Tesla has managed to ship several high-end electric vehicles to consumers, but commercial trucking is the company’s next big move. After showing off its design for an electric semi truck, the company has been working on an aggressive release schedule. However, the vehicle hasn’t been spotted in real life until now. A video uploaded to YouTube shows Tesla’s sleek electric semi cruising down a road in California.
There are few details to glean from this short clip (below). The original prototype trucks Tesla unveiled several months back did not have side mirrors, leading some to suspect Tesla had some fancy alternative in mind. The truck just spotted in the wild does have mirrors, though. That’s necessary for it to be street-legal, so Tesla probably just omitted the mirrors for the announcement to make the truck look cooler.
As you can see in the video, the front of the semi is narrower than standard diesel trucks. It doesn’t need a giant engine, and the cab is slightly smaller with a centered driver’s seat. It’s vastly quieter than a regular semi as well. The truck doesn’t even drown out other road noise as it passes the camera. There’s someone behind the wheel of the truck, but Tesla is touting the autopilot features of the vehicle. Although, many have pointed out Tesla’s self-driving tech is far behind the curve.
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