Tesla Unveils Prototype Of Electric Big Rig Truck
HAWTHORNE (CBSLA) — Tesla unveiled a prototype of its electric big rig at its Hawthorne headquarters Thursday night, after several delays.
"It can transform into a robot, fight aliens and make one hell of a latte," Tesla CEO Elon Musk quipped on Twitter Wednesday morning, alongside a darkened silhouette photo showing only a vague outline of the vehicle.
It can transform into a robot, fight aliens and make one hell of a latte pic.twitter.com/8h9vvWu4f5
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2017
KCAL9's Crystal Cruz attended the launch party and said the prototype was everything you'd expect from TESLA --sleek, stylish and sexy.
The truck can go from 0-60 in five seconds. And it will be able to go 500 miles on a single charge -- the charge takes about half hour. It also run on sunlight and has an auto-pilot feature. The driver will sit in the center of the cab.
The unveiling of the semi has been delayed twice, with Musk explaining last month that the latest delay was due to the company "diverting resources" to cope with "bottlenecks" in production of the company's Model 3 electric car, and to focus on efforts to provide a solar power array for hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico.
The trucks could hit the road within two years, Musk said.
Musk also threw in a big surprise. Out of one of the semi trucks, came a four-seat roadster that can go 0-60 in 1.9 seconds and can go 620 miles on one charge. That car, he said, should be available by 2020.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)