New Competition In The Class 8 Electric Truck Arena Spells Bad News For Tesla Semi

When Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled plans for the Tesla Semi class 8 heavy duty electric truck back in 2017, the world was his oyster. Production was anticipated in 2019 and the market was ripe for the picking. Well, times have changed. The Semi has yet to hit full production volume while other firms are pushing their own zero emission haulers into the market.

Zeem Plans Ahead For The Electric Truck Revolution, Tesla Semi Or Not

The latest news comes from the California startup Zeem Solutions, which launched in 2017 with a hub-based EV charging plan for very large facilities. Rather than manufacturing its own EVs, Zeem offers a subscription-based electrification-as-a-service model that enables fleet owners to operate commercial EVs without paying up front for the vehicles.

The service is billed as an almost no-brainer, risk-free pathway for fleet owners seeking a shortcut to decarbonization. If Tesla had stuck to its initial plan for producing the Semi in 2019, it would have been way ahead of the pack. Instead, Tesla will have to get in line behind other electric truck makers, including well known trusted names in the auto industry.

As of this writing, Zeem lists the familiar A-list firms Peterbilt, Daimler, Volvo and Kenworth on its class 8 electric truck roster for turnkey service. The Tesla Semi is conspicuously absent, but Zeem also includes the Tre battery-electric truck from the now-bankrupt US startup Nikola. I’ve reached out to them for an update on their roster, so stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, Elon Musk is giving fleet owners plenty of reasons to avoid the Tesla brand like a hot potato. The business case for the Semi has been withering away in tandem with Musk’s reputation, up to and including this week’s “MechaHitler” chatbot disaster.

More EV Charging Stations For Electric Trucks

With or without the Tesla Semi on board, Zeem is focused like a thousand points of lights on electrifying fleets at very large facilities across the US. “We’re in the planning and acquisition phase on a number of future EV hubs at major airports, seaports and other transportation centers,” the company states, referring to 14 new locations over the next 36 months.

The company’s flagship hub at Los Angeles International Airport illustrates what to expect from a Zeem charging hub. “Located a half-mile from the main terminal at LAX, our 3.1-acre flagship EV hub opened in December 2021 and is one of the largest commercial charging depots in the world,” Zeem states.

Zeem lists 15 active DC fast-charging ports and 24 Level 2 chargers, secure EV & driver parking with 24/7 staffing, and a drivers’ lounge with Wi-Fi and work space among the initial elements of the LAX hub. In January of 2024, Zeem announced that the facility was expanded to 78 DC fast chargers.

The abrupt shift in federal EV policy this year does not seem to have impacted Zeem’s plans, at least not yet. The company is currently on track to begin Phase 1 operations at its charging hub for trucks serving busy Port Newark in New Jersey. The hub will feature overnight parking and charging for 200 trucks, and daytime charging for 300 trucks.

“Zeem will assist customers at its Newark site in selecting and financing Class 8 electric truck models,” the company explains, somewhat ominously if the Tesla Semi does not make the cut.

The Electric Truck Revolution Comes To Washington State

The next step for Zeem is Washington State, where the company has just earned a slot in the decarbonization plans of the busy Northwest Seaport Alliance. The Alliance is a cargo operating partnership linking the Port of Seattle with the Port of Tacoma, both located in the Puget Sound region of Washington.

With an assist from a $6.2 million incentive grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation, the plan calls for Zeem to bring 19 electric trucks into the region, along with charging infrastructure. “This grant serves as a catalyst for private investment from project participants, with Zeem and its fleet partners contributing a substantial portion of the total project costs,” the Alliance explains.

As part of a broader seaport emissions cleanup movement, the Alliance expects Zeem to attract many more commercial EVs to the new hub. “The Zeem project also includes building out a charging site that will enable 250 vehicles to charge per day, with parking capacity for 70 vehicles overnight,” the Alliance explains.

Who’s Afraid Of The ESG?

As for the connection between Tesla’s brand reputation and that of its CEO, two years before the richest man in the world bought a seat in the White House for a reported $288 million, he was on record complaining about widely recognized ESG (environment, social, governance) business principles. Taking to social media in 2022, Musk called ESG a “scam” that has been “weaponized by phony social justice warriors,” clearly peeved that S&P omitted Tesla from its ESG 500 index.

Clearly the EV-buying public thinks otherwise. They are fleeing the Tesla brand in droves on account of the anti-social behavior of its CEO.

Fleet owners also have their own opinions about ESG. Take the Arizona startup JoyRide Logistics, for example. Earlier this year, JoyRide partnered with the Chinese truck maker Windrose Technology to publicize Windrose’s new electric truck on a 2,800-mile promotional tour of the US.

The new truck is billed as the “first-ever all-electric long-haul sleeper truck in the United States,” which is kind of funny because Tesla was also planning to manufacture a sleeper version of its class 8 truck, too. Apparently Windrose has beat them to the punch, with an assist from JoyRide.

For the record, Tesla’s charging stations are not in play. Windrose is planning to offer its own charging network through the global firm EO Charging, aiming for an initial launch in Arizona, California and Nevada.

If all goes according to plan, Windrose trucks will be on the road nationwide as well. That remains to be seen, considering the abrupt shift in federal EV policy. Nevertheless, JoyRide indicates that the global ESG movement will keep the electrification momentum humming along in the US.

“JoyRide already partners with multiple Fortune 500 customers, many of whom are actively working to reduce Scope 3 emissions. The integration of EV’s into their fleet is a direct response to those sustainability benchmarks,” Joyride explains.

Doubling down on its sustainability reputation, on June 5 JoyRide joined more than 500 firms to sign onto The Climate Pledge net zero initiative, affirming its intention to be the first company of its kind worldwide to deploy only electric semi trucks.

If Tesla wants a piece of the action, it will have to get in line…

Photo (cropped): The US startup Zeem is propelling the class 8 heavy duty electric truck movement forward, with a hub-based, electrification-as-a-service model for commercial fleets (courtesy of Northwest Seaport Alliance).