Excerpted from my Quora feed in it's entirety. The guy makes it easy enough for me to understand. 
Ben Lassiter
How does the Tesla Semi's range compare to other trucks?
Well, let me offer a real-world comparison.
[I have a} 2015 Volvo 730. It has two 150 gallon fuel tanks and averages around 6.5 mpg fully loaded at highway speeds of 65 to 75 mph.
I routinely go 1,000 to 1,400 miles between fill ups, and it generally takes 15 minutes or less to top off the tanks. That means on a hard week of running, I might spend a total of 45 minutes putting sufficient fuel in the rig to go 4,000+ miles.
Tesla claims their semi will go 500 miles on a full charge. Then it will need an absolute minimum of 30 minutes on the most powerful Supercharger around to recharge to 80% … at which point it'll only be good for another 400 miles, right?
And there's the rub. In many states a trucker can legally and easily drive 700 miles per day. Most OTR truckers won't even contemplate an EV rig until the range is a guaranteed 800+ miles under full load, at average highway speeds of 65 to 75 mph, across any terrain and at any temperature, from 125 to -40 Fahrenheit. That way we could drive our 700 miles per day and charge the rig while we take our 10 hour break.
So in order to go 4,000 miles per week, you're looking at spending well over 300 minutes sitting at a charging station - that's AT LEAST 5 hours the driver won't get paid for, vs. the 45 minutes for a diesel rig.
You see, the vast majority of OTR drivers are paid by the mile. We don't actually get paid for fueling - or charging the batteries. Raise your hand if you're willing to work at least five extra hours per week without compensation …
And of course, that's assuming you can find a semi charging station - I haven't seen a single one yet.
That's the true bottleneck. There will need to be several dozen chargers in every single one of the 2000+ truck stops in the country. No trucker wants to pull his Tesla semi (or any other EV rig) into a truck stop needing to charge, only to see that there's only six chargers and thirty rigs waiting in line to charge. He'd be waiting for hours before he even got to the charger to plug in, at which time he'd be wasting another 30 minutes minimum … meanwhile the diesel rig has come, fueled and gone and is 200 miles farther on down the road.
And I'll just throw in one more point. Everyone keeps saying how cheap it is to charge an EV vs. fill up a fuel tank. Well, that may be true if you're charging your car at home, but who's to say that in the future the truck stops and public charging stations won't charge several hundred dollars per charge? It's not like a 75′ semi can squeeze into a crowded car parking lot to plug in to a cheaper charger. If the truck stops own the only semi chargers around, they can set the rates and the truckers won't have any recourse but to pay.
p.s. - I’m writing this a bit later after kibitzing with a buddy of mine who reminded me of something we talked about long ago …
EV semi manufacturers are cheating. Their tractors are considerably heavier than diesel rigs like mine, so they’ve managed to BRIBE THE POLITICIANS into increasing the allowable weight limits for EV semis so they can compete. There are innumerable articles about this, but it boils down to this, from our very own FHWA.gov: ”Vehicle weight limitations - Natural Gas and Electric Battery Vehicles (Sec. 422), which adds to existing vehicle weight limitation exemptions vehicles powered primarily by means of electric battery power and clarifies that these vehicles may exceed the weight limit on the power unit by up to 2,000 pounds.”
So here’s another area where EV semis are drastically inferior. If I know I’m heading to pick up a really heavy (legal) load, I can show up at the shipper with my tanks 3/4 empty. This lightens my rig by 1,300 to 1,400 pounds, increasing my payload capacity. Sure, I have to stop every 400 miles or so to splash a bit of fuel … makes me feel like an EV semi driver!
EV rigs won’t have that option - can’t take out half your batteries to lighten you up a bit. Guess you’ll have to keep paying off corrupt politicians to cheat your way into being barely competitive.
EDIT 7/22/’22: Y'all, I love all the comments, have read them all and responded to more than a few.
A significant percentage of the commenters seemed upset, carrying on about how the Tesla semi isn't intended for OTR long-haul routes but will do great in the local delivery sector.
I KNOW! I AGREE! I just want to say that I answered the question as asked: How does the range compare?
280 useable gallons x 6.5 average mpg = 1820 miles. Tesla claims full battery = 500 miles. That is how the range compares!
