The much anticipated Tesla Semi class 8 electric truck, described by Elon Musk as “unreal” will be launched with a test drive on October 26, tentatively, instead of this month. The event will be held in Hawthorne, California.
Electric trucks faced various challenges in the past including range and the capacity to carry the battery size necessary for shipping massive loads, and Tesla Semi addresses these difficulties.
Musk describes the electric truck as “heavy duty, long range, and semi-truck. So it has the highest weight capability and with long range. So essentially it’s meant to alleviate the heavy trucking loads. And this is something which people do not, today, think is possible.”
The Tesla Semi is believed by Morgan Stanley analysts Ravi Shanker and Adam Jonas to be the trucking industry’s largest disruptor from the time when air brakes were launched. In addition, they suggest that its battery will have swapping stations costing about half a million dollars each. On a single battery charge, the Tesla Semi is also estimated to have a range of 200 to 300 miles.
Musk further exclaims, “And then with those with the Tesla semi, we want to show that no, an electric truck actually can out-torque any diesel semi and if you had a tug-of-war competition, the Tesla semi will tug the diesel semi uphill.”
