Back in April, Elon Musk officially announced plans to reveal Tesla's upcoming electric semi-truck in September, and gushed over the as-of-yet unannounced capabilities of said vehicle. Little has come out about the currently-unnamed truck since April, though powertrain details have been the subject of much speculation. We know that the truck will be powered by "a bunch" of the motors that propel the new Model 3 sedan, and if a industry insider is right, we have reason to believe that the truck will be capable of a 300-mile range. It is also supposed to reach mass production within two years.
Unfortunately, we probably won't get to find out much more about Tesla's electric semi this month, because Elon Musk announced Wednesday through his Twitter account that the reveal has been set back to late October—and that we can't even count on it coming then anyway.
Tesla Semi truck unveil & test ride tentatively scheduled for Oct 26th in Hawthorne. Worth seeing this beast in person. It's unreal.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 13, 2017
This news will likely come as a small relief to some competing electric industrial vehicle startups and the existing heavy diesel industry. Emphasis on small; Musk's claims from his TED appearance have the truck pegged as the bane of every existing diesel truck. "With the Tesla Semi, we want to show that an electric truck actually can out-torque any diesel semi," said Musk during a TED event. "If you had a tug of war competition, the Tesla Semi will tug the diesel semi uphill.”
So far, only a handful of serious competitors have emerged in the field of electric trucking. Cummins showcased its "Aeos" electric semi concept in late August, and Mercedes is seeking to get its own foot in the electric truck door. Cummins's vehicle is barely past the prototype stage, however, and Mercedes won't be ready to mass-produce its electric semi until 2020.
Too little, too late? We'll see. Show us what you've got, Mr. Musk.