After months of speculation, Tesla co-founder Elon Musk has tweeted the official unveiling date for the Tesla Semi-truck: Thursday 16 November.
Tesla Semi Truck unveil to be webcast live on Thursday at 8pm! This will blow your mind clear out of your skull and into an alternate dimension. Just need to find my portal gun …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 12, 2017
The idea for the Tesla truck was revealed back in 2012, and Musk himself revealed more details in the Tesla 2016 so-called Master Plan. The plan included details on the expansion of the Tesla range, including SUVs, heavy-duty truck and pickup trucks.
Yet, all has been fairly quiet on the truck front since then. The initial unveiling date, set for September, was pushed back to October and back again.
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By GlobalDataThis raises questions about what’s going on inside Tesla, particularly with those production issues around the Model 3.
How to watch the unveiling of the Tesla semi-truck event
If you can’t make it to California, you will be able to watch the unveiling of the semi-truck on a webcast. This will begin at 8pm EST, around 1am GMT.
Usually, Tesla webcasts take place on the company’s website and YouTube channel, so set your alarms and make sure to tune in there.
We will post the link to the webcast too when it becomes available.
What can we expect from the Tesla semi-truck event?
At Tesla’s annual investors meeting in June this year, Musk said:
“A lot of people don’t think you can do a heavy-duty, long-range truck that’s electric, but we are confident that this can be done.”
At the moment there are only rumours about how the Tesla semi-truck will work and function. It is thought the truck will be able to travel 200 to 300 miles with a typical payload before recharging. This won’t put it on par with traditional diesel trucks, which can do up to 1,000 miles on a full tank but could work for trucks doing regional trips of 100 to 200 miles.
The latest Tesla model could also feature something else: the company’s autonomous driving technology. Tesla is reportedly working on self-driving technology for its trucks, with a focus on platooning. This is a driving formation, where trucks closely follow one another, which could cut the need for drivers.
We could hear all about this and more at the reveal of the Tesla semi-truck this week.
How will Tesla’s investors feel?
Tesla investors have had a difficult ride over the past month. The company’s share price has fallen from 359.65 in October to 310.15 today.
However, analysts are positive that the semi-truck will be good news. Joseph Spak, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said the semi-truck could give Tesla the “biggest bang for their buck”. He says the company can expand on the existing Model 3 design and turn that into a bigger vehicle. The issue will be delivering it in the right time frame.
“While we don’t have meaningful reason to doubt that Tesla can eventually achieve its targets, doing so in a timely manner without some growing pains could prove challenging,” he said.