Skip to main content

Truck, yeah! Tesla is using its electric Semi to deliver cars in California

Tesla has remained relatively quiet about its Semi since it introduced the truck in November 2017. It received about 2,000 pre-orders from a wide variety of clients around the globe, including Walmart and Anheuser-Busch, but some analysts cautiously speculated the company’s silence signaled it had moved the Semi project to the back burner. Proving the naysayers wrong, Tesla posted a video showing one of its Semi prototypes hauling a load of new cars on a freeway in California.

Recommended Videos

Putting the Semi to work makes sense for the Silicon Valley-based automaker. On the one hand, using its own trucks helps the company save money as it attempts to increase deliveries. On the other hand, it also allows Tesla’s research and development department to gather data about how the Semi handles real-world situations. Delivery drivers will likely have less patience than Model 3 owners when it comes to quality issues.

The video confirms the Semi’s design hasn’t changed since its unveiling; it’s still unlike anything we’ve seen before. Its specifications sheet is impressive, too.

When loaded to its 80,000-pound maximum gross vehicle weight, the Semi is able to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 20 seconds. When it comes to hauling freight up five-percent grades, the Tesla can manage 65 mph. And while it won’t win the range battle — it can drive for up to 300 or 500 miles depending on configuration — its battery pack stores enough electricity for short delivery operations. According to Tesla, 80 percent of freight routes are shorter than 250 miles, and the plug-in rig can replenish 400 miles of range in just 30 minutes while it loads or unloads.

The engineers in charge of developing the Semi are putting a big focus on safety. It comes standard with automatic emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, and forward collision warning, and its infotainment system can seamlessly integrate into fleet systems. Even the powertrain adds safety, according to Tesla. The floor-mounted batteries reduce the center of gravity, which decreases the chance of a rollover. And each wheel gets its own independent motor, so torque is distributed to each hub independently, so that the risk of jackknifing drops.

Tesla’s Semi will be capable of platooning. What is platooning? Much like penguins in the Antarctic, platooning involves groups of vehicles huddling together on the freeway, but instead of sharing warmth, they link their safety systems together to follow each other very closely. Not only is this more efficient from an aerodynamics standpoint, when the computers handle the driving, it’s 10 times safer than when a human does it.

Pricing for the 300-mile model starts at $150,000, and truckers can unlock up to 500 miles of driving range by spending $180,000. Buyers will need to include a $20,000 deposit with each reservation. To add context, the average cost of a diesel-powered semi hovers around $120,000. While Tesla’s truck is considerably more expensive, the company predicts owners will save $200,000 by the time they reach the million-mile mark.

In 2017, Tesla announced it planned to start Semi deliveries in 2019. The company hasn’t provided a more specific time frame, and it has an impressive history of delaying products. We’re expecting to learn more details (such as the size of the Semi’s battery pack, and where it will be built) in the coming months.

Who else wants a piece of the pie?

Tesla isn’t the only player in the electric semi arena. Heavy equipment manufacturer Cummins revealed the Aeos, an 18,000-pound, class-seven urban hauler powered by a 140-kWh battery pack. Nikola Motors is also developing a zero-emission semi called the Nikola One, which combines hydrogen fuel cells with batteries. Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner parent company Daimler are also planning on entering the segment with the eCascadia, which Digital Trends drove in Las Vegas.

Updated on April 1, 2019: Added the latest information about the Tesla Semi.

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
Tesla reveals price range for Optimus Gen2, its ‘robot without wheels’
Tesla's 2022 Optimus robot prototype is seen in front of the company logo.

“The future should look like the future”, CEO Elon Musk said at the Tesla "We Robot" special event held in Burbank, California, earlier this week. Sure enough, Tesla’s much-anticipated autonomous robotaxi, the Cybercab, and its large-van counterpart, the Cybervan, seemed straight out of celebrated sci-fi movies. But as the name of the event hinted at, a vision of the future would not be complete without robots: Several of the Optimus Gen 2, Tesla’s latest version of humanoid-like robot, were found serving drinks, holding conversations with guests, and even dancing at the event.Tesla has recently pitched the Optimus as a potential replacement for factory workers in China and elsewhere. Musk previously said he expects the Optimus to start working at Tesla factories in 2025 and to be available to other firms in 2026.
Yet, at the event, the Tesla boss revealed his expanded vision of a household robot that can do “everything you want: Babysit your kid, walk your dog, mow your lawn, get the groceries, just be your friend, serve drinks”.He also gave a closer estimate of the robot’s price tag: Once produced "at scale," Optimus should cost somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000. Musk had previously said the robot’s price would be about half that of a car. 
Staying true to his sci-fi vision, the Tesla CEO referred to Optimus as a cross between R2D2 and C-3PO, the famous droids from the Star Wars film series.
Ever since the first generation of the Optimus was revealed in 2022, Tesla has emphasized the continuity between its cars and the robot. “Everything that we’ve developed for our cars -- the battery power’s electronics, the advanced motor’s gearboxes, the software, the AI inference computer -- it all actually applies to a humanoid robot,” Musk said at the event. “A robot with arms and legs, instead of a robot with wheels.”
Tesla would not be the first to offer a domestic robot on the market. Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics has already commercialized a home service-type robot called Spot with a hefty price tag of $74,500. BMW and Open AI are backing robots made by Figure, a California-based company. Meanwhile, Nvidia is developing Project GR00T to also deliver humanoid robots.Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs forecast that the annual global market for humanoid robots could reach $38 billion by 2035, with robot shipments of 1.4 million units both for industrial and consumer applications. It also said that robots could become more affordable as their manufacturing cost has been decreasing more than expected -- leading to faster commercialization.

Read more
11 electric cars with the longest range
Lucid Air

Electric cars are becoming increasingly common, but there’s still one issue that new EV buyers run into: range anxiety. Because charging isn’t as easy or as quick as filling up a tank of gas, range can make or break an EV -- it dictates how far you’ll be able to drive before you run out of juice.

Electric cars will continue to gain longer and longer ranges over time, but there are already some impressively long-range cars available. Here’s a look at the electric cars with the longest range.
Lucid Air Dream Edition

Read more
Tesla software update fixes hood safety issue on 1.8M cars
Tesla's Model 3 refresh, codenamed Highland, features a sleeker front.

Tesla has issued a software update for 1.85 million of its vehicles in the U.S. to fix a safety issue involving the hood.

A notice posted online by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Tuesday explained the problem, saying that after a customer action opens the hood, it's possible that the latch assembly will fail to detect that it's open, thereby preventing a driver notification of the hood’s open state when the vehicle is placed into drive.

Read more