutch bird habitat stokes environmental worries
Excerpt:
The Dutch coast guard said Wednesday that the vessel was carrying 2,857 cars, including 25 electric cars. Some reports Thursday suggested there might be more than that, but the coast guard said it could not provide confirmation.The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has warned about the possible dangers of electric vehicle battery fires, The hazard stems from thermal runaway, a chemical reaction that causes uncontrolled battery temperature and pressure increases.
Follow-up from Daily Mail: Race to salvage sinking cargo ship carrying 3,000 vehicles including 350 Mercedes as it burns out of control in North Sea after fire 'caused by electric car'
-PJ
Great points...
I totally agree about the insurance issues. We’re one major disaster away from state legislatures passing laws making EV trucks and truck companies strictly liable for road damage and economic losses (business damage from road delays) caused by EV truck battery fires.
I totally agree about the insurance issues. We’re one major disaster away from state legislatures passing laws making EV trucks and truck companies strictly liable for road damage and economic losses (business damage from road delays) caused by EV truck battery fires.
You’re right about that. My son’s beater pickup caught fire. The fully engulfed truck was extinguished in just a couple minutes. If he had not melted the keys to his semi he was heading to, he would have barely gotten a late start for his OTR trucker job.
There is no “issue” with the Tesla batteries.
Tesla is set to produce 50,000 semis per year and production is pretty much already sold out. The Teslas are being purchased with orders for hundreds at a time
These days I find myself wondering about every lithium battery in my house, and how I would deal with one of those devices deciding to burst into flames in the middle of the night.