Tesla wants to electrify big trucks, adding to its ambitions
DETROIT — After more than a decade of making cars and SUVs — and, more recently, solar panels — Tesla Inc. wants to electrify a new type of vehicle: big trucks.
The company unveiled its new electric semitractor-trailer Thursday night near its design centre in Hawthorne, California.
CEO Elon Musk said the semi is capable of travelling 500 miles (804 kilometres) on an electric charge — even with a full 80,000-pound (36,287-kilogram) load — and will cost less than a diesel semi considering fuel savings, lower maintenance and other factors. Musk said customers can put down a $5,000 deposit for the semi now and production will begin in 2019.
“We’re confident that this is a product that’s better in every way from a feature standpoint,” Musk told a crowd of Tesla fans gathered for the unveiling. Musk didn’t reveal the semi’s price.