Wal-Mart Plans to Order Tesla Semi Trucks

Tesla revealed its electric semi-truck last night, and it has already secured some very high-profile customers.

Wal-Mart announced today it will order copies of the Tesla Semi. Although the retailer only plans to buy 15—five for the U.S. and 10 for Canada—the deal opens up plenty of opportunities for future collaboration with Tesla.

“We believe we can learn how this technology performs within our supply chain, as well as how it could help us meet some of our long-term sustainability goals, such as lowering emissions,” Wal-Mart said in a statement, reports Reuters.

J.B. Hunt, a big truck fleet operator, said it has placed a reservation to buy “multiple” Tesla Semi tractors. It’s the first major U.S. trucking company to announce such a deal with Tesla. The trucks will help support J.B. Hunt’s operations on the West Coast.

“We believe electric trucks will be most beneficial on local and dray routes, and we look forward to utilizing this new, sustainable technology,” J.B. Hunt president and CEO John Roberts said in a statement.

Tesla says the Semi can travel 500 miles on a single charge at max weight, assuming the driver is going 60 mph. With the help of four electric motors borrowed from the Model 3 sedan, the truck can hit 60 mph in just 5 seconds, or 20 seconds while towing. The Semi has a maximum towing capacity of 80,000 pounds and is categorized as a class 8 heavy duty truck.

Fortunately, truck drivers can recharge rather quickly. Tesla says it will take just 30 minutes to regain 400 miles of range at one of its new solar-powered Megachargers.

Despite its advanced capabilities, the Tesla Semi has serious competition in the form of diesel rigs. These trucks can go 1,000 miles on a single tank. We still don’t know how much the Tesla Semi costs, and that could be another point of comparison companies will have to consider. Tesla says production will begin in 2019.

Source: Reuters, J.B. Hunt

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