Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company plans to unveil its electric semi truck, called “Tesla Semi” in September, which is sooner than most industry watcher anticipated.
Now analysts covering the company are weighing in the new trucking business in their valuation of the company and coming up with business models that Tesla could use for its battery-powered trucks.
Musk first disclosed his plans for a commercial vehicle in July 2016, in his blog entitled “Master Plan – Part Deux,” posted on the Tesla website. His Master Plan included the company’s path beyond the Model 3 passenger vehicle, with plans for an electric cargo truck equipped with autonomous driving technology called Tesla Semi; a new-style electric bus, smaller than current models, capable of operating without a human driver; a pickup truck; and a small SUV.
In February, Musk heightened speculation by telling the audience at the 2017 International Transport Forum in Germany, “I can’t say too much about the new products and the things we are developing, but from a pure technology point of view, everything that we’ve done on vehicles translates directly into trucks…There’s no reason that today you can’t make a very compelling electric truck.”
