Tesla’s Head Of IR Says He “Didn’t Believe It's Possible To Make a 500-mile Truck” Days Ahead Of Deliveries

5 years after the unveiling, Tesla is set to begin delivering the company's all-electric class 8 truck on December first. However, only days out until the start of deliveries, Tesla's head of Investor Relations, Martin Veicha says he "didn't believe it's possible to make a 500 mile, fully loaded Class 8 truck."

Tesla first unveiled the company’s all-electric 18-wheeler called Tesla Semi back in December 2017. At the unveiling event, Tesla showed off two versions of the vehicle – one for shorter trips with 300 miles range, and another for long-haul trucking with 500 miles range.

Even more impressively, Tesla said the range was calculated with the vehicle loaded to its max with a combined vehicle and cargo weight of 80,000lbs.

In addition to the range, the Tesla Semi also featured an incredible 0 to 60 time of 5 seconds without any cargo and 20 seconds 0 to 60 time loaded to the maximum and weighing 80,000lbs.

When it comes to design, the Tesla Semi also features a unique aerodynamic exterior and an equally unorthodox interior with a center-mounted seat and with 2 screens on either side of the driver.

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Given these features, the Tesla Semi is universally lauded for its design, range, and performance. And currently, the vehicle has amassed a long waitlist with customers eagerly awaiting the start of deliveries.

When Tesla first showed off the Semi at an unveiling event held back in December 2017, the EV maker said initial deliveries will begin in 2019. However, 3 years after the 2019 deadline, Tesla is yet to deliver a single vehicle to customers.

There are a couple of main reasons for the delay. First is the COVID-19 pandemic caused supply chain disruption. The pandemic not only has delayed the Tesla Semi but, has also affected Tesla’s other products and all manufactured goods all around the world.

However, on top of the pandemic, Tesla, together with all EV manufacturers, is also facing battery constraints. And according to Tesla, since the company only has a limited number of batteries, starting the Semi production will mean having to cut back the output of the company's well-performing vehicles like the Model 3 and Model Y.

Nevertheless, after years of delays, Tesla seems to have addressed many of the issues holding back the Semi’s production and the company is set to begin initial deliveries of the all-electric 18-wheeler in a few days' time.

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And today, in a tweet about the Tesla Semi, Tesla’s head of Investor relations, Martin Viecha confirmed that “deliveries start next week.” Since Tesla has scheduled the Semi delivery event for December 1st, this is not much of a surprise but what’s more interesting is that Viecha has reiterated the Semi, fully loaded, meaning with a combined vehicle and cargo weight of 80,000lbs, will have a 500-mile range.

Yes, at the unveiling event Tesla has already announced the Semi will have a 500-mile range, however, most people in the trucking industry, including Martin Viecha did not believe this feat was indeed achievable.

In the same tweet announcing Tesla Semi deliveries will begin next week, Veicha wrote “because most people in the investment community (including large holders) that I speak to, didn't believe it's possible to make a 500 mile, fully loaded Class 8 truck.”

However, now that Veicha has reiterated the Tesla Semi will indeed have a 500-mile range fully loaded and only days out of the start of deliveries, this once and for all confirms the incredible range of Tesla’s all-electric class 8 truck.

This is exciting and although 5 years is a long time to wait for a product, Tesla has used the extra time to test the vehicle thoroughly by using the handful of prototypes out on the road to deliver to the company’s vehicles.

This means, that even though the wait was long, customers will undoubtedly be receiving an overall better vehicle than that was shown off back in 2017.

Currently, besides a handful of details, we still don’t know all the improvements Tesla has made to the all-electric truck in the past 5 years, however, we will be sure to keep you posted once we learn more detail about the Tesla Semi.

Until then, make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest updates.

So what do you think? Excited to learn that Tesla will finally start delivering the Semi? Also, what kind of improvements do you think Tesla has implemented given the 3-year delay? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image: Courtesy of Tesla, Inc

For more information check out: Elon Musk Announces FSD Beta Is Available To All Teslas In North America In Time For Thanksgiving

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.