This Tesla Semi prototype was recently spotted in
Rocklin, California, and aside from wearing a surprisingly bright shade of red,
it also gave onlookers a sneak peek at its frunk, which appears to be more or
less the same size as the one in a Model S or Model 3, despite a more unusual
shape. The images were originally shared with Electrek by Jerome Mends-Cole,
the owner of rental company SacTesla, who saw the fully electric semi truck
parked at Tesla’s Rocklin store.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk went on record earlier this
month saying that the all-electric semi truck won’t go into production until
late 2020, despite some early claims that production would commence in 2019.
While that may not be an issue for most people,
companies such as UPS, FedEx and Walmart (who have already ordered the truck)
are probably less than thrilled with the delay. Still, Musk insisted that there
wouldn’t be any point in “increasing product complexity if we don’t have enough
batteries.”
As for what you can expect from the Tesla Semi in
terms of performance, the EV-maker claims that the range-topping version can
travel for 804 km on a single charge under normal highway
conditions. In a straight line, it will be able to accelerate to 96
km/h in just five seconds with no trailer – or 20 seconds with a full 40 ton load.
Prices are said to start at US$ 150,000 for the 482 km variant, whereas the 500 mile version will set you back US$ 180,000.
