Photo: Tesla Inc.
After a relatively short development period - especially compared to the automotive industry standard and considering it is the company's first vehicle of this type - the Semi was introduced during that memorable event on November 16 last year.
To be fair, the most memorable part about it was the reveal of the second-gen Roadster with its 1.9 seconds 0-60 mph acceleration time and 620 miles (1,000 km) maximum range. But just because the sports car stole the show, it doesn't mean the Semi wasn't a remarkable piece of technology in its own right.
The world's first electric semi truck would come in two different flavors, one having a relatively modest 300 miles (482 km) range while the other adding two thirds more for a total of 500 miles (800 km). Tesla never went into any technical details about the vehicle's powertrain or its battery pack, sparking speculations that it might be sitting on top of an important technological breakthrough that would allow such figures.
The theory is further supported by the surprisingly low prices announced by the company a week later. According to Tesla, the entry-level model would sell for $150,000 while the more expensive one is still under $200,000 at $180,000. Bear in mind these are vehicles that are meant to make money for their owners while having very low running and maintenance costs, so they should yield a nice profit relatively quickly.
Though we still don't know how to take Tesla's deadlines (with a pinch of salt would probably be the best idea), they're the only ones we have at the moment, and the company says the truck will enter production next year. However, with the number of reservations mounting already, it didn't give us any perspective on the Semi's production rate.
During yesterday's call with the financial analysts, Musk was the first to break the silence, though it was once again one of his sketchy mid-term deadlines. He said that in four years time after production starts, he can see Tesla rolling out 100,000 Semis a year, "maybe more."
With an average price of $165,000 (considering an equal split between the two models), that would give the company an annual revenue of $16.5 billion out of its trucking business alone. Unlike its passenger cars, Tesla never revealed the profit margin it would have with the Semi, but we can't imagine anything lower than 10 percent. You do the rest of the math.
The world's first electric semi truck would come in two different flavors, one having a relatively modest 300 miles (482 km) range while the other adding two thirds more for a total of 500 miles (800 km). Tesla never went into any technical details about the vehicle's powertrain or its battery pack, sparking speculations that it might be sitting on top of an important technological breakthrough that would allow such figures.
The theory is further supported by the surprisingly low prices announced by the company a week later. According to Tesla, the entry-level model would sell for $150,000 while the more expensive one is still under $200,000 at $180,000. Bear in mind these are vehicles that are meant to make money for their owners while having very low running and maintenance costs, so they should yield a nice profit relatively quickly.
Though we still don't know how to take Tesla's deadlines (with a pinch of salt would probably be the best idea), they're the only ones we have at the moment, and the company says the truck will enter production next year. However, with the number of reservations mounting already, it didn't give us any perspective on the Semi's production rate.
During yesterday's call with the financial analysts, Musk was the first to break the silence, though it was once again one of his sketchy mid-term deadlines. He said that in four years time after production starts, he can see Tesla rolling out 100,000 Semis a year, "maybe more."
With an average price of $165,000 (considering an equal split between the two models), that would give the company an annual revenue of $16.5 billion out of its trucking business alone. Unlike its passenger cars, Tesla never revealed the profit margin it would have with the Semi, but we can't imagine anything lower than 10 percent. You do the rest of the math.
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