Photo: Johana Bhulyan on Twitter
Tesla has gone pretty quickly from a company that merely provided the electric powertrain to a Lotus Elise to one that's leading the charge on the EV front with two existing models and one more to come.
It has also openly admitted to working on a new crossover called the Model Y, as well as an electric pickup truck and a semi truck. These are all pretty different vehicles, and you can't really ask the same people to come up with equally good concepts for all of them.
That's why Tesla is working with potential customers on the development of the semi truck. The revelation came during yesterday's shareholder's meeting when Musk gave the audience an update on where things stood with the goods hauler.
“We’re getting them closely involved in the design process, so the biggest customers of the heavy duty Tesla semi are helping ensure that it is specified to their needs, so it’s not a mystery,” he said, quoted by The Verge. “They already know that it’s going to meet their needs, because they’ve told us what those needs are. So it’ll really just be a question of scaling volume to make as many as we can.”
That's a sound business plan for Tesla, and it's a good way to make sure its product will have a favorable reception when it hits the market. Musk hopes the Tesla semi truck will reach production scale in about two years, but until then there's a big unveiling planned for this September.
If successful, Tesla would become the first company to offer a zero-emissions alternative to the classic big freighters, pioneering a completely new market and proving that battery-powered electric propulsion is the way to the future. However, there are still plenty of doubters, so a lot is hanging on the September event.
That's why Tesla is working with potential customers on the development of the semi truck. The revelation came during yesterday's shareholder's meeting when Musk gave the audience an update on where things stood with the goods hauler.
“We’re getting them closely involved in the design process, so the biggest customers of the heavy duty Tesla semi are helping ensure that it is specified to their needs, so it’s not a mystery,” he said, quoted by The Verge. “They already know that it’s going to meet their needs, because they’ve told us what those needs are. So it’ll really just be a question of scaling volume to make as many as we can.”
That's a sound business plan for Tesla, and it's a good way to make sure its product will have a favorable reception when it hits the market. Musk hopes the Tesla semi truck will reach production scale in about two years, but until then there's a big unveiling planned for this September.
If successful, Tesla would become the first company to offer a zero-emissions alternative to the classic big freighters, pioneering a completely new market and proving that battery-powered electric propulsion is the way to the future. However, there are still plenty of doubters, so a lot is hanging on the September event.
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