Watch the Tesla Semi speed around a race track in a new testing video
- Tesla shared a clip of its upcoming big rig speeding around a race track on Sunday.
- Tesla is set to start delivering the Semi this year.
- The carmaker said its truck will have a range of 500 miles and a 0-60-mph time of five seconds.
Tesla has been promising to roll out its first electric big rig, the Semi, for years now. And the truck may be nearly ready for prime time, judging by a new testing video Tesla shared on Sunday.
On Sunday, Elon Musk's automaker tweeted a video of a pre-production Semi speeding around a race track with the caption, "Semi on the track." In the clip, the vehicle can be heard emitting a jet-engine-like whirring sound as it banks a corner.
Tesla claims the Semi can hit 60 mph in 20 seconds with an 80,000-lb load. Without a trailer in tow, the Semi can hit 60 mph in a blistering five seconds, Tesla said when it revealed the truck in 2017. The truck is powered by four independent motors on the rear axles.
The Semi costs an estimated $150,000 for the model with a 300-mile range. A 500-mile-range truck is expected to cost around $180,000, Tesla says. Businesses can reserve a Semi for $20,000.
Since 2017, Tesla raked in thousands of reservations from major companies like PepsiCo, Walmart, and Anheuser-Busch - along with shippers like FedEx, DHL, and UPS - but it has yet to deliver a single truck. It's unclear how many reservation holders, if any, have canceled their orders in the interim.
The carmaker has delayed production multiple times, and now plans to begin manufacturing the Semi this year.
As it gears up to deliver its first tractor trailers, Tesla has appointed a new head of its heavy trucking division. Jerome Guillen, formerly Tesla's president of automotive, took the reins of the project on March 11, according to a regulatory filing.