Not much is known about the truck’s specs or design, but a brand-new short teaser video shows off its futuristic styling to give the impression of a modern, somewhat concept-esque semitrailer.
Tesla’s long-awaited semi-truck will officially make its world debut 8 p.m. Thursday night, Nov. 16 via the electric car maker’s webcast.
Not much is known about the truck’s specs or design, but a brand-new short teaser video shows off its futuristic styling to give the impression of a modern, somewhat concept-esque semitrailer. The company typically streams webcasts via its website or YouYube page. This one will start at 8 p.m. Thursday.
Tesla Semi unveil, 8pm PT tomorrow — watch live at https://t.co/8uVlhvzpu5 pic.twitter.com/hCIm5iCW6J
The Palo Alto-based company’s CEO Elon Musk has not been shy about hyping up the reveal of the new Tesla product.
“This will blow your mind clear out of your skill and into an alternate dimension,” Musk tweeted Sunday afternoon. “Just need to find my portal gun…”
He previously tweeted his amazement, as the semi’s “specs are better than anything I’ve seen reported so far. Semi eng/design team work is aces, but other needs are greater right now.”
Michael Harley, group managing editor for Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, said in an email that while this announcement is sure to create a lot of buzz Tesla has mistakenly aimed its focus.
“Diesel fuel is readily available and relatively efficient for heavy long-haul trucks that cruise open highways at a fixed speed,” Harley explained in the email. “A more appropriate target for the electric vehicle maker would be the short-haul, or so-called last mile delivery, which would benefit from regenerative braking, low noise and emission-free EV motoring.”
Tesla’s semi-truck was originally set for a September debut and an October one before finally being pushed back to Thursday night. Musk has said that the delays were due to its ongoing work in Puerto Rico and issues concerning its new Model 3.
As for issues concerning the Model 3, Tesla said in a statement that they “understand what needs to be fixed” and are confident in clearing the bottleneck up in the near future.
“The truck market, for a variety of reasons, is ripe for change, from electrification, self-driving and connected. Tesla clearly sees the promise. However, Tesla will be up against some formidable challengers, Daimler being one which knows this market well and already has customer trust and loyalty,” Michelle Krebs, executive analyst for Autotrader, said in an emailed statement. “In contrast to Tesla’s current buyer bases, the priority for truck drivers and fleet operators is reliability and uptime. The truck is a tool for making money.
“When a truck is out of commission, money is lost. In contrast, a Tesla car owner has other vehicles in the household fleet to drive if the vehicle isn’t operational.”
Michigan doesn’t allow Tesla sales due to the fact that the company doesn’t employ traditional dealerships. The Secretary of State has denied the electric car maker’s application for dealership licenses in the past. The Palo-Alto company sued the state, its SOS Ruth Johnson, Attorney General Bill Schuette and Gov. Rick Snyder in September 2016.
While Michigan officials are still blocking Tesla from fully operating in the state, Tesla sells its vehicles on the internet and there’s nothing illegal about that.
Gallery: Tesla opens gallery at Somerset Collection
