Tesla introduces its ‘Star Wars’ electric Semi

“With a style more fitting of Star Wars than Smokey and the Bandit, Tesla’s electric semi made its twice-delayed debut Thursday in Hawthorne, California, the home Tesla Motors’ design center and company founder Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket factory.”

That was our colleague Jason Cannon, equipment editor for Commercial Carrier Journal and Overdrive writing from the unveiling of the much-anticipated all-electric truck its maker promised would “blow your mind clear out of your skull and into an alternate dimension.”

Here are a few of the details from the great reveal:

• The company is accepting reservations for Tesla Semis for $5,000 per truck
• Production said to begin in 2019
• Will have a range up to 500 miles at maximum weight and highway speed
• 0 to 60 in five seconds without a trailer
• 0 to 60 in 20 seconds fully loaded with 80,000 lbs.
• Can take a 5 percent grade at a steady 65 mph
• Driver is “positioned like you’re in a race car” in a center-mounted driver’s seat, according to Musk
• Fully electric HVAC system doesn’t require idling
• “Jackknifing is impossible in this truck,” Musk says
• Tesla says Semi owners can expect save $200,000 in fuel costs over one million miles
• Musk guarantees the truck will not breakdown for one million miles

Read Cannon’s full story at Commercial Carrier Journal.

Tesla also showed off a fast little roadster Thursday night.

Interior features video screens and enough room to stand up

What Tesla Semi looks like on the road.