Production on the Model 3 hasn’t even begun, but when you have tweets, tweet them. That’s the mantra Elon Musk ran with today by letting the world know that Tesla’s going to unveil a semi-truck in September, followed by a pickup within the next two years. Take it away, Elon.
“Team has done an amazing job,” Elon says about the semi-truck. “Seriously next level.”
The semi’s a wonderful idea. My colleague Jason Torchinsky ran down the litany of reasons why it makes perfect sense here, but the main question would be if Tesla could produce a truck that has the capability of being equipped with a shitload of batteries that can be efficiently recharged, so the truck can carry a serious range with it.
Musk didn’t offer much else on Twitter, and the company only told us: “Right now Elon’s tweets are the extent of what we’re sharing.”
Musk has a history of making exceedingly optimistic promises that can’t be held, but the spat of announcements on Twitter today comes at a high-point for Tesla. This week, the company overcame General Motors as the most valuable car company in the U.S., and Model 3 release candidates are buzzing around town, so who knows, maybe they’ll pull off a production launch of July for the more-affordable sedan. Musk reiterated that July date today, as well.
Last year, Tesla offered this in a section of its Master Plan:
In addition to consumer vehicles, there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport. Both are in the early stages of development at Tesla and should be ready for unveiling next year. We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate.
With the battery power coming from Gigafactory, who knows, maybe this is all doable. I’m just wondering where the hell they’re going to make all of this. In Fremont?