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Tesla’s bet on electric trucks

Brian Straight
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Elon Musk said that Tesla would unveil a Tesla Semi in September, marking the company’s entry into trucking. An electric pickup will follow and there is a possibility of an electric cargo van as well.

Elon Musk says a Tesla Semi will be unveiled in September

Since last summer, Elon Musk has been teasing Tesla fans with word the company is building an electric “semi truck.” What form, shape and size that truck will take is still under wraps, but at least now we have a more definitive timeframe.

On Thursday, Musk twitted that the truck will be unveiled in September. “Tesla Semi truck unveil set for September,” Musk tweeted. “Team has done an amazing job. Seriously next level.”

Musk first raised the idea of an electric semi in July 2016 when he released his company’s Master Plan Part Deux. In a July 31, 2016, tweet, Musk replied to a question about a possible electric cargo van and said it would “probably makes sense to build off the pickup truck chassis.”

That electric pickup, which a cargo van could be built off, will come in “18 to 24 months,” he tweeted on Thursday.

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Brian Straight

Brian Straight leads FreightWaves' Modern Shipper brand as Managing Editor. A journalism graduate of the University of Rhode Island, he has covered everything from a presidential election, to professional sports and Little League baseball, and for more than 10 years has covered trucking and logistics. Before joining FreightWaves, he was previously responsible for the editorial quality and production of Fleet Owner magazine and fleetowner.com. Brian lives in Connecticut with his wife and two kids and spends his time coaching his son’s baseball team, golfing with his daughter, and pursuing his never-ending quest to become a professional bowler. You can reach him at bstraight@freightwaves.com.