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Comment by Spooky23 | Hacker News Reader

Totally agree. I think it makes sense for fleet vehicles though. For a truck, bus, etc, I think it makes a lot of sense to swap and go.

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I could see it for a semi truck. Another advantage there is that you don't need it to look pretty, you don't need to try to hide the battery under the truck.

Part of our org operates a couple of box trucks for equipment delivery and other stuff - this type of thing would be a boon to us, I’d assume the an electric truck would be like an electric car with reduced maintenance, etc.

Being able to keep these things rolling and deal with battery warranty claims without downing a truck would be a real cost saver - when trucks break down it’s really expensive to either reschedule or lease short term.

Truck battery swaps in Australia. Not automated but it works:

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/apr/29/swap-...

Can they really load so fast as to bottleneck on the current 30 minute charge times (Tesla Semi, 70% fast charge)?

A swap station would need maintenance and refilling, so it's starting from behind and has to earn back its keep by eliminating latency that absolutely can't be hidden any other way.

I suppose it would feel like a dream when it actually works. I'd imagine it a lot like a car wash experience. The only thing that worries me is how the batteries are handled. Freighters are the worst and ding up everything. Imagine shipping 100s of batteries around the country? Sounds like a nightmare if they're not using specialized trucks or packing material.

Why would they need to ship batteries all over the place? The swapped out battery gets recharged and put in the next car.

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