Tesla is reportedly trying to get approval for electric trucks to get around a ban on semi-heavy trucks traveling on Sundays and holidays in Europe, which would give a big boost to commercial electric trucks, like the Tesla Semi.
In many European countries, there is a ban on vehicles with a maximum legal weight of more than 7.5 tonnes and semi-trailers between 00:00 and 22:00 on Sundays and public holidays throughout the year.
Ban implementations vary in some markets with different exceptions, but the general goal is to improve air conditions and reduce noise pollution.
Since electric trucks do not contribute to air or noise pollution, Tesla and other electric truck manufacturers argue that the ban should not apply to them.
But the law doesn’t differentiate between different types of engines, so they’ll need to change the law to allow their electric trucks to operate on Sundays.
The German newspaper Business Insider reported that Tesla recently contacted the German government to make this change (translated from German):
According to research by Business Insider, a Tesla delegation traveled to Berlin last Thursday and met for a confidential discussion with the BMVI’s parliamentary state secretary, Steffen Bilger. The meeting was about anything. At one point, however, company representatives turned the conversation to electric trucks and called for a stunning change in the law: The new generation of environmentally friendly trucks should be exempt from the Sunday driving ban. The regulation allows drivers not to be slowed down by truck lines for at least one day a week.
The Federal Department of Transportation confirmed that Tesla has contacted them and that they are investigating the change:
“During a conversation at BMVI with Mr. PSts Bilger and representatives from Tesla, options for promoting sustainable modern mobility were discussed, especially with regard to the field of logistics.”
When Tesla unveiled the Tesla Semi in 2017, it planned to start production in 2019, but it has delayed production of the electric truck to 2020.
Later, Tesla added that it plans to begin production of the Tesla Semi electric trucks in “limited volumes” in 2020.
Shortly after unveiling the electric truck, Tesla confirmed that it plans to put a European version of the truck into production.
As we reported last week, we’ve received indications that Tesla has begun preparing for production of the Tesla Semi at Gigafactory Nevada.
Electrek’s opinion
This would be a big deal. The Tesla Semi already promises a lower operating cost per mile, which should be enough to convince many fleet operators.
Now, if you add the fact that you can add over 50 days of operation per year to the truck, you’ve just added a lot of value to it compared to a diesel truck simply by changing the law.
This will create significant demand for the Tesla Semi and other electric trucks, and will likely encourage other truck manufacturers to accelerate their own electric vehicle programs.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.
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