news

Tesla Semi Truck spied, Model 3 production lagging

A photo, probably of the new Tesla Semi Truck, has been posted online ahead of the vehicle's unveiling on October 26, US time.


The image you see above was originally published on Reddit. Although the user soon deleted their account, it didn't stop the photograph from spreading across the internet.

When combined with the silver wind deflector component, seen in the far left of the photo, the spied truck looks very similar to the one teased (below) by Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, at a TED talk in Vancouver, Canada, earlier this year.

Little is known for certain about the Tesla Semi truck, apart from the fact it'll be fully electric. According to a recent report by Reuters, the truck will have self-driving technology and the ability to travel in a platoon.

Earlier, a trucking executive told Reuters he had been informed the truck would have a range of between 320 and 480 kilometres (200 to 300 miles).

The truck would feature a "day cab" with no sleeping facilities on board.

Meanwhile, the Tesla Model 3, the company's latest and most affordable car, is rolling off the line at a slower rate than predicted by Tesla's outspoken boss.

Earlier this week, the company confirmed it had only produced 220 Model 3 sedans during the third quarter of 2017. That's well below the 100 Musk predicted the company would make in August, and the 1500 estimated for September.

He did acknowledge, though, at the car's launch the company would go "through hell" during the early phase of Model 3's production cycle, as Tesla ramped up from producing around 100,000 cars per year to over half a million.

In a statement, the company said it had encountered "production bottlenecks", but wanted to emphasise there are "no fundamental issues with the Model 3 production or supply chain" and it understands "what needs to be fixed and ... [is] confident of addressing the manufacturing bottleneck issues in the near-term".

If things aren't sorted out soon, Tesla seems unlikely to reach its CEO's target of 10,000 Model 3s per month by December this year. The original target was for 20,000 per month by the end of 2017.

MORE:Tesla Showroom
MORE:Tesla News
MORE:Tesla Reviews
MORE:Tesla Model 3 Showroom
MORE:Tesla Model 3 News
MORE:Tesla Model 3 Reviews
MORE:Search Used Tesla Model 3 Cars for Sale
MORE:Search Used Tesla Cars for Sale
MORE:Tesla Showroom
MORE:Tesla News
MORE:Tesla Reviews
MORE:Tesla Model 3 Showroom
MORE:Tesla Model 3 News
MORE:Tesla Model 3 Reviews
MORE:Search Used Tesla Model 3 Cars for Sale
MORE:Search Used Tesla Cars for Sale
Chat with us!







Chat with Agent