Tesla readies to unveil revolutionary electric semi truck platform

Tesla is moving from electric cars to semi-trucks. The company who started by building expensive electric roadsters for Silicon Valley millionaires has expanded into road cards, SUVs and even a more consumer friendly sedan. Now it is setting its sight on large transport trucks or semis, with an unveiling happening tomorrow.

Runour has it we're looking at an electric truck with a 300 mile range (on a full charge) and which could have some autonomous driving features. An interesting proposition for an area in automotive transport that's remained unchanged for decades.

Tesla Semi Truck unveil to be webcast live on Thursday at 8pm! This will blow your mind clear out of your skull and into an alternate dimension. Just need to find my portal gun ...

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 12, 2017

While tradtional car companies are scrambling to compete in electric vehicles, Tesla's confident enough to try and mark new territory with their semi platform.

Elon Musk claims Tesla’s solar roof will cost less than a regular roof

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says his company’s solar roof will cost less than a regular roof. And no, we’re not just talking about the long-term effects that come into play with producing your own energy via the roof. Musk says the upfront cost will be less, both when it comes to manufacturing and installing the roof. Musk was quoted in a Bloomberg report saying this after Tesla shareholders approve the acquisition of Solar City. He says electricity is now “just a bonus.”

But don’t expect these to be dirt cheap. These will still come at a premium price (which we don’t know yet). The terra cotta and slate roofs Tesla mimicked are considered among the most expensive roofing materials on the market—sometimes costing as much as 20 times more than cheap asphalt shingles. The cost savings though might be seen in the shipping of the materials. These new tempered-glass roof tiles are said to weigh as little as a fifth of current products and are easier to ship.

Tesla announces full self-driving hardware on all cars being produced

Yesterday's big Tesla news was that, "all Tesla vehicles produced in our factory – including Model 3 – will have the hardware needed for full self-driving capability at a safety level substantially greater than that of a human driver."

This means that Teslas will now feature, "eight surround cameras provide 360 degree visibility around the car at up to 250 meters of range. Twelve updated ultrasonic sensors complement this vision, allowing for detection of both hard and soft objects at nearly twice the distance of the prior system. A forward-facing radar with enhanced processing provides additional data about the world on a redundant wavelength, capable of seeing through heavy rain, fog, dust and even the car ahead."

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Elon Musk announces Oct. 28 release date for SolarCity solar roof

We’ll most likely be seeing for the first time Tesla and SolarCity’s new solar roof product on October 28, if Elon Musk’s tweet is anything to go by. The Tesla founder and CEO just announced on social media that this solar roof will be working with version 2.0 of Tesla’s PowerWall solar storage and battery for the home as well as with the Tesla car charger. This integration is seen as moving beyond showing off how these companies can seamlessly work together to showing Musk’s “Master Plan: Part Deux,” where he aims to create a fully self-sustaining solar-powered energy ecosystem that is linked to his zero emission goals between home and transportation.

Tesla is in the process of acquiring SolarCity but it has been facing opposition from shareholders that could cause a delay in the deal. The demo, which could show the value of the system and the partnership, might further Musk’s plans and help soften any opposition to his plans to join Tesla and SolarCity together.

Aiming for Oct 28 unveil in SF Bay Area of new Tesla/SolarCity solar roof with integrated Powerwall 2.0 battery and Tesla charger.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 22, 2016

Source: TechCrunch