Tesla’s Semi motorhome look shows how the incredible renders of the electric could look. The idea of an all-electric and solar-powered motorhome is attractive to many people. During the day, the vehicle can be driven without emissions and power the battery pack. Then, the battery pack can run the car at night.
Having solar power to power up the vehicle changes the entire experience off-grid. There are a few electric motorhome projects that are looking to deliver that kind of experience to customers, but most of them are still in the concept stage or have a very limited range. We recently reported on the new Mercedes-Benz eSprinter having impressive enough specs to potentially enable an electric “vanlife”.
Tesla Semi could make for an interesting platform for an electric motorhome. The team at Jowua, an interior accessory maker, thought so while watching the unveiling of the production version of Tesla Semi this week and decided to build renders of what a Tesla Semi motorhome could look like. It was pretty bold look and also the specifications were next level at par with the look. The biggest problem with most of the electric motorhome projects right now is that they have a limited range. For example, Winnebago built its own full-size electric motorhome, but it only has 125 miles of range.
Specifications
As the unveiling of the production version was this week, Tesla confirmed that the Tesla Semi has a roughly 900 kWh battery pack and can travel more than 500 miles with a full load at 82,000 lbs total. And the Tesla Semi would likely achieve an even greater range as a motorhome since it would likely be lighter than 82,000 lbs. Some of the heaviest 40+ feet-long motorhomes today rarely weigh more than 50,000 lbs. Tesla Semi is heavier than most class 8 trucks, but there should be a way to build a motorhome on the platform and keep the weight under 70,000 lbs, which should result in efficiency gains.
One could likely drive over 600 miles in a single day in a Tesla Semi motorhome without charging and then charge overnight. It is possible to be able to cover impressive distances in just a few days. All without emissions. It would probably require some cooperation from Tesla, but there should be a way to power the living features of the motorhome with the powertrain’s battery pack. We can add some deployable solar panels for when you are parked for extended periods of time and then use it for business.
