Tech

Watch Tesla's new self-driving Semi truck prototype in action

This is the first time we've seen Tesla's newest semi prototype moving of its own accord.

It’s been a long haul for Tesla’s promised line of self-driving semi-trucks, but we’re finally getting a glimpse at new prototypes in action.

This week, Tesla unveiled a video of its somewhat mysterious new prototype on a test track in Fremont, California offering the first official glimpse of its latest prototype truck actually driving. Earlier this month motorists spotted a Tesla Semi actually pulling a trailer and a “sneak peek” of its very stationary truck also surfaced online.

Cory Draper on YouTube

60 mph

Tesla says the Semi will go from 0 to 60 mph in just two seconds.

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There’s little information available on the prototype beyond this video, but as noted by Electrek, the Semi was slated to be equipped with Tesla’s upcoming 4680 battery pack, so it’s possible we’re getting a preview of some future battery technology as well.

Tesla’s semis have had a fairly long road to production. While Tesla had originally projected a 2019 release, it changed that projection to 2020, which was shifted again to later in 2021. But then, that’s a classic Tesla move.

Brandon Camargo on YouTube

Though a video of a test drive isn’t much to go off, it is at least a visible sign of progress for bringing the Semi to market and fits in with Elon Musk’s internal calls last year for volume production of the truck.

Tesla has already made a lot of promises about the Semi, claiming the truck will help drivers save up to $200,000 in fuel over a two-year period and that it will be the “safest truck ever” thanks to autopilot safety features.

It’s obviously too early to say whether any of those claims are founded, but if the first step is actually making a production line brand of electric self-driving semi-trucks, then Tesla is certainly making baby steps in the right direction.

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