Tesla’s electric truck is coming. Elon Musk unveiled his plan to revolutionize the industry at a special event earlier this month, promising a vehicle capable of taking on many small- to mid-range delivery routes. Tesla has now updated its website with the latest pricing options, and those looking to make the Semi their next truck may be pleased.
The official website shows the expected base price for the vehicle with the 300-mile range will be $150,000. A 500-mile range is expected to cost $30,000 more, at $180,000. Both of these options will require an upfront reservation price of $20,000. Of course, these prices could change prior to the truck’s 2019 launch, owing to their “expected” disclaimer.
The prices place the company on good footing to replace traditional trucks. Most diesel semi trucks are priced at around $120,000, making the new Semi not that much more expensive in its initial iteration. Nikola, a company developing a hydrogen-powered competitor, previously quoted a price of $375,000 for its One vehicle when it launches in 2019.
Tesla is also planning a Founders Series version of the truck. This is expected to cost $200,000, with the entirety of the price required upfront. The company is also planning a Founders Series edition of the Roadster, costing $50,000 more than the base model at $250,000 with a limited run of just 1,000 vehicles. It’s unclear whether the special edition truck is also a limited run, or whether either vehicles will come with any added bonuses over the base models.
Tesla Semi.
Depending on who you listen to, though, these figures only tell half the story. With energy consumption at less than two kilowatts per mile, a price expected to compete favorably with regular gas, Tesla is touting the fuel savings as a big reason to hop on board. The company plans new solar-powered Megacharger stations every 400 miles in the United States, offering low-priced recharges that bring the vehicle back up to power in the space of half an hour. Based on the company’s internal figures, buyers could see over $200,000 saved on the cost of fuel over the vehicle’s lifespan.
The race is on to see whether Tesla is at the forefront of a shift toward electric trucks, similar to the ongoing shift taking place in the consumer car industry.
