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Nikola Motor unveils electric truck concept with up to 1,200 miles of range

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Don’t be put off by the Tesla Motors spinoff-sounding name (of course inspired by physicist Nikola Tesla) which attracted many headlines this week, Nikola Motor’s recently unveiled electric truck and UTV concepts are very real – well as real as a concept can be.

What many articles about the company missed is the fact that the range is achieved through a natural gas range extender, which is not clear only from the press release. The truck is called ‘Nikola One’ and it is equipped with a 320 kWh battery pack which enables up to 1,200 miles, but again only combined with the natural gas range extender.

There are over 32,000 individual lithium-ion cells welded together in the Nikola One’s battery pack. Nikola Motor boasts the pack as being 3x the pack size of a Tesla Model S P90D.

Nikola Motor lists some impressive specs:

  • 6X6 100% Electric drive
  • Zero idle
  • Many times cleaner than diessel engines
  • 1/2 the fuel cost per mile compared to diessel
  • 3,700 FT. LBS Torque
  • 2,000 Horsepower
  • 1,200 Miles range
  • 320 kWh Battery
  • 1 million miles fuel free
  • Regenarative braking
  • Never plug-in – Turbine charges batteries automatically while driving

Most of the company’s plan relies on its ability to develop its natural gas CNG refueling stations, which is far from a done deal.

The company is currently only working on the prototype, but it is already taking reservations. They want to create a special lease program for truck drivers for $5,000 a month which would include the lease payment, unlimited miles, unlimited fuel, warranty and maintenance.

A truck driver would be able to trade-in his Nikola One for a new one with no additional cost every 72 months or 1,000,000 miles.

The startup also unveiled an all-electric UTV concept with impressive specs but attached to a crazy $42,000 MSRP. The spec list:

  • 100 – 150 MILE RANGE
  • 100% ELECTRIC DRIVE
  • 400 VOLTS
  • 520 HORSEPOWER
  • 50 kWh BATTERY
  • 4×4 ALL-WHEEL DRIVE
  • 476 FT. LBS TORQUE
  • INSTANT TORQUE IN <1 SEC
  • 0-60 IN 3 SECONDS
  • 2 YEAR WARRANTY
  • 20” SUSPENSION CLEARANCE
  • 32” TIRES
  • 14.5″ GROUND CLEARANCE
  • 10 DEGREE REAR STEERING
  • IP67 WATERPROOF ELECTRIC MOTOR & GEARBOX

All pictures via Nikola Motor.

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Avatar for Fred Lambert Fred Lambert

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