The Semi is capable of charging at 1 megawatt and has liquid-cooling technology in the charging cable in an updated version of Tesla's Supercharger that will be made available to the Cybertruck, Musk said. Walmart (WMT.N), for instance, has said it has been testing Freightliner's eCascadia and Nikola's Tre BEV trucks in California. In the years since, rivals have begun to sell battery-powered trucks of their own.ĭaimler's (MBGn.DE) Freightliner, Volvo (VOLVb.ST), startup Nikola (NKLA.O) and Renault (RENA.PA) are among Tesla's competitors in developing alternatives to combustion-engine trucks. Tesla had initially set a production target for 2019 for the Semi, which was first unveiled in 2017. "Not very impressive - moving a cargo of chips (average weight per pack 52 grams) cannot in any way be said to be definitive proof of concept," said Oliver Dixon, senior analyst at consultancy Guidehouse. The Semi delivery presentation ended without Musk taking questions, as he often does at Tesla events.
TESLA TRUCK DRIVER
Tesla did not provide details on how Tesla's driver assistance systems would function in the Semi it unveiled on Thursday or future versions. Musk has spoken in the past about the prospect of fully autonomous trucks. Tesla did not disclose the weight of an unloaded Semi, one key specification analysts had hoped to learn and an important consideration for the efficiency of electric trucks. Tesla said it had completed a 500-mile drive on a single charge, with the Semi and cargo weighing in at 81,000 pounds in total. Musk said the Semi has been doing test runs between Tesla's Sparks, Nevada factory and its plant in Fremont, California. Tesla did not provide details on orders or deliveries to customers, nor an estimate on what the total cost of ownership for future buyers would be compared to diesel alternatives.
PepsiCo, which completed its first cargo run with the Tesla truck to deliver snacks for those attending the Nevada launch event, had ordered 100 trucks in 2017.īrewer Anheuser-Busch (ABI.BR), United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) and Walmart Inc (WMT.N) were among other companies that had reserved the Semi. Musk has said Tesla would aim to produce 50,000 of the trucks in 2024. Robyn Denholm, chair of Tesla, recently said the automaker might produce 100 Semis this year. In 2017, Tesla had said the 300-mile range version of the Semi would cost $150,000, and the 500-mile version $180,000, but Tesla's passenger electric vehicle prices have increased sharply since then. Tesla said it would begin using the Semi to ship parts to its plant in Fremont, California. Still, industry experts remain skeptical that battery electric trucks can take the strain of hauling hefty loads for hundreds of miles economically.Īt Musk's first Tesla reveal since taking over Twitter - an acquisition some investors worry has become a distraction - the company did not announce pricing for the Semi, provide details on variants of the truck it had initially projected or supply a forecast for deliveries to PepsiCo or other customers. "If you're a trucker and you want the most badass rig on the road, this is it," Musk said, noting that it was five years since Tesla had announced it was developing the all-electric truck. Musk, who appeared onstage at an event at Tesla's Nevada plant, said the battery-powered, long-haul truck would reduce highway emissions, outperform existing diesel models on power and safety and spin-off a fast-charging technology Tesla would use in its upcoming Cybertruck pickup.
Dec 1 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk delivered the company's first heavy-duty Semi on Thursday to PepsiCo (PEP.O) without offering updated forecasts for the truck's pricing, production plans or how much cargo it could haul.
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