[Retric]

IC engines with transmissions take up vastly more space and weigh quite a bit more than electric ones do which limits the impact of energy density.

Electric has ~4,200 lb to work with before weigh for components before you consider the weight of fuel. https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/fact-620-april-26-2010-...

Mack trucks get ~6.5 mpg, so a 350 mile range would take ~5 Tesla battery's ~6,000 lbs. That's a little low, but far from useless just add how battery swaps and it's completely viable.

Long term, the move to in road charging means electric trucks will actually save significant weight over IC engines while also having unlimited ranges. http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/18/technology/uk-electric-cars-...

[throwaway5752]

That magnetic induction charging embedded in lanes in roads is really interesting and I didn't know about it. Thank you!

To be fair, 350 is low. Don't semis vary around 150 gallons of fuel capacity? There will also be a balance to update roads vs choosing rail in a multimodal logistic chain. Maybe the smaller EV range would be appropriate there for last mile. Anyway, I know it's complicated but I sure hope we solve this urgently.

[bmcusick]

Tesla initially had a battery-swap feature at its earliest Supercharger stations, but no one used it. For consumers, the recharge time was good enough even then.

Long haul trucks will probably use it.