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Tesla unveils all-electric semi truck, promotes “green” transportation

After revolutionising electric cars, Tesla is tackling a new frontier in “green” transportation with the introduction a futuristic all-electric semi…

Tesla unveils all-electric semi truck, promotes “green” transportation

Image via Vox.com

After revolutionising electric cars, Tesla is tackling a new frontier in “green” transportation with the introduction a futuristic all-electric semi truck.

“We designed the Tesla truck to be like a bullet,” said Tesla co-founder and CEO, Elon Musk.

The billionaire South African-born inventor unveiled the new vehicle yesterday at an event in Hawthorne, California, site of the auto-maker’s design bureau and the headquarters of SpaceX, the aerospace company he also founded.

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Its sleek, aerodynamic profile, in somber matte or metallic colours, will make it a standout on the road.

But the company is touting performance that it says will make the Tesla Semi quicker and more economical than today’s diesel-powered trucks.

It has four independent electric motors, one for each of its wheels, a transmission that requires no shifting of gears, and a regenerative braking system that “gives it basically infinite brake life,” Musk said.

The company says the truck can accelerate to 60 miles per hour in five seconds, and reach that speed in 20 seconds hauling a maximum 80,000 pound load, must faster than a traditional diesel truck.

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