Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc., delivered the company’s first heavy-duty semi on Thursday to PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP), but he made no new predictions about the truck’s price, manufacturing schedule, or the amount of cargo it could carry.
The battery-powered, long-haul truck will reduce highway emissions, outperform current diesel models on power and safety, and spin off a fast-charging technology Tesla would use in its upcoming Cybertruck pickup, according to Musk, who made an appearance on stage at an event at Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) Nevada facility.
The all-electric truck has been under development by Tesla for five years, and Musk declared, “If you’re a trucker and you want the most badass rig on the road, this is it.” Industry experts are still dubious about the ability of battery-powered trucks to carry the weight of heavy cargo over long distances without breaking the bank.
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The company did not disclose pricing for the Semi at Musk’s first Tesla unveiling following his acquisition of Twitter, which some investors fear has turned into a distraction. It also did not provide information on the truck’s variants that it had initially anticipated, nor did it provide a forecast for deliveries to PepsiCo or other clients. Tesla said that it will start employing the Semi to transport parts to its Fremont, California, facility.
Tesla had previously stated that the Semi’s 300-mile range version would cost $150,000 and the 500-mile version would cost $180,000, but costs for Tesla’s passenger electric vehicles have subsequently shot up significantly.
Tesla’s chair, Robyn Denholm, reportedly stated that the manufacturer may construct 100 semis this year. According to Musk, Tesla plans to make 50,000 of the vehicles by 2024.
PepsiCo purchased 100 trucks in 2017, and they completed their first cargo run with the Tesla vehicle to distribute food to attendees of the Nevada launch ceremony.
Walmart Inc., United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS), and Anheuser-Busch InBev had also reserved the Semi. The entire cost of ownership for potential consumers in comparison to diesel alternatives was not disclosed by Tesla, nor were there any specifics on orders or delivery to customers.
not very impressive.
According to Musk, the Semi has been doing test runs between Tesla’s factories in Sparks, Nevada, and Fremont, California. The Semi and its payload weighed a combined 81,000 pounds, according to Tesla, which claimed to have driven 500 miles on a single charge.
The weight of an empty semi was a crucial detail that analysts had anticipated learning and a crucial factor in the effectiveness of electric trucks that Tesla did not divulge.
Musk has already discussed the possibility of completely autonomous vehicles. Regarding the Semi it revealed on Thursday or future models, Tesla did not disclose information on how its driver assistance technologies will operate.
As he frequently does at Tesla events, Musk did not take questions after the Semi delivery presentation.
Moving a cargo of chips, with an average pack weight of 52 grams, is not particularly impressive, according to Oliver Dixon, the senior analyst at consultancy Guidehouse.
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The Semi was first introduced in 2017, and Tesla had targeted a manufacturing date for 2019. Since then, competitors have started selling their own battery-powered vehicles.
Tesla’s rivals in creating trucks without combustion engines include Daimler’s Freightliner, Volvo, startup Nikola, and Renault (EPA: RENA). Daimler (OTC: DDAIF) also owns Freightliner.
For instance, Walmart has claimed that it has been testing Nikola’s Tre BEV and Freightliner’s Cascadia trucks in California.
As a cheetah,
According to Musk, an upgraded version of Tesla’s Supercharger that will be made available to the Cybertruck has liquid-cooling technology in the charging cable and can charge the Semi at a rate of 1 megawatt. In 2023, the Cybertruck is expected to begin manufacturing.
Only 1% of vehicles sold in the US are trucks, but Tesla claims that they account for 20% of all vehicle emissions.
Tesla made the unspecific claim that other upcoming cars would make use of the Semi’s powertrain technology. Three electric motors are used in the Semi, two of which are kept in reserve for when the truck needs to accelerate and only one of which is activated at highway speed, according to Musk. This feature makes the Semi more energy-efficient.
In comparison to a diesel truck, “this thing has crazy power,” Musk said. In essence, it’s similar to an elephant running like a cheetah.
Tesla demonstrated a future “robotaxi” in development with a mock-up of the vehicle covered in a tarp on a slide that was part of Musk’s presentation.
After Tesla’s stock price reached $194.70, the presentation was held. The market capitalization of the stock has decreased by about $500 billion, or about 45%, to about $615 billion so far this year.
Investors have cited a number of factors, including Musk’s sales of Tesla stock to fund his acquisition of Twitter, indications that demand for Tesla’s high-end vehicles is beginning to decline due to a slowing global economy, and a warning from the company that it might not meet its goal to increase deliveries by 50% this year.
