Charging I think is generally misunderstood. More room to work with (like in a truck) means you can either add more cells or have more space between cells, meaning you can pump more energy in (and out) within the thermal constraints. I suspect the Tesla semi will charge very fast for this kind of reason - much faster than Tesla's cars (not more slowly as people seem to expect).
If the semi is also made with "commodity" components like seems to be the idea (for instance using Model 3 motors[1]), then the cost of ownership equation becomes very appealing. This kind of modularity is yet another inherent advantage over ICE technology.
Also in this case I imagine multiple motors are more efficient than a single large motor for long-distance travel because of better thermal control for the motors themselves.
I am imagining a battery pack that can be moved into place on pallet jack. Also, bigger more voluminous batteries can suck down more power, limited by thermal load, not current.
Exactly. If you can throw 2 battery packs into the semi, it can be charged twice as fast as a Tesla car without doing anything else. The actual equation (miles/minute) has a few variables (mileage of semi, weight, charge curves), but the conclusion seems to be that it would charge really fast. I don't think they're going to bother with swapping.
If the semi is also made with "commodity" components like seems to be the idea (for instance using Model 3 motors[1]), then the cost of ownership equation becomes very appealing. This kind of modularity is yet another inherent advantage over ICE technology.
Also in this case I imagine multiple motors are more efficient than a single large motor for long-distance travel because of better thermal control for the motors themselves.
[1] https://electrek.co/2017/05/03/tesla-semi-model-3-electric-m...