Tesla Semi Delivery Event Confirmed For December
Electric pickup trucks are slowly gaining steam in the market, meaning that contractors and tradesmen suddenly have an EV option. Customers are mostly relegated to the Ford F-150 Lightning for any serious truck use, but upcoming models from GMC, Chevy, and Ram seem promising for professionals. Semi-truck drivers, however, do not have any electrified option for their rolling office. Nikola, another EV maker, looked promising with its own electric semi-truck. But the founder, Trevor Milton, was convicted of fraud last month and faces up to 20 years in prison, so it's safe to say there won't be a Nikola semi anytime soon.
The Tesla Semi has been teased for years, and a few have been spied on the road, but the vehicle has not reached customers on any real scale. However, Tesla just confirmed that the long-awaited semis are about to arrive soon, and not without the flair typical of Tesla.
Better late than never
According to a Tweet from Tesla last night, the company will hold a "Delivery Event" for the much-delayed semi-truck on December 1st at the Giga Factory in Nevada. Tesla has not confirmed what the event will entail. According to Electrek, the event will be exclusive to shareholders who won a random drawing through Tesla's new Shareholder Program.
— Tesla (@Tesla) November 16, 2022
If the event next month goes off without a hitch, that could be a serious boost for Tesla as it will then have the only EV semi on the market. The vehicle's range has not been confirmed and any real specifications have been scarce to come by, but an actual physical vehicle being delivered to customers is an accomplishment in its own right. Given Elon Musk's current dealings as Twitter's new CEO, it's anyone's guess whether or not he will have a lot to do with the new launch. Regardless of Elon's involvement, it's good that customers have some more concrete news, however scant. That's more than can be said about the Tesla Cybertruck.