After more than a decade of making cars and SUVs - and, more recently, solar panels - Tesla Inc. wants to electrify a new type of vehicle: big trucks.
The company unveiled its new electric semitractor-trailer near its design centre in Hawthorne, California.
CEO Elon Musk said the semi is capable of traveling 804 kilometres on an electric charge - even with a full 36,287-kilogramme load - and will cost less than a diesel semi considering fuel savings, lower maintenance and other factors.
Musk said customers can put down a $5,000 deposit for the semi now and production will begin in 2019.
The truck will have Tesla's Autopilot system, which can maintain a set speed and slow down automatically in traffic.
It also has a system that automatically keeps the vehicle in its lane.
Musk said several Tesla semis will be able to travel in a convoy, autonomously following each other.
Musk said Tesla plans a worldwide network of solar-powered "megachargers" that could get the trucks back up to 400 miles of range after charging for only 30 minutes.
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