New Battery Cells Could Give Tesla Semi More Than 600 Miles Of Range

When it was revealed in 2017, Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk announced that the Tesla Semi would achieve up to 500 miles of all-electric range with a fully-loaded vehicle. This seemed almost impossible at the time, but today it seems the Semi could go even farther.

In an interview covered by InsideEVs, Musk says that 500-mile range is easy, and with Tesla's new 4680 battery cells, a fully-loaded Tesla Semi may travel over 600 miles. The cell energy density would have to be approximately 300Wh/kg according to Musk.

Tesla also said a 300-mile range version would be available at the reveal, which would be expected to be also bumped up around 30% by this development.

Benzinga's Take: Tesla's Semi is a bit controversial. The fact that it takes much longer to refuel an electric vehicle makes it seem like an electric semi is not viable as they need to do much more driving in a day. But Tesla is first aiming to cover short-range trips, which Musk says takes up the majority of trucking.

The Tesla Semi will have much less maintenance, fuel cost, and moving parts than a traditional diesel semi.

Photo courtesy of Tesla.