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.