Tesla Semi graphics shows up in the Tesla iOS app
The Tesla Semi is nigh, with reports claiming that on December 1, Pepsi will take delivery of between 10 and 15 battery-electric Semis. Behind the scenes, Tesla’s prepping for customer deliveries by updating its iOS App with information on the Semi and the Cybertruck. An outfit called Tesla App Updates always leaps into the code when a new app version drops, and it took apart v4.14.3, discovering code for the Model T which is the Semi, and the Model C designating the Cybertruck. Also hidden where normal app users wouldn’t find them are 3D images of the Semi. Tesla App Updates posted the raw files, which Twitter user OlympusDev then rendered with color. It’s expected these images will be graphical representations in the Semi’s information screens.
New iOS Tesla Update (4.14.3) adds Tesla Semi 3D model pic.twitter.com/PUrHhTdhve
— OlympusDev (@olympusdev_)
November 11, 2022
Previous renderings have left a lot to the imagination, this new set is more fleshed out. The driver-side door opens suicide style, behind the driver. We don’t have an image of the right side of the Semi yet, but based on the position of the grab handle, it appears the passenger’s door will open the same way. Now we want to know if the door windows will roll down. From the cockpit view, a set of beefy handles encourages us to think the forward windows will operate like vents, hinged at the front, open at the back. Stepping outside again, we can see the frunk front and center, and the megacharger port behind the driver’s door.
A pair of large mirrors stand at the end of long stalks. When America decides to allow cameras for mirrors, the update will mean a major aerodynamic improvement. In back, it’s interesting to note how far the side and upper fairings extend beyond the end of the cab. The perspective probably makes this look deeper than it is, but almost no traditional Class 8 trucks run fairings behind the cab.
The cockpit leaves the driver’s left side clear and installs a console on the right. The only object on the left is a screen next to the steering wheel, matching the one on the right. Since we can’t see any dials, it looks like Tesla’s going to go all digital with a truck’s traditional array of gauges. The only analog-looking switches sit in a recess to the right, which we’d guess are for the air brakes. The console frames what appears to be a storage area and includes cupholders and cubbies.
Tesla’s Nevada gigafactory is ramping up to make 20 Semis a week. Previous specs listed a range of 300 miles with a 600-kilowatt-hour battery, 500 miles with a 1,000-kWh battery, and energy consumption for the three motors on the rear axles less than 2 kWh per mile. Tesla has said a megacharger will restore 70% of battery charge in 30 minutes; the 600-kWh battery can charge at up to 840 kW, the big battery crosses the mega mark at 1.4 MW charging. Loaded to the 80,000-pound max, 0-60 miles per hour should clip by in 20 seconds. Base price from the 2017 debut was $150,000 for the Semi with the small battery, $180,000 for the big battery and $200,000 for the Founder’s Edition.
More up-to-date specs should come online sometime around the Pepsi delivery.
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