Tesla has finally delivered an actual real-life Semi to a customer, but there’s just one problem. And no, it isn’t the fact that it’s three years late. We still do not know shit about it. Despite the fact that CEO Elon Musk unveiled the first production Semi to PepsiCo on Thursday, he didn’t offer up any additional details on things like the truck’s price, how many Tesla would produce, how much it weighed, the Autopilot technology on board, or how much cargo it can haul.
Instead, it would seem that Musk just offered up lame platitudes about the truck. Reuters reports that the CEO said the Semi would reduce highway emissions and outperform existing diesel trucks on both power and safety. He added that the fast-charging tech found in the Semi would make its way into the Cybertruck… whenever that gets made.
“If you’re a trucker and you want the most badass rig on the road, this is it,” Musk said at the event.
This Semi was the first of 100 trucks PepsiCo bought in 2017 with the help of the government of California. It was used to deliver snacks for those attending the launch in Nevada on Thursday. Other companies like Anheuser-Busch, UPS, and Walmart also have reservations down for Semis.
Despite the fact that five years have passed since the Semi was first introduced, we still only have preliminary information from Tesla. The company has said in the past that a 300-mile range version will cost $150,000 and a 500-mile range version will cost $180,000. Now, it’s impossible to know for sure, but if you consider the fact that regular Tesla passenger vehicle prices have shot up since then, it’s unlikely that the Semi will still have these prices.
According to Reuters, Robyn Denholm – Tesla’s chair – said the automaker plans to produce 100 Semis this year. That’s a tall order since there’s less than a month left in 2022. However, in 2024, the company is aiming to build 50,000 trucks.
Musk has said in the past that the Semi has been completing test runs between Fremont, California, and Sparks, Nevada. The 500-mile drive can be done on a single charge, according to Musk, while the Semi and cargo weighed in at 81,000 pounds. It’s still unclear how much of that weight is the truck itself. An interesting note, Reuters says Musk didn’t take questions at the end of the event, which is different from what he’s done in the past.
One senior analyst called the whole thing, “[n]ot very impressive.” So, I suppose we will have to wait even longer to learn anything definitive and worthwhile about the Tesla Semi. Surely it won’t take another five years, right?