Tesla has just released a video of its new Electric Truck taking a cheeky ride on the track. And you can watch it right here.
According to Electrek, it’s likely that the prototypes will contain Tesla’s new 4680 battery cells. The publication also theorises that they could utilise Tesla’s new structural battery pack.
The video itself doesn’t reveal much, but it’s still cool to see.
Semi on the track pic.twitter.com/0QCTYGbLJv
— Tesla (@Tesla) March 14, 2021
Things have been comparatively quiet on the EV Semi front for awhile now. Despite originally being set for a 2019 release, the Semis never arrived. In fact, this is one of only two new prototypes that have been developed over the last couple of years.
But then Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been busy. Between the Cybertruck, launching Starlink, wanting to rename a city and possibly being investigated over Dogecoin… he’s had a bit on.
Tesla first unveiled the original Semi prototype back in 2017. It was a fully electric truck that was said to have 800km in range and the ability to haul a forty tonne trailer.
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However, a rival company hilariously named ‘Nikola’ tried to sue Tesla for $US2 billion. The company believed that the Tesla Semi infringed upon multiple design patents it submitted for its own Nikola One EV.
The case is still making its way through the U.S. courts. Back in 2019 Tesla tried to get the United States Patent and Trademark Office (UPSTO) to overturn Nikola’s mid-entry side door patent, but the request was rejected.
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It’s unclear just when we might actually see the Tesla Semi, or any EV truck on the road, particularly in Australia.
At the present time EV cars are still few and far between. EVs still suffer from range anxiety and a lack of federal incentives in Australia. The vast majority of EVs also fall into the ‘fuel efficient’ category of the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) despite, you know, not using fuel.