Photo: Nikola Motors
Back at the beginning of last century, Nikola Tesla would hardly have imagined that the decades ahead would give birth to not one, but two car companies wearing his name.
One of these companies uses his family name and has a rather thriving business building and selling electric cars. The other, the one that uses the inventor’s first name, is in the business of talking about building electric trucks and suing the former for patent infringement.
Back in May, Nikola Motors sued Tesla Motors, asking $2 billion in damages because the design of the Tesla Semi has allegedly been inspired by the one of the electric trucks unveiled back in 2016, the Nikola One.
We’re not quite sure how that is going, but after today one could say Nikola is already at its third model in the lineup without actually building or selling any of the previous ones.
Following the One, Nikola previewed the Two, and on Tuesday showed the world the Tre, which stands for three in Norwegian.
This latest truck is supposed to be made available in Europe, Asia, and Australia, but not after officially showing itself at the Nikola World 2019 event April 16, 2019.
This third truck generates electricity from hydrogen fuel cells. The range of the thing is hard to determine, as Nikola gives a very wide margin: between 500 and 1,200 km (310 to 745 miles).
The same thing can be said about horsepower, rated by the truck maker wannabes to between 500 and 1,000 horsepower, depending on the options chosen.
Nikola says it has designed the Tre because of the “widespread interest from European customers.” The company doesn’t say why the One or Two were not good enough.
Apparently, the first prototypes are set to begin testing in Europe in 2020. While the trucks clock miles, Nikola will be looking for a place where to manufacture them.
As per Nikola’s claims, the company currently has 11 billion dollars in pre-order reservations. For the record, it costs zero dollars to reserve the One, Two or Tre on the company’s website.
Back in May, Nikola Motors sued Tesla Motors, asking $2 billion in damages because the design of the Tesla Semi has allegedly been inspired by the one of the electric trucks unveiled back in 2016, the Nikola One.
We’re not quite sure how that is going, but after today one could say Nikola is already at its third model in the lineup without actually building or selling any of the previous ones.
Following the One, Nikola previewed the Two, and on Tuesday showed the world the Tre, which stands for three in Norwegian.
This latest truck is supposed to be made available in Europe, Asia, and Australia, but not after officially showing itself at the Nikola World 2019 event April 16, 2019.
This third truck generates electricity from hydrogen fuel cells. The range of the thing is hard to determine, as Nikola gives a very wide margin: between 500 and 1,200 km (310 to 745 miles).
The same thing can be said about horsepower, rated by the truck maker wannabes to between 500 and 1,000 horsepower, depending on the options chosen.
Nikola says it has designed the Tre because of the “widespread interest from European customers.” The company doesn’t say why the One or Two were not good enough.
Apparently, the first prototypes are set to begin testing in Europe in 2020. While the trucks clock miles, Nikola will be looking for a place where to manufacture them.
As per Nikola’s claims, the company currently has 11 billion dollars in pre-order reservations. For the record, it costs zero dollars to reserve the One, Two or Tre on the company’s website.
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