Musk told employees its time to bring the Tesla Semi to volume production in an email
The Tesla Semi was originally unveiled in 2017
The Tesla Semi has up to 500 miles of range (804 kilometres)
Tesla founder Elon Musk says its time to bring the Tesla Semi electric truck to volume production. In an email sent to Tesla employees, Musk says the moment has come to go all out with production of the battery set to begin in Nevada.
For those who missed the leaked $TSLA email, here it is: pic.twitter.com/1KPV7Zzjv1
— James Stephenson (@ICannot_Enough) June 10, 2020
Where things get a bit interesting is that Musk mentions that although the battery will be built at Tesla’s Nevada plant, the rest of the Semi will be fabricated “in other states” according to the email. Tesla is currently studying various possible sites for a new factory including Austin and Tulsa.
Here’s a copy of the email obtained by Reuters.
The news sent the Tesla stock rocketing over $1,000 a share. The Tesla Semi was unveiled in 2017 and has since been perfected and improved. The goal of the truck is to enable the transportation of goods more efficiently across continents. The Semi will come in different versions offering 300 and 500 miles of range (483 and 804 kilometres).
There will be a Founders Series version coming first costing $200,000 while pricing for the 300-mile Semi is expected to start at $150,000.
Tesla’s direct competitor in this segment is Nikola Motors that also has plans for its own electrified semi truck. In a tweet, CEO Trevor Milton said he welcomed the competition.
I love the competition! Tesla's call to mass produce a semi is a good thing to Nikola's business model no matter what. I hear the their semi truck weighs 27,000 – 30,000 lbs for long range mile version. Our fuel cell should be 10,000 lbs less.
— Trevor Milton (@nikolatrevor) June 10, 2020
