Tesla semi truck and roadster

Semi truck. © Tesla.

Last night, in an airport hangar in Hawthorne, CA., Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled a stylish prototype electric semi-truck that he said will travel 800 km (500 miles) on a full charge of its lithium-ion battery pack, go zero to 100 km/h (60 mph) in 20 seconds fully loaded, and charge most of the way in 30 minutes while a driver rests and eats. An average truck trip is less than 400 km, which meant that a driver could do a round trip without recharging. Musk did not say how much the truck will cost, but that it will be cheaper (78 cents per kilometre) to operate than a standard diesel (99 cents per kilometre). The Semi comes with the same Enhanced Autopilot system as its latest cars, using identical front- and side-facing cameras, computers, ultrasonic sensors and radars—although probably more of them. It will be in production by 2019. You can already make a reservation online for a $5,000 USD deposit.

Roadster. © Tesla.

One more thing. . . The crowd was treated to the surprise unveiling of what is destined to be not only the world’s longest-range electric car, but also the fastest production car in history: the new Tesla Roadster. “The new Tesla Roaster will be the fastest production car ever made, period,” Musk said. “And this is the base model.” The sports car can go from 0 to 100 km/h in less than two seconds and reach a top speed of over 400 km/h. But the most excitement came from the battery pack: the car will have a 200 kWh battery pack and will get 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) of range. The Roadster will start at $200,000 USD, with a $50,000 reservation deposit.

⇨ IEEE Spectrum, “Tesla launches an electric semi truck—and a new sports car.”

⇨ Ars Technica, “Tesla promises a new wicked-fast $200,000 Roadster.”