Tesla Semi Truck officially revealed - pictures

This is the recently revealed Tesla lorry.

The electric truck has a claimed range of 500 miles and can do 0-60mph in five seconds.

The semi marks the Tesla’s first venture into an industrial vehicle.

The Tesla lorry’s 0-60mph time of five seconds assumes there is a trailer attached to the truck.

The time does rise to 20 seconds when hauling a grow weight of 36,000kg.

The drag coefficient of the truck is just 0.36, making it more aero dynamic than the Bugatti Chiron, which has a drag coefficient of 0.38. A conventional diesel rig has a coefficient of drag value of 0.65 – 0.7.

Tesla claim that from empty, the semi truck can get a range of 400 miles in just 30 minutes – conveniently the legal break time US truckers have to take.

The rapid charging time is due to Tesla’s new ‘megachargers’ which are solar powered rather than taking energy from the grid.

Four independent electric motors are used to drive the wheels.

Elon Musk also revealed the second-generation roadster which is set for production is 2020.

The driving position is in the middle of the cabin – not unlike that found in the McLaren F1.

The safety kit on the electric truck is impressive, coming with automatic emergency braking, collision warning, and lane keeping.

The cost per mile of the semi is claimed to be 20 per cent less than that of a conventional truck. With convoy technology being developed to reduce costs further.

The drivetrain is claimed to give the lorry a lifetime of 1,000,000 cycles. What’s more, if two of the four motors stop working, the remaining motors will still out perform a traditional truck. 

The price of the Tesla semi has yet to be announced, but production is scheduled for 2019 and orders are being taken now.