Whenever Tesla announces something, you can rest assured you would be astounded and mind-blown. After impacting the mass market with its electric cars, Elon Musk has recently revealed its line of freight trucks called the Tesla Semi, which are battery-run trucks that have the capability to travel 400 miles with just 30 minutes of charging. That’s downright insane.
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The Tesla Semis are quoted to be ready by 2020, and it has many futuristic features that will change the way you see long-distance hauling forever. There are 2 variants to the Semi, which are the standard model and the more aerodynamic model. The first thing one sees when they glance upon the Semi would be how lean it looks compared to the traditional diesel-powered Mega-Haulers. The aerodynamic variant has a lower ride profile, which gives it a better centre of gravity during its journey.
Inside the Tesla Semi, you won’t find the conventional seating position of any like it before. The driver’s seat is placed smacked dab in the middle, while there are two touchscreen control pads flanking the driver on both sides. This design was done in such a manner because of the location of the battery. While there are no sleeping arrangements yet, future plans will include a feature for those long-haul drivers who drive overnight.
On the control pads themselves, the left screen controls vehicle function while the right controls navigation and radio controls. The Semi itself will be semi-autonomous, which takes the strain off the driver. One of the coolest features this truck has would be it has no transmission system, meaning no energy is wasted on friction during gear shifts. Elon Musk also claims that it has “infinite braking potential” with its regenerative braking technology, which means you will never need to replace the brakes.
All this might sound like it came out of a Stanley Kubrick film, but it has been announced, and the prototypes had been revealed. We will wait to see if this will impact other countries once the Tesla Semi sets out for production in 2020.