Tesla Going Ahead With Nov. 16 Truck Reveal
After multiple delays, Tesla has settled upon a date.
In April, we learned of Tesla's plan to unveil its electric semi in September. But the electric upstart's plan went awry, and the unveiling was delayed until late October. Later, it was postponed again, to a tentative Nov. 16, as Tesla volunteered emergency assistance for a still-stricken Puerto Rico, and dealt with a rough start to Model 3 production. On Friday, Tesla all but confirmed its plans to steam ahead toward its aspirations of a Nov. 16, as Electrek reports that qualifying referral program members received invitations to RSVP for the truck's reveal event on the 16th, with doors at 7 p.m.
Elon Musk has hinted at a second vehicle to be shown off at the event, but it's anyone's guess which of Tesla's other upcoming products it will be. Candidates for reveal include the Model Y crossover, based on the Model 3's underpinnings, the revived Tesla Roadster, or even a pickup, hinted by Musk to be a scaled-down version of the semi.
Musk and Tesla have done nothing but hype up the electric semi so far. Said to utilize an army of the electric motors that power the Model 3, Musk has described it as "spry," and "like a sports car." He has further raised expectations by declaring it a "beast," and "unreal." Musk even boasts that the truck has greater torque than any diesel on the market. "If you had a tug of war competition, the Tesla Semi will tug the diesel semi uphill," he said in his TED appearance in April.
One trucking executive has even predicted the semi to be capable of a 300-mile range, but a tweet from Musk suggests that even more is possible, describing its specifications as superior to anything reported so far.
With all that Elon Musk has said to raise expectations of the Tesla semi, anything short of setting the gold standard for commercial trucks will be lambasted by Tesla's proponents and detractors alike.
We've reached out to Tesla for further comment and will update this report when the company responds.
