The long-awaited arrival of the Tesla Semi could be months away, after Elon Musk revealed that the 800km truck will ship this year.
While revealing his second master plan for the company, Musk tweeted: “Tesla 500 mile range starts shipping this, Cybertruck next year.”
He added that the Cybertruck pick-up, first revealed in 2019 will now be available in 2023.
Tesla Semi kick-started a wave of large truck announcements when it was revealed five years ago; leading fleets including Sharjah-based waste management company BEEAH to promptly place pre-orders, but the original electric disruptor to the car market has been quiet on its truck alternatives in recent years.
The Tesla Semi emerged this summer from its hiatus in a string of announcements and photo ops, including a spin on the Laguna Seca racetrack, suggesting Elon Musk’s pet project could be close to fulfilling those early adopter orders.
Rumours of supply chain issues particularly with the batteries suggest that it has endured a troubled half-decade but industry observers had expected it to return to disrupt in the next 12 months.
Of course, beyond the electric drivelines, the big promise of autonomy is both the US firm’s strength and weakness. Tesla’s vehicles are equipped with autopilots which allow the car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically. The Tesla fleet is available with the tech that allows the vehicles to auto-park and undertake automatic lane changes. However, it hasn’t been without its issues and incidences where drivers have overestimated the capability of its Level 2 autonomous vehicles. It remains the badge most identified with the future, and you can hope it will come good on its promise to use technology to make professional driving safer and more efficient.
Hopefully it won’t be long before we can all tweet or play Sonic while we work (and not drive).
