When Elon Musk is done launching new Tesla cars, flying rockets into space, and digging tunnels, he’ll finally have time to create the electric semi-truck he first mentioned in the company’s master plan— way back in July.
Wrote Musk:
In addition to consumer vehicles, there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport. Both are in the early stages of development at Tesla and should be ready for unveiling next year. We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate.
Musk confirmed on Twitter Sunday that Tesla Semi is making good progress.
Yes, but Model 3 is the overwhelming priority
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2017
An electric—and eventually autonomous—long-haul truck has a number of potential benefits, like allowing truck drivers to catch some rest while the vehicle drives itself, and allowing them to communicate with family members on a long outing. A central dashboard could also be used to gather data and identify spare capacity on particular destinations to suggest consolidating and optimizing routes.
But those holding out for a heavy-duty truck will have to wait until everything surrounding the Tesla Model 3 starts dying down. Musk says the budget-friendly consumer vehicle is the company’s overwhelming priority.
H/T Inverse