Nikola Motor Will Build Its Electric Semi Trucks In Arizona

First off, I didn't know there was hydrogen fuel celled vehicles on the road or in testing at all.

Fortune

The announcement illustrates a shift within the industry to move towards alternative-fuel trucks as well as semi-autonomous and eventually fully autonomous vehicles. Dozens of companies, from truckmakers like Daimler, Navistar, and Volkswagen to startups like Peloton, Nikola Motor, and Embark as well as Tesla, Uber’s Otto and Waymo, the erstwhile Google self-driving project, are pursuing what they believe is the next generation of trucking.

The age of technology is dawning on us now a lot faster then I thought it was going to.

Nikola first unveiled the Nikola One, a hydrogen fuel-cell electric freight truck with a range up to 1,200 miles, in December 2016.

How did I miss this little nugget right here? Hydrogen fuel-cell and semi-automated going to fully automated??

Wow. The future is here.

future my butt.


less than a year ago I paid a grand for a cell phone from the biggest name in tech (Google) that couldn't make phone calls, play music reliably, or even navigate via gps.

self driving vehicles will never take over in the north east us.

a reply to: lordcomac

never

??

a reply to: lordcomac

Automation is inevitable. It's coming. We might not live to see it, but it has to happen.

You can't discount it based on your choice of mobile phone (which will never take off).

originally posted by: SlowNail
a reply to: lordcomac

Automation is inevitable. It's coming. We might not live to see it, but it has to happen.

You can't discount it based on your choice of mobile phone (which will never take off).

automated driving wont work when paired with human drivers sharing the same road.

automated driving on an exclusive automated vehicle highway is a different story.

It looks like companies are interested - $2.3 Billion dollars worth of interested.

"The reason for the horsepower increase is that with electric motors you only use what you need unlike a diesel engine, so most of the time, you will only need 400 to 500 horsepower out of the 2,000 HP," a spokesperson for Nikola Motor Co. said in an email reply to Computerworld. "You don't waste any energy that you don't use with electric motors. But when going up a hill... with the extra horsepower, the electric allows you to climb to full speed limit."

www.computerworld.com...

a reply to: SlowNail

Automation is inevitable. It's coming. We might not live to see it, but it has to happen.

In the Year 2525
--Zager and Evans

In the year 2525, if man is still alive
If woman can survive, they may find
In the year 3535
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lie
Everything you think, do and say
Is in the pill you took today
In the year 4545
You ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes
You won't find a thing to chew
Nobody's gonna look at you
In the year 5555
Your arms hangin' limp at your sides
Your legs got nothin' to do
Some machine's doin' that for you
In the year 6565
You won't need no husband, won't need no wife
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too
From the bottom of a long glass tube
In the year 7510
If God's a coming, He oughta make it by then
Maybe He'll look around Himself and say
Guess it's time for the judgment day
In the year 8510
God is gonna shake His mighty head
He'll either say I'm pleased where man has been
Or tear it down, and start again
In the year 9595
I'm kinda wonderin' if man is gonna be alive
He's taken everything this old earth can give
And he ain't put back nothing
Now it's been ten thousand years
Man has cried a billion tears
For what, he never knew, now man's reign is through
But through eternal night, the twinkling of starlight
So very far away, maybe it's only yesterday
In the year 2525, if man is still alive
If woman can survive, they may find

Songwriters: Richard Lee Evans
In the Year 2525 lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

a reply to: InTheLight

Of course they are.

Think about it from a costing point of view. Yes, sure, they have to purchase all new vehicles, basically replace a large percentage of their fleet in order to benefit from it, but once they do, their costs, assuming the technologies involved are matured to the point where wear and tear are not more costly than they would be on their existing fleet vehicles, will plummet, their profit margins widen, and why?

Simple. Elimination of the human element. In this case, the primary saving comes from only having to operate a truck, not a truck and a driver. Lets assume that a truck needs yearly servicing (if it is more often than that, then someone, feel free to pitch in with that information) according to the regulations regarding commercial motor maintenance. Now, that rule will still apply to alternatively powered vehicles, like the Nikola and Tesla offerings. But they will be able to do non-stop drives across country, with no sleep, which would be illegal for a human driver. And unlike a human being, the computer program which keeps the truck on target and off the crash barriers, will not be paid for its time. So not only will the company which takes advantage of this technology eliminate an entire work force sector from their payroll, saving them staggering sums of money, but they will be able to get goods to target faster, because the truck will not have to stop for anything but traffic jams, red lights and junctions at which a vehicle must yield to other traffic. Getting goods to target faster, means that they can transport more goods per year, meaning in turn, that they can make more money per year.

And if the haulage business is anything like the oil business, or the grid power business, or the telecoms business, the savings made by infrastructural purchases, like a brand new fleet of vehicles, for example, will NOT be transferred to the customer base. Yeah, sure, the company will save huge amounts, but that saving will become PROFIT, not lower haulage costs.

