Charged next to a Nikola this weekend

[beatle]

Last Friday morning I stopped to charge at the Sheetz in Bedford, PA on my way to western NY. When I came back from breakfast I found this semi next to me with a familiar logo on the mudflaps.

The driver was sitting in the cab and started to get out as I unplugged and went to pull away. He waved so I rolled down my window. It was kind of a tight parking lot and he wanted to make sure he wasn't blocking me in (he wasn't) but it was a good conversation starter. We talked specs of our own trucks. This was a pre-production truck with a few thousand miles on it. He has a 753kwh battery and it drinks about 3kwh/mi while pulling a big trailer. With 1000 horsepower he said he surprises a lot of people at traffic lights. There is no onboard charger so it is DCFC only. Though it is an 800v system, he still only pulls about 240kw, more often being limited by the station, even on the 350kw chargers. Sometimes during trials they have a diesel generator support vehicle, though it's less desirable to drag that around given the number of people needed and obviously the optics of charging an EV with a diesel generator. Super nice operator, and cool to see an electric semi in person!

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[ChrisCon]

Stopped following Nikola a year ago and I didn't even realize they actually had a product for sale now.

 

[Theo1000]

Nice. Since they kicked that crazy founder CEO out (is he in jail yet) they have been a much more normal company. They actually reported vehicle sales last quarter!

 

[jefro]

I'm about ready to order a Tesla semi. $40K discount by and <2kW/mi plus auto pilot pulling 80K#.
What I don't get is if I register it as an RV I don't need a class A to drive it.
I could pull a nice RV all over the place and charge at RV spots.

 

[FlasherZ]

I'm about ready to order a Tesla semi. $40K discount by and <2kW/mi plus auto pilot pulling 80K#.
What I don't get is if I register it as an RV I don't need a class A to drive it.
I could pull a nice RV all over the place and charge at RV spots.

If you do, please post pictures, I'd love to see it.

In Illinois, to license it as an RV, it must meet at least 4 of the following 6 features:

a) A cooking facility with an on-board fuel source;
b) A gas or electric refrigerator;
c) A toilet with exterior evacuation;
d) A heating or air conditioning system with an on-board power or fuel source separate from the vehicle engine;
e) A potable water supply system that includes at least a sink, a faucet, and a water tank with an exterior service supply connection;
f) A 110-125 volt electric power supply.

So you'll be spending a lot to build a trailer for it that must remain attached to it, .and it can't be used for commercial purposes whatsoever (so no tax deductions). At that point you can probably afford a lot of diesel for an old school bus beast.

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