A Tesla Semi truck just happened to show up in a neighborhood and the driver answered some questions about the electric truck. He had mostly positive words to share about the truck, though he’s spent very little time using it.
We know Tesla delivered some electric Semis thanks to the official delivery party, and we know they went to PepsiCo and its subsidiary Frito-Lay. We also know what Tesla told us about the Class 8 hauler’s specs when it was initially unveiled. However, aside from these details, there’s been very little official information, which comes as no surprise since Tesla tends to be quite secretive in many cases.
Recently, we learned that some of the Tesla Semis that have been seen broken down on the side of the road likely had a touch-screen glitch. However, there has been no confirmation from Tesla. Most other recently shared details that have come along have also been related to the electric haulers spotted in the wild, rather than directly from the US EV maker.
When Tesla fan and Reddit user u/asymptottally spotted the Semi “across the street,” he was excited to snap some photos to share. Fortunately, he was also able to talk to the driver.
The Tesla Semi driver claimed it was his very first day driving the electric truck. He also said he only had one hour of training. While that may not seem like enough, the driver almost certainly has a license to drive semi-trucks, and aside from the powertrain, driving Tesla’s hauler shouldn’t prove a whole lot different from being behind the wheel of any Class 8 truck. However, the driver did say he wasn’t trained on Tesla Autopilot, which seems strange.
In terms of details about the Tesla Semi itself, the driver said he was happy with its smooth ride, but he admitted he was struggling with the Tesla App. Other details were revealed by the Reddit user in the comments, and other commenters pointed out “interesting observations from the photos he shared.
For example, the controls in the Semi look sleek and futuristic, but they’re just the same simple components from Tesla’s other models. It has a steering wheel that’s similar to the round option for the Model S and X, along with stalks like those in the Model 3 and Y. The Semi also has Tesla’s discontinued cloth seats rather than the synthetic leather you’ll find in current models.
Based on information in the images, it appears the Tesla Semi had 374 miles of driving range remaining, and the battery was at around 80% of full capacity. If this is accurate, then it coincides with Tesla’s claimed 500 miles of estimated range.
