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Tesla unveils ‘Semi,’ the company’s long-awaited electric semi-truck, and new Roadster [Update]

The company unveiled a pick-up truck version of the Tesla Semi, as well as an updated Roadster

tesla semi

Driving up to ‘Feet Don’t Fail Me’ by Queens of the Stone Age, Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk unveiled the electric vehicle company’s long-awaited long-haul products, during a presentation at the company’s Hawthorne, California facility.

Dubbed ‘Semi,’ the vehicles are powered by a philosophy the company calls ‘BAMF Performance.’

According to Musk, the Tesla Semi is capable of accelerating from zero t0 60 miles-per-hour in five seconds. The vehicle can also drive at a maximum speed of 65 miles-per-hour at max gross. Musk boasted that the Semi is capable of driving up to 500 miles on a single charge. Tesla also unveiled a pick-up truck version of the Tesla Semi.

“It’s a pick-up truck that can carry a pick-up truck,” said Musk, joking that “it should be legal” to drive the pick-up version of the Tesla Semi with a regular driver’s license.

The Tesla Semi should also completely integrate with all of the existing fleet systems currently available in the trucking industry. The vehicle purportedly gets 400 miles of range in 30 minutes of charge, with Musk stating that Tesla came to that figure with driver safety in mind.

“You legally have to stop for 30 minutes,” said Musk during the presentation. “400 miles is like six to seven hours of driving. So by the time you’re done with your break, your truck will be ready to go.”Tesla’s Autopilot feature — which effectively turns the company’s cars and trucks into semi-autonomous vehicles — will be standard on every truck the company sells, according to Musk.

The Tesla Semi is protected under warranty for 1,000,000 miles, and Musk joked that the vehicle’s glass can withstand the force of a nuclear blast.

Production is set to begin in 2019.

Tesla’s website confirms that it costs $5,000 USD — approximately $6,402 CAD — to reserve a Semi.

One more thing — return of the Tesla Roadster

Musk also took a moment to unveil the updated Tesla Roadster, the “fastest production car ever made, period,” according to Tesla’s CEO.

The new roadster is able travel from zero to 60 miles-per-hour in 1.9 seconds, while it will be able to travel from zero to 100 miles-per-hour in 4.2 seconds. The top speed is above 250 miles-per-hour, according to Musk.

The real showstopper, however, is that the Tesla Roadster can travel 620 miles on a single charge at highway speed. The four-seater vehicle has three motors, and also features a removable roof.

The new Tesla Roadster is set to be available in 2020. Those interested can reserve now as the “Founders Series Roadsters” are limited to the first 1,000 reservations and costs $322,000, and a general Roadster can be reserved for $64,000 CAD ($6,000 deposit).

Update – November 23rd: Tesla Semi can now be reserved in Canada for $26,000 CAD. In addition, Tesla will produce 1,000 ‘Founders Series’ Tesla Semis and have priced it at $257,000 CAD, which the full amount is due upon reserving.

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