Tesla Semi: This electric trailer might outperform Elon Musk’s truck
What if the future of electric road transport doesn’t necessarily involve replacing trucks? A California startup founded by former Tesla employees is focusing on a trailer equipped with its own battery and electric motors. According to a new study, this solution could even prove more cost-effective than the Tesla Semi under certain conditions. The figures are surprising, but some obstacles remain.
As diesel prices place a heavy burden on transportation companies, electrifying heavy trucks appears to be an increasingly attractive solution. But replacing an entire fleet of diesel trucks with electric models requires a significant investment. What if another approach could reduce costs without disrupting transporters’ existing habits?
That is precisely the approach taken by Range Energy, a California-based startup founded by former Tesla employees and several experts in electric mobility. Rather than developing a new truck, the company has chosen to focus on an element that is often overlooked: the trailer.
Called eTrailer, this system could even compete with the Tesla Semi in terms of cost-effectiveness. However, this conclusion warrants some explanation.
An electric trailer that reduces diesel truck consumption
The concept developed by Range Energy is relatively simple. The company equips a semi-trailer with a battery and a motorized axle capable of providing electric assistance to the tractor vehicle.
In practice, the trailer is no longer just pulled by the truck. Its own motors contribute to its movement, thereby reducing the load on the diesel engine.
Most importantly, this solution offers a significant advantage: it can operate with existing road tractors without requiring major modifications. Transport companies can therefore keep their trucks while reducing fuel consumption by installing these electric trailers.
The initial results presented by Range Energy are encouraging. In a test scenario, the company already observed a reduction of about 36% in fuel consumption.
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To assess the economic viability of its invention, Range Energy published a comparative study comparing three configurations: a conventional diesel truck, a fully electric Tesla Semi, and a diesel truck equipped with its eTrailer.
The analysis focuses primarily on refrigerated transport, a particularly interesting sector since refrigerated trailers also consume energy to maintain goods at the proper temperature.
Over a seven-year period, the company simulated 1,000 financial scenarios that took into account factors such as diesel prices, electricity rates, the cost of installing charging stations, and fuel savings.
Result: according to Range Energy, its electric trailer proves more cost-effective than a Tesla Semi with its own charger at the depot in 61% of the scenarios analyzed.
A technology particularly suited for refrigerated trailers
Range Energy first focuses its efforts on refrigerated trailers. This choice is not arbitrary. In refrigerated transport, vehicles often reach their volume loading limit before hitting their maximum allowed weight. Thus, the extra weight from the battery may be less problematic than in other applications.
More importantly, the electricity stored in the trailer can directly power the refrigeration unit. This allows transporters to reduce their diesel consumption in two ways: by easing the load on the tractor engine and by avoiding the need for a separate combustion engine for cooling.
A trailer compatible with electric trucks as well
Range Energy’s solution is not limited to diesel trucks. The electric trailer can also be attached to a fully electric tractor. In this case, its motors reduce the amount of energy the truck needs to provide to move the entire setup.
Range Energy claims that its technology could add at least 100 miles, or about 160 kilometers, to the range of an electric truck under the conditions it considers ideal.
It should be noted that the figures cited by Range Energy are based solely on economic simulations that do not necessarily reflect the operating conditions of individual carriers. The gap between theory and practice can sometimes be significant.
Range Energy announces the first deliveries of its eTrailer for the fourth quarter of 2027, with bulk deliveries scheduled for 2028. To be continued…
Also in Europe
In Europe, this concept is not new. The German company Trailer Dynamics, in partnership with manufacturer Krone, presented its eTrailer at the Solutrans exhibition in Lyon in 2023. Tested by BMW Group Logistik between Leipzig and Mamming, this motorized axle semi-trailer reduced the tractor’s diesel consumption by an average of over 48%. In France, bodybuilder Chereau (Manche) developed a refrigerated semi-trailer with solar panels and a 24 kW electric axle in collaboration with transporter Delanchy. This axle captures energy from braking to power the cooling system but does not assist with traction.