If you don't like my 100% factual answer, ask a different question.
Ben Lassiter
How does the Tesla Semi's range compare to other trucks?
Well, let me offer a real-world comparison.
[I have a} 2015 Volvo 730. It has two 150 gallon fuel tanks and averages around 6.5 mpg fully loaded at highway speeds of 65 to 75 mph.
I routinely go 1,000 to 1,400 miles between fill ups, and it generally takes 15 minutes or less to top off the tanks. That means on a hard week of running, I might spend a total of 45 minutes putting sufficient fuel in the rig to go 4,000+ miles.
Tesla claims their semi will go 500 miles on a full charge. Then it will need an absolute minimum of 30 minutes on the most powerful Supercharger around to recharge to 80% … at which point it'll only be good for another 400 miles, right?
And there's the rub. In many states a trucker can legally and easily drive 700 miles per day. Most OTR truckers won't even contemplate an EV rig until the range is a guaranteed 800+ miles under full load, at average highway speeds of 65 to 75 mph, across any terrain and at any temperature, from 125 to -40 Fahrenheit. That way we could drive our 700 miles per day and charge the rig while we take our 10 hour break.
So in order to go 4,000 miles per week, you're looking at spending well over 300 minutes sitting at a charging station - that's AT LEAST 5 hours the driver won't get paid for, vs. the 45 minutes for a diesel rig.
You see, the vast majority of OTR drivers are paid by the mile. We don't actually get paid for fueling - or charging the batteries. Raise your hand if you're willing to work at least five extra hours per week without compensation …
And of course, that's assuming you can find a semi charging station - I haven't seen a single one yet.
That's the true bottleneck. There will need to be several dozen chargers in every single one of the 2000+ truck stops in the country. No trucker wants to pull his Tesla semi (or any other EV rig) into a truck stop needing to charge, only to see that there's only six chargers and thirty rigs waiting in line to charge. He'd be waiting for hours before he even got to the charger to plug in, at which time he'd be wasting another 30 minutes minimum … meanwhile the diesel rig has come, fueled and gone and is 200 miles farther on down the road.
And I'll just throw in one more point. Everyone keeps saying how cheap it is to charge an EV vs. fill up a fuel tank. Well, that may be true if you're charging your car at home, but who's to say that in the future the truck stops and public charging stations won't charge several hundred dollars per charge? It's not like a 75′ semi can squeeze into a crowded car parking lot to plug in to a cheaper charger. If the truck stops own the only semi chargers around, they can set the rates and the truckers won't have any recourse but to pay.
p.s. - I’m writing this a bit later after kibitzing with a buddy of mine who reminded me of something we talked about long ago …
EV semi manufacturers are cheating. Their tractors are considerably heavier than diesel rigs like mine, so they’ve managed to BRIBE THE POLITICIANS into increasing the allowable weight limits for EV semis so they can compete. There are innumerable articles about this, but it boils down to this, from our very own FHWA.gov: ”Vehicle weight limitations - Natural Gas and Electric Battery Vehicles (Sec. 422), which adds to existing vehicle weight limitation exemptions vehicles powered primarily by means of electric battery power and clarifies that these vehicles may exceed the weight limit on the power unit by up to 2,000 pounds.”
So here’s another area where EV semis are drastically inferior. If I know I’m heading to pick up a really heavy (legal) load, I can show up at the shipper with my tanks 3/4 empty. This lightens my rig by 1,300 to 1,400 pounds, increasing my payload capacity. Sure, I have to stop every 400 miles or so to splash a bit of fuel … makes me feel like an EV semi driver!
EV rigs won’t have that option - can’t take out half your batteries to lighten you up a bit. Guess you’ll have to keep paying off corrupt politicians to cheat your way into being barely competitive.
EDIT 7/22/’22: Y'all, I love all the comments, have read them all and responded to more than a few.
A significant percentage of the commenters seemed upset, carrying on about how the Tesla semi isn't intended for OTR long-haul routes but will do great in the local delivery sector.
I KNOW! I AGREE! I just want to say that I answered the question as asked: How does the range compare?
280 useable gallons x 6.5 average mpg = 1820 miles. Tesla claims full battery = 500 miles. That is how the range compares!
If you don't like my 100% factual answer, ask a different question.
