Tesla to unveil semi truck

TESLA CEO Elon Musk has taken to Twitter to announce the impending unveiling of the electric car manufacturer’s semi truck, set for a public reveal in September, as well as plans to reveal a pick-up truck in 18 to 24 months.

Mr Musk tweeted the message: “Tesla Semi truck unveil set for September. Team has done an amazing job. Seriously next level”, which means the reveal coincides with the Frankfurt motor show, but, as history suggests, Tesla will likely eschew the auto show in favour of its own independent unveiling.

The decision to develop a semi truck was outlined by Tesla in their 2016 ‘Master Plan, Part Deux’, where the American start-up claimed their incoming electric load-hauler would substantially reduce the cost of cargo transport while also increasing safety and driver enjoyment.

While there are still no concrete details on what the Tesla semi truck could look like or be capable of, Mr Musk’s claims the vehicle is “seriously next level”.

However, there are a number of hurdles for Tesla engineers to overcome with developing an electric semi truck, namely an emissions-free drivetrain capable of hauling hundreds of kilograms of freight across long distances over an extended period of time.

An all-electric powertrain would also utilise batteries that require recharging – a process which can currently take upwards of six hours.

In a February tweet, Mr Musk indicated that a semi truck battery capacity would have to be greater than 100kWh, which is the largest current battery capacity featured in the Model S and Model X P100D variants.

The semi truck development project is being spearheaded by Jerome Guillen, who previously worked as the head of the Model S development program and Tesla’s worldwide vice president of sales and service.

Before joining Tesla, Mr Guillen worked for Daimler in a number of roles including overseeing the development of new trucks for Freightliner, Daimler’s truck division.

Mr Guillen’s former employers are also working on an electric truck concept, with Mercedes-Benz announcing in February plans for a 12-month European trial of 18- and 25-tonne versions of its eTruck ahead of a mass-market debut in 2020.

Tesla will also be revealing a pick-up truck in the next 18 to 24 months according to Mr Musk, although like the truck, solid details are not yet available.

It is likely that the Tesla pick-up will go head to head with other full-sized American pick-ups such as the Ram 2500, Ford F150 and Toyota Tundra, and not the mid-sized pick-ups found in Australia such as the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger.

Mr Musk also indicated that the final unveiling of the Model 3 will take place in July, meaning a likely launch date at the end of this year or start of 2018.

Lastly, Mr Musk also revealed that the Roadster nameplate will be revived with the born-again two-door sportscars continuing as a convertible.

The Roadster was the first vehicle in Tesla’s portfolio, based on a Lotus Elise and produced from 2008 to 2012.