Semi-trucks are gas guzzlers. Average rig gets about 8 miles to the gallon. Burn fuel at that rate for 45,000 miles and you are looking at a $13,613 gas bill. Compare that to electric.

Electric is less expensive than gas. Matter of fact, electricity is about $1.26 per gallon less expensive than gas on average. Which means if your rig was running on electric, you’d be paying $6,600 instead of over $13,000.

It’s no surprise then that a bunch of trucking companies out there that are eager to replace their gas-guzzling hogs.

Fortunately, making this environmentally-sound and profitable switch may be possible in 2019. Let’s take a look at all of the known trucking companies set to add some Tesla semi-trucks to their fleet next year.

J.B. Hunt

Announced in 2017, J.B. Hunt has ordered a few Tesla trucks, but they haven’t revealed exactly how many trucks they bought. The trucks will be running on the West Coast.

Ryder

After Scott Perry, Ryder executive, met with Tesla officials, he said one of the new semi-truck models can easily go 300 miles on a single charge. Although we won’t know for sure until these bad boys hit the road, if the stats are true, it’s pretty impressive. As for Ryder’s order, last we heard the trucking company pre-ordered a Tesla’s for their fleet, but we don’t know exactly how many.

DHL Supply Chain

A bit more open about their order, DHL Supply Chain publicly disclosed the number of Tesla’s they ordered: 10. The trucking company also stated that they want to test the electric trucks themselves before going all in. DHL will do on-the-road testing procedures and solicit feedback from drivers.

Tesla Semi-Trucks

In addition to heavily slashing gas bills, the Tesla semi-trucks are designed for drivers. The cabin itself looks sleek and inviting. Each of the four motors inside the rig provide enhanced traction control and the ability to go 0-60 mph in 20 seconds.

With speed and control addressed, let’s discuss safety. Visibility in traditional trucks is a major issue. The driver’s seat is on the left-hand side, limiting view. Tesla semi-trucks repositioned the driver’s seat to dead center. Which makes it easier to see what’s going on all around you from the cockpit.

To further protect you out on the road,  the 5newest Teslas are equipped with collision avoidance technology. They also have a low center of gravity to reduce the rollover. Rigs even come with an enhanced autopilot feature. And although this is nice to use on long straight roads, they won’t be replacing drivers any time soon.

Between estimated gas savings and enhanced trucking features, we are looking forward to seeing how the electric rigs do next year.