Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Tesla Semi truck on Thursday.
Tesla unveiled the Tesla Semi truck on Thursday.
The truck can drive 500 miles on a single charge, which was higher than some analysts had expected. That may mean that, in terms of range, the vehicle could meet the needs of long haul truck drivers.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the truck can beat a diesel truck in a straight line, up a 45 percent grade, and even without two of its four independent motors functioning.
The truck can go from 0-60 in 5 seconds by itself, or in 20 seconds with an 80,000 pound load.
And Musk said the truck will beat diesel trucks in terms of price per mile when the total cost of ownership is factored in, Musk said.
Musk also said the truck drives far more easily than diesel trucks.
Every truck will come with Autopilot standard. The truck’s low center of gravity will make it difficult for the truck to rollover, and impossible to jack-knife, Musk said.
Tesla unveils its bid at a commercial truck as it faces other challenges, particularly around the production of its Model 3 sedan.
The company reported its biggest quarterly loss in history in the third quarter, weeks after saying it had fallen far short of its delivery targets for the Model 3.
As it attempts to address what Tesla has called „production bottlenecks“ and boost production, Tesla has faced some criticism over its relationship with some members of its workforce.
Among other things, Tesla was accused of being a „hotbed of racism“ in a proposed class action lawsuit filed Monday in Alameda County, California. Tesla said the suit is a „hotbed of misinformation“ and disputes several of the claims it makes. The United Auto Workers union also filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board in October over Tesla’s firing of hundreds of workers.
Still, the company’s stock price has soared in recent months. Shares of Tesla are up just over 47 percent since the beginning of the year.
