Tesla unveils Semi electric truck

After two postponements, the big electric car maker has pulled the rug off its all-electric prime mover

At a gala event in Los Angeles, Tesla founder Elon Musk has introduced us to the company’s long-awaited electric long-haul full-size truck it calls the Semi.

Musk entered in one of two trucks that graced stage and arrived under their own steam, as it were. One of the trucks was in what looked to be standard form while the other had an extensive aerodynamics kit.

The enthusiastic CEO was quick to point out that the electric trucks will be quicker and cheaper to run than a conventional diesel truck.

A graphic showed that the Semi would take just five seconds to get from standstill to 60mph (96.5 km/h) as opposed to 15 seconds for a regular truck. He also claimed that fully-loaded to 36 tonnes, the Tesla would get from rest to the same speed in 20 seconds – a lot quicker than a diesel truck which Tesla reckons would take about a minute.

He also let us know that the electric truck would hold 105km/h on a five per cent grade whereas the diesel truck could only hold 72km/h with a full load.

Musk added that the new Tesla Semi would have a range of 800 kilometres and could be charged in just 30 minutes to give 640km range. The quick charge would come from one of Tesla's Megachargers (is that a new word?), a new high-speed DC charging solution which can be installed at origin or destination points and along heavily trafficked routes, enabling recharging during loading, unloading, or driver breaks.

Whether the electric truck would ever come to Australia is a moot point, but the trucks on show had a central driving position which may conflict with our design rules. Musk said this gives the driver better vision and greater comfort. Two big touch screens flank the dash which are in easy reach of the central position and give route data, telematics and rear vision.

The trucks will also be ready for autonomous driving with Tesla’s Autopilot and all trucks will full safety kit including autonomous braking.

However, Tesla is not the only player in the electric truck market. Recently Volkswagen announced that it was intending to invest $A2.1 billion in electric trucks, and Fuso showed its heavy-duty electric truck at the Tokyo Motor Show in late October.

Others, including Mercedes-Benz have also indicated their intent to join the electric-truck club, so there’s no shortage of players who could well beat Tesla to the market when its production begins in 2019.

Tesla unveils Semi electric truck

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