Unmasking Elon Musk

[husaberg]

Already a work in progress

https://www.hwr.co.nz/hydrogen

not the only one either
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/waikato-n...MOT65R7EPCVDU/

[sugilite:Me]

ThereÂ’s a lot of EV options available off the shelf now from existing manufacturers like Scania and Mercedes.

I can see truckers trusting those companies. I do not think many trucking companies would trust tesla as they have a proven track record of treating customers as beta testers

[R650R]

I can see truckers trusting those companies. I do not think many trucking companies would trust tesla as they have a proven track record of treating customers as beta testers

Yes you are right. Even the biggest companies here don’t have enough margin to risk being a musk Guinea pig. And the lack of right of repair/modification would be a deal breaker.
And if any of the medium to smaller size outfits ever got one (let’s pretend they improve them somehow) I know a few blokes would be flying to the USA for let’s say a very direct and brief meeting with Musk if they experienced the same lack of customer service the car owners do…

[TheDemonLord]

Yes you are right. Even the biggest companies here don’t have enough margin to risk being a musk Guinea pig. And the lack of right of repair/modification would be a deal breaker.
And if any of the medium to smaller size outfits ever got one (let’s pretend they improve them somehow) I know a few blokes would be flying to the USA for let’s say a very direct and brief meeting with Musk if they experienced the same lack of customer service the car owners do…

When the biggest expense for a Trucking company is the cost of Diesel, suddenly the equation is rather different.

[Dean]

Well, graffiti as a form of political dissent is thousands of years old, so we humans are pretty disgusting. "Romani ite domum" for example.



I'm not sure society is as binary (left vs right) as it is in your head. Some people might just think Elon is being a dick.

Twas a good video - had a chuckle.

Well, whoever they identify as, they will soon get a wake up call in the courts system (and in some severe cases - prison).

[Dean]

Interested to know more about this take on poor Tesla customer service.

Is it just a US based issue or an international issue?

I had a new Model S for work two years ago.
I used the super charger at the Tesla showroom carpark on K road (FOC).

It’s a secure gated underground car park with about 14-15 super chargers.
We would take the elevator and access their 24/7 charger lounge while waiting (approx 20min).

It had a free coffee machine, TV, luxury seats, magazines, fridges, charging ports, dedicated toilets and sometimes would be stocked with drinks and snacks.

On some occasions some of the staff would pop in to see if I needed any help and for a good chat.

I remember thinking that was awesome and you wouldn’t get that post purchase service buying a Honda. Services were relatively easy, well communicated.

[neels]

When the biggest expense for a Trucking company is the cost of Diesel, suddenly the equation is rather different.

There is a trade off between cost of diesel and loss of payload capacity for electric, due to the space and weight of adding batteries to a truck.

When you add in the capital cost of another truck to make up for the lost cargo capacity, and opex cost of someone to operate it, diesel starts to look less expensive.

[neels]

Interested to know more about this take on poor Tesla customer service.

Is it just a US based issue or an international issue?

I had a new Model S for work two years ago.
I used the super charger at the Tesla showroom carpark on K road (FOC).

It’s a secure gated underground car park with about 14-15 super chargers.
We would take the elevator and access their 24/7 charger lounge while waiting (approx 20min).

It had a free coffee machine, TV, luxury seats, magazines, fridges, charging ports, dedicated toilets and sometimes would be stocked with drinks and snacks.

On some occasions some of the staff would pop in to see if I needed any help and for a good chat.

I remember thinking that was awesome and you wouldn’t get that post purchase service buying a Honda. Services were relatively easy, well communicated.

I've had that service from a Hyundai dealer, very nice waiting area with refreshments and staff asking if they can get you anything, even when it's not a Hyundai and they didn't sell it to you.

[TheDemonLord]

There is a trade off between cost of diesel and loss of payload capacity for electric, due to the space and weight of adding batteries to a truck.

When you add in the capital cost of another truck to make up for the lost cargo capacity, and opex cost of someone to operate it, diesel starts to look less expensive.

Good points - I am interested to see how Electric trucking develops - as there are a number of advantages for Electric motors (which is why you see Diesel electric Trains, for example)

There is some other other factors as well.

To expand on what I meant - if Electric Trucks work reasonably well, then early adopters could have significant advantages in the short term. The removal of Diesel costs is a pretty big incentive for a trucking company to take a punt.

It might be a genius level move, like the early investors in Google.
It might be a colossal failure, like NFTs.

It is not as clear-cut as R650r was making it out to be.

[Dean]

I've had that service from a Hyundai dealer, very nice waiting area with refreshments and staff asking if they can get you anything, even when it's not a Hyundai and they didn't sell it to you.

Interesting, I did not know that, was it open 24/7 like the Tesla lounge?

Question - what were you doing at a Hyundai dealership without a Hyundai? What business were you giving them (if you don’t mind me asking - I’m just confused).

[onearmedbandit]

I'm sure any manufacturer would be happy to provide such a service if their customers were happy to have it built into the cost. No such thing as a free lunch and all that.

[Dean]

I'm sure any manufacturer would be happy to provide such a service if their customers were happy to have it built into the cost. No such thing as a free lunch and all that.

Fair enough - can’t disagree with that.

[neels]

Interesting, I did not know that, was it open 24/7 like the Tesla lounge?

Question - what were you doing at a Hyundai dealership without a Hyundai? What business were you giving them (if you don’t mind me asking - I’m just confused).

Getting tyres on a mercedes because they had a good special going at the time, but same service to customers of any breed.

Not open 24/7, Hyundai's don't need special places to go if they need feeding at night.

[Dean]

There is a trade off between cost of diesel and loss of payload capacity for electric, due to the space and weight of adding batteries to a truck.

When you add in the capital cost of another truck to make up for the lost cargo capacity, and opex cost of someone to operate it, diesel starts to look less expensive.

Yeah payload loss was what turned us off for both electric and Hooklift 12 wheeler truck & trailers.

Don’t forget the capex for charging infrastructure build, life cycle maintenance, suitability with local power grid output, consents, refurbishment of existing electrical layout, non productive time to up-skill our drivers & workshop… List goes on.

It all shows in our rate and no customer wants to pay that.

Only way we could justify using electric options in todays logistics would be on the golden triangle route, now that the ruakura inland port is there, to get good backload/mixed payload opportunity to have a somewhat competitive rate.

[BMWST?]

ThereÂ’s a lot of EV options available off the shelf now from existing manufacturers like Scania and Mercedes. Also there are outfits here and in Auz that are retro fitting EV drive and battery systems to existing proven platforms like hino or kw cab and chassis.
In NZ uptake seems to be mostly in metro delivery market although some nz post contractors have some larger units doing longer distances but most of their work is running g pretty light.
The Tesla semi seems to work for likes of Pepsi and Walmart on set distribution centre runs where you can own and manage the charging infrastructure at both ends.
But only a small amount of trucking work is like that.
I think weÂ’ll see hydrogen or some other new hybrid technology adopted before we ever get widespread ev long distance trucking. SomeoneÂ’s gotta pay for the high voltage charging infrastructure to be built in all the right places.
Currently USA has 2000 truck stops the maths runs into double digit billions to make all of them Truck ev capable.

https://sing.uchicago.edu/2022/08/15...-of-etrucking/

let alone the electricity to charge hundreds of them