Also, you have to think about the fuel saving. Again, it is unlikely to matter from the perspective of the cost of getting things from A to B, because prices for things rarely go down, only slow their upward hike a little. But, using less standard fuel, more renewable and efficient engines, will also save money (assuming the technology is worth a damn).

But an automated truck comes with obvious downfalls, especially if it takes off. We will be talking about massive layoffs, among the professional haulage people in the workforce. So once again, this will be an example of companies purchasing automation, at the expense of drivers livelihoods, and as a result, extremely damaging to those employees, and the areas in which they live, which will receive smaller tax revenues per person, as a result of that loss of earnings. Someone who has never had any other kind of work, might find it very difficult to find alternative employment, since the particulars of the haulage industry are pretty damned narrow in some respects, and not many jobs for which they will necessarily have transferable skills, will pay as well.

That is my read on the thing.

I agree that it's coming and coming fast. I think that autonomous trucks will be strictly for long haul trucking. What I think will happen is the big hauling companies will set up hubs. The human driven local trucks will take loads to the hubs and the autonomous trucks will take it cross country, or whatever. Most of the cross country traffic will be at night to avoid other traffic. I also think that there will be lanes set aside for just autonomous vehicles (including local cars) near congested areas, kind of like the "express lanes" in many cities today.

I think that the companies will go out of their way to make the trucks look just like a human driven truck. Mainly to avoid any sort of criminal activity. These trucks will become the target of thieves and people looking to cash in on an accident lawsuit. Yes the computer can react to a vehicle that swerves in front quicker than a human can, but you just can't stop a loaded semi like you can a passenger car.

a reply to: SlowNail

If they want to automate everything, they should start with bidet's.
That way if theirs a problem during testing , it's them who gets it up the ass instead of us.

a reply to: toysforadults

Has there been any information on how much the trucks weigh and how much they can actually haul?

I recall in the reveal they were sly about those specifics

He kept talking about the ability to haul 80k lb , but is the 80k lb payload or battery pack,lol?

I would like to now how much does the truck and trailer weigh without any payload and how much it can really haul at max and for how long?

Yeah, this will end well.

Hydrogen, lots of batteries, and 20,000 gallons of fuel in the tanker.......

What could go wrong?

a reply to: TrueBrit

Where did you read that these particular Tesla semi trucks are automated? I know that technology is coming, but I thought it was not around the corner just yet because these trucks are being built with a cabin designed for human operation. As a gal who was a part of a husband and wife team decades ago and a person who wants to help reduce emissions, I say I'm in (well, maybe not driving one as I am over the hill now). lol

The electric trucks have impressive features, including a 500-mile range per charge, the ability to travel 400 miles on a 30-minute charge, impact-resistant glass, an innovative cabin design, and the ability to go from 0-60 mph in five seconds without any cargo and in 20 seconds while carrying 80,000 pounds of cargo. But Tesla will ultimately be judged on the number of clients who buy and use the trucks over the long term.

Of interest -

These are the companies who have placed orders for the Tesla Semi so far:

Walmart: One of the first major companies to reserve the trucks, the retailer has made aggressive investments in technology in recent years as part of its effort to compete with Amazon.
Pepsi: Pepsi previously had the largest Semi order, reserving 100 trucks in December.
Anheuser-Busch: The brewer announced it ordered 40 Semis in December.
Sysco: The food distributor has reserved 50 Semis.
UPS: The delivery company placed the largest Semi order to date, reserving 125 trucks on Tuesday.
DHL: The transportation and logistics company has reserved 10 Semis to add to its fleet.
Meijer: Based in Michigan, the grocery chain has ordered four of the electric trucks.
Ryder: The transportation company reserved an unspecified number of Semis in November.
J.B. Hunt: The trucking company is set to purchase "multiple" Semis, but hasn't revealed the exact number.
Asko: The Norwegian food distribution company has ordered 10 Semis.
Posten Norge: The Norwegian postal service ordered an unspecified number of Semis.
Flexport: Ryan Peterson, the freight company's CEO, announced the company has ordered one Semi.
JK Moving: The independent moving company has reserved four Semis.
Loblaw: After ordering 25 Semis, the Canadian supermarket chain announced plans to make its trucking fleet 100% electric by 2030.
Fercam: Based in Italy, the trucking company has reserved a single Semi.
Girteka Logistics: Not to be outdone by Fercam, the European transportation company also announced its plans to invest in one of Tesla's electric trucks.
Fortigo Freight Services: The Canadian logistics company reserved one Semi.
Best Transportation: The shipping company also ordered one Semi.
Mecca & Son Trucking: According to Jalopnik, this trucking company has reserved one Semi.

www.businessinsider.com...

a reply to: InTheLight

First of all, the trucks being discussed in the OP were Nikola trucks, made by the Nikola Motor Company, which, as far as I am aware are different to the Tesla trucks, which as far as I know are called Semi (because they are partly electrically powered), made by Elon Musk's Tesla Motors.

Also, the reason I mention the automation angle, is because it is not decades away, but needs to be taken into consideration from here on out, as it WILL replace the entirety of the large volume haulage workforce, or at least, those in that industry whose job is actually transporting the goods, as opposed to loading or unloading and inventory checking.
This is not far away in the least, and will be the first step on the path to removing drivers from all vehicles, making everyone in them a passenger at best, or cargo at worst. This is not far away in a realistic sense of the word, and automated driving will be the best way to take advantage of these newfangled trucks, because it will maximise fuel efficiency to have a computer guide the vehicle, removing things like non-optimal pedal control and bad gear changes or other sloppy or less than perfect elements, from the equation.

Therefore, it is well worth pointing out that in practical terms, these vehicles will be instrumental in removing the workforce from the haulage game.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: InTheLight

First of all, the trucks being discussed in the OP were Nikola trucks, made by the Nikola Motor Company, which, as far as I am aware are different to the Tesla trucks, which as far as I know are called Semi (because they are partly electrically powered), made by Elon Musk's Tesla Motors.

Also, the reason I mention the automation angle, is because it is not decades away, but needs to be taken into consideration from here on out, as it WILL replace the entirety of the large volume haulage workforce, or at least, those in that industry whose job is actually transporting the goods, as opposed to loading or unloading and inventory checking.
This is not far away in the least, and will be the first step on the path to removing drivers from all vehicles, making everyone in them a passenger at best, or cargo at worst. This is not far away in a realistic sense of the word, and automated driving will be the best way to take advantage of these newfangled trucks, because it will maximise fuel efficiency to have a computer guide the vehicle, removing things like non-optimal pedal control and bad gear changes or other sloppy or less than perfect elements, from the equation.

Therefore, it is well worth pointing out that in practical terms, these vehicles will be instrumental in removing the workforce from the haulage game.

Yes, I was concentrating on Tesla's model, but in comparing Nikola and Mercedes, it appears Nikola is the preferred hybrid. As for removing the human element from the haulage game, I doubt it will be soon. There are people like me who refuse to use self-check out cashiers, and once in McDonalds Restaurant the Manager was herding people to the computer ordering console whereupon myself and another older woman refused verbally (quite audibly - making a scene) explaining that the machine was taking away a person's job.

It's a delicate balancing of retaining jobs, cleaning up the environment, and ensuring companies make a reasonable profit.

a reply to: Hewhowaits

Yeah, I'm sure they're all over that

a reply to: InTheLight

I like the way you think and do business. I also refuse to use self service machines in the day to day. But the thing is that if a store orders products, and they turn up on a robot truck, there is going to be no one around to say "Oh, well, if you refuse to employ a driver, I refuse to use the service". Business persons do not work that way. They will shake their heads, maybe shed a tear, but they will take the produce on that truck, and they will put it on their shelves and sell it, and the only difference will be absence of the human touch as the delivery driver will no longer share a joke with the loading bay staff.

Its not the public who will be exposed to the fact of unmanned vehicles. It will be other people just looking to get through the daily grind, unwilling to remove themselves from it on moral grounds, because the mouths they have to feed have, understandably, higher priority to them, than the mouths of other children who go unfed because their parents no longer have jobs to go to.

a reply to: TrueBrit

You may be right in worrying about the loss of jobs in this industry and other motorized vehicle services. Let's hope our education system gets up to speed with the future.

originally posted by: lordcomac
future my butt.


less than a year ago I paid a grand for a cell phone from the biggest name in tech (Google) that couldn't make phone calls, play music reliably, or even navigate via gps.

self driving vehicles will never take over in the north east us.

Take a trip to Japan. They are currently installing an auto-drive system in their freeway. I just watched a program about it on Discovery channel a couple weeks ago. If it works you can be sure the technology will spread.

Recent reports have further revealed that Nikola is starting to ramp its hiring as it prepares to start producing its highly-anticipated hydrogen-electric truck. Since moving to the Phoenix area from Utah in July, the company has employed about 70 people in Chandler as it constructs its new headquarters in Phoenix. By the end of the year, Nikola aims to have 100 employees, and by the end of 2019, the trucking startup is seeking to employ about 200 workers.

Nikola Motor chief legal officer Britton Worthen noted in a statement to AZ Central that it expects to break ground on its planned 1 million-square-foot manufacturing plant in Coolidge, AZ, in about two years. At a talk on Friday, the Nikola executive pointed out to Pinal County economic development officials that the upcoming facility would be complete in about five years. Over this time, Nikola also plans to start the expansion of its hydrogen fueling stations, which the company expects will be the ‘largest energy consumer’ in the US within the next ten years.

Teslarati.com, Nov. 2, 2018 - Tesla Semi rival Nikola dubs future fleet as US’ ‘largest air purifiers’ amid hiring ramp.

They said Air-ee-zoney is the place you ought to be, so they loaded up the truck and they moved to Coolidge...

That probably sounded better in my own head where it should have stayed! I ran across this news item and thought of this thread. Looks like starting a company from nothing actually creates jobs! They are doing real-world testing and will roll-out in 2019 which, dang man, has come upon us rather quickly (from my point of view).

The main guy tweeted "major news" in the "next few days" is coming.