0-60 in 20 seconds…

Millennium Cargo

When I was a kid I loved watching movies and Back to The Future was a strong favourite of mine.

Not only did it have a wicked storyline, likeable characters and a bit of humour. But as a 13 year old boy, I felt sure that it was an accurate prediction of what the world would be in 2015.

Fast forward a few years and the future is here…

Now, I’ll admit, I am a little disappointed with the lack of decent hoverboards. But I think the tech we do have is pretty cool.

I can speak “face to face” with someone on the other side of the world whenever I want to.

I can order something online and track its location in real time as it gets delivered to my house just hours later.

I can find out the answer to almost any question in just seconds, with a single search.

I can control my lights, the temperature and the music in my house with a single voice instruction.

And I can drive without driving.

I think that’s all pretty cool.

But the world isn’t done changing and with it, the transport industry changes too.

A little while ago Tesla revealed the Tesla Semi, their self driving electric trucks, and with PespiCo, Walmart and UPS all placing large orders, it won’t be long before we see them on the roads.

These self driving trucks can do up to 500 miles on one charge. With a full 80,000lb load in the back they can still do 0-60 in less than 20 seconds. This may seem a little slow compared to the Tesla Roadster that can hit 0-60 in 1.9 seconds!

But for a truck it’s ridiculously fast!

They’re a little more pricey than a standard diesel truck, coming in at $180,000 each. But what they cost in initial investment, they’ll no doubt save in the long run on fuel and driver wages!

So are self driving trucks the future of the transport industry?

I imagine so. I’m not sure when. But eventually it’s bound to happen. Humans will be replaced with more reliable, cheaper and safer computers.

Is that a good thing? I don’t know. But I hope I’ll still be here to find out…