The biggest surprise of Elon Musk’s Master Plan Part Deux was his intention to begin developing electric trucks and buses. Today, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO unveiled the first look at what could be a version of the future of trucking.
Elon Musk says Tesla’s new electric semi truck will begin production in 2019
Musk revealed his semi trucks at an event on Thursday.
The trucks, which didn’t look that much different from the typical semi trucks you see on the road today, will be in production by 2019, Musk said at the unveiling event on Thursday. But with little success meeting production goals he set for his mass market sedan, the Model 3, it’s unclear how Musk will come through on his promises of an electric truck.
But Musk is nothing if not ambitious. And the CEO made a number of promises on Thursday.
“We are guaranteeing this truck won’t break down for a million miles,” Musk said.
That’s because the truck has four motors, he said.
“Even if you only have two of those four motors running, it will still beat a diesel truck.”
The trucks will be able to drive for 500 miles per electric charge and go from 0 to 60 mph in 20 seconds with an 80,000 pound load.
During the event, Tesla started its online reservation for the trucks. Reservations cost $5,000.
Driving a Tesla semi is easy, Musk said, because drivers are positioned in the center.
“You’re positioned like you’re in a race car,” Musk said. “You have complete visibility of the road. It’s comparably better than any other truck on the road. I can drive this thing and I have no idea how to drive a semi.”
Tesla livestream
Musk claims the interior experience is better than any other truck that exists on the road. “Everything just works,” Musk said.
Tesla livestream
One big question is how Tesla is going to be able to fuel these electric trucks. To that end, the company will be setting up a global network of solar-powered chargers, called the Mega Charger network.
“Your truck is running on sunlight,” he said.
And what Tesla has to its advantage is its proven ability to set up a charging network. Our sister site The Verge noticed its layout is pretty similar to a truck stop.
The new Tesla semi truck will be powered by the same semi-autonomous technology as other Tesla vehicles. In other words, Tesla wants it to be able to drive by itself on the highway — an impressive feat but one that other companies are also working on.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated a joke Musk made during the event.
Watch a super cut of the event below.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
