Seriously Quick Tesla Semi Smokes its Tires

From Road & Track

Among all of Tesla's ambitious current projects, the Semi is perhaps the farthest-reaching of all. A battery-electric heavy truck that promises 500 miles of fully-loaded highway range, the Semi's aerodynamic design and central driving position are as unconventional as its zero-emissions drivetrain.

Also, the thing can apparently haul ass.

This amateur video shows a Tesla Semi prototype cruising around a residential street. Like all Teslas, the truck runs in near-silence. Which makes it all the more surprising when the driver nails the accelerator, leaving twin rubber patches as the giant truck scoots away at an alarming rate.

Tesla says the Semi will do 0-60 in five seconds flat when running deadhead (i.e., without a trailer), or 20 seconds with a full 80,000-lb load. Having seen this brief but impressive demonstration of its thrust, we're inclined to believe the claim.

It's an open question as to whether Tesla will actually be able to build the Semi in substantial numbers. But if these things start hitting America's highways, the days of dawdling 18-wheelers blocking up traffic could be behind us.


Source: Yahoo News