Watch Tesla Semi electric truck accelerate on highway ramp unlike any other truck

We have been hearing less about Tesla’s electric semi truck program lately, but the company is still testing the vehicle. A recent sighting of a Tesla Semi prototype shows the truck accelerating in a highway on-ramp unlike any other semi truck we’ve ever seen.

Of course, the biggest advantage of the Tesla Semi as an electric truck is the potential for lower cost through gas savings and lower emissions, but the electric powertrain also offers some overlooked performance advantages.

Tesla Semi Speed

It can be a pain to get to highway speed in order to merge when you are stuck behind a semi truck on a on-ramp.

Depending on the load they are carrying, it can sometimes take over 30 seconds to get to 60 mph.

That’s not the case for Tesla Semi and it has never been more evident than in this short clip of the prototype accelerating on an on-ramp with a trailer:

Forget the usual Youtube clickbait gimmick since there’s no way to tell that the Chevy Volt was actually trying to keep up with the Tesla Semi, but there’s no doubt that the electric truck achieved highway speed on the ramp incredibly fast. That’s even true if that trailer was empty, which is likely the case.

The owner of the channel ‘My Tesla Adventure’ said that he could barely catch up in his own Tesla vehicle:

“In my Model 75D Uncorked I had to put the pedal down to catch back up.”

I assume that he meant a Model S 75D, but it is impressive either way.

Without a trailer, Elon Musk said that the Tesla Semi can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 5 seconds thanks to its 4 independent Model 3 electric motors.

Tesla Semi Price and Range

After Tesla revealed the pricing of its electric semi trucks last year, we learned that the regular production versions for the 300-mile and 500-mile range versions will be $150,000 and $180,000 respectively, while the company is also listing a ‘Founders Series’ version for $200,000.

But after a year in development, Musk said that he expects that the production version could be even more efficient with a range closer to 600 miles.

Tesla originally said that it aims to bring the electric truck to production in 2019, but that was over a year ago and the company hasn’t updated the timeline since.