Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA)’s Co-founder Reveals Electric Garbage Truck

During the 2016 WasteExpo that took place in Las Vegas, Mack LR presented an electric garbage truck that features a powertrain from Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)’s co-founder Ian Wright.

The goal of the partnership between Wright and Mack LR was to come up with an innovative electric model that could replace the old-fashion wasting components. Wright’s company known as Wrightspeed, Inc., provided the powertrain for the project. The technology in the truck aims to take advantage of regenerative braking to create more power which is then stored in the batteries. This system will be ideal, because the garbage trucks often have to make stops during their rotation. The truck features a turbine that can be powered by natural gas or diesel.

The turbine concept is interesting and appealing because it is more efficient than other systems, even when the turbine is running, and one of its major advantages over the other trucks in the market is the fact that it makes less noise than the garbage trucks that are currently operating on the streets. The powertrain provided by Wright’s company can support as much as 66,000 pounds. This makes it attractive to commercial vehicle manufacturers meaning it could soon be fitted in commercial vehicles.

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Electric garbage trucks provide a better alternative, and are also easier to manage. The project was created specifically to address the failure of the natural gas trucks project. Garbage trucks are some of the most fuel-hungry trucks on public roads because they consume as much as one gallon of fuel for every 3 miles. The solution provided by Mack and Wrightspeed could increase their fuel efficiency by as much as 65%.

Note: This article is written by Andy Parker and originally published at Market Exclusive.

Correction: An earlier version of the article incorrectly stated that the collaboration is between Tesla and Mack LR. The collaboration is between Wrightspeed, which is founded by Tesla cofounder Ian Wright, and Mack LR.