Tesla already received Semi orders from J.B. Hunt, Meijer
That didn't take long.
The Tesla Semi hasn't been public for 12 hours as of this writing, yet orders from companies are already coming in.
Tesla scored at least two orders for its all-electric Semi already. Trucking company J.B. Hunt announced Friday that it placed an order for "multiple" Tesla Semi units. The plan is to send the Tesla Semi trailers to the company's contract-service division on the West Coast.
If I were a logistics company, I'd be excited about the notion of spending less on diesel, too.
"Reserving Tesla trucks marks an important step in our efforts to implement industry-changing technology," said John Roberts, president and CEO of J.B. Hunt, in a statement. "We believe electric trucks will be most beneficial on local and dray routes, and we look forward to utilizing this new, sustainable technology."
A grocery store chain is also getting in on the action. Meijer announced that it placed an order for four Tesla Semi trailers, plunking down $5,000 deposits for each, Bloomberg reports, citing a conversation with Meijer's fleet manager at the Semi unveiling event. Four trucks may not seem like much, given that Meijer has some 220 trucks in six different Midwest states, but it's a start.
Orders are likely to stay small from the outset for a couple different reasons. First, this is largely uncharted territory, so companies are playing it close to the chest and only making small investments to test the waters. Second, Tesla doesn't exactly have the best track record of meeting its target production dates -- at least not recently -- so it's wise to approach this new venture with a dash of skepticism.
The Tesla Semi is definitely impressive. With futuristic looks and a spartan interior featuring a centrally located driver's seat, it definitely looks like a Tesla. With an estimated highway range of about 500 miles, an estimated 0-60 time of 20 seconds while hauling 80,000 pounds, and an estimated energy consumption of less than 2 kWh per mile, it makes some lofty claims, but if Tesla delivers, it'll have quite the truck on its hands.
