this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2026
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[–] fizzle@quokk.au 1 points 6 hours ago

The maximum weight for a tractor-trailer rig in the United States is 80,000 pounds, 40 short tons or 36.36 metric tons.

I'm not sure what you're getting at with this. Here in Australia road trains haul 90 metric tons of grain and fertilizer all the time, that doesn't include the weight of the trailers.

Regardless, I'm not quite sure what you're trying to illustrate - your example of a "streamlined vehicle" undoubtedly consumes a lot more diesel than your example of a vehicle which is not streamlined. Isn't that antithetical?

In terms of torque, EVs have a significant advantage.

Yes, but a "truck" with a 4 ton towing capacity obviously needs motors with more torque than those on a tesla.

The additional energy required to accelerate the additional weight up to speed isn’t that much of a problem as an EV will get that back with regenerative braking. Well, some of it.

As little as 5 to 10% on the highway, not particularly significant. Installing regenerative brakes on a trailer is a lot of additional cost and complexity.