The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast

A weekly show about the trends in the electronic industry.

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#370 – Alternate Info Sources

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Thanks to the manchester library for the picture of magazines

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  1. Re: Tesla Semi. Some details have been released may help.
    * the truck uses four of the same motors as the Model 3 (one in each wheel)
    * someone at the event noticed the charge charge connector looks like four of the standard Tesla Supercharge connectors in a diamond pattern. So for this prototype they may be using have just thrown four Model 3 motor/controller/battery/charger systems together and have them talk to each other.
    * Tesla intends to be it’s first customer, transporting parts from the Gigafactory to the Freemont production factory: the round trip is about 500 miles (the range announced at the launch)
    * Elon said the new Megacharger stations would include solar and Powerpacks to alleviate the load issues.
    * Some early Semi reservation holders are saying they plan charge their Semi overnight at their depot (which can be slower)
    * There’s a fascinating interview of a Canadian Semi reservation holder who plans to use it with a flat bed to haul drilling equipment on gravel roads. Will be adding “bull bars” on the front. (Not quite what Elon had in mind perhaps.)
    * The Semi lead designer Jerome Guillen, said at a trucking conference in Holland last week that the Tesla Semi does not weigh more than a standard truck.
    * Elon seems to (always?) underestimate his timing predictions but is much more accurate with technical statements.
    * Apparently Tesla are getting help from SpaceX rocket scientists to design their connectors – high conductivity with very high heat tolerance.
    * Tesla is the world leader in EV drive trains and batteries so it’s not surprising that they can make a truck with amazing specs.
    * The pricing implies that Tesla has (or will have by 2020) dramatically reduced the cost of the batteries.

    It’ll be interesting to see when they can actually deliver the Semi’s and whether they can make money at the stated price; $150,000 for 300 miles range and $180,000 for 500 mile range. I wouldn’t be surprised if the price drifts up over time.

  2. An electric hybrid truck would be ideal for longer journeys. The real cost and time benefit is in removing the driver from the equation.

  3. In the recent AspenCore survey (Clive “Max” Maxfield) there’s lots of interesting industry trends, including what companies are using for their embedded RTOS needs:
    http://m.eet.com/media/1246048/2017-embedded-market-study.pdf

    BTW, I didn’t see a link to the ESP module (nor the PoC/GTFO) with the funny fractal antenna.. is this it?
    https://www.seeedstudio.com/ESP8285-01M-Wi-Fi-SoC-Module-p-2931.html

    Also, the new Tesla sports car (0-60 in under 2 seconds, 630 mile range) is also quite impressive!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXWfL-1ieuE&t=56m20s