While blue-collar truck drivers might not care all that much about 0-60 times, seeing something this big accelerate this quickly can be quite fascinating.
On paper, Elon Musk’s idea of a semi truck needs just 5 seconds to get to 60 mph (96 km/h) from a standstill. That’s quicker than something like a BMW 335i, and about as fast as one of those FIA Race Trucks, which are known to have over 1,000 HP.
The 5-second time however applies to an unladen semi, and not one carrying a trailer. Add the extra weight and Tesla says the acceleration time goes up by 15 seconds, to 20 seconds flat. However, it’s possible the EV-maker might be underselling it.
This footage captured via dashcam, shows a Tesla Semi slowly turning onto a main road and taking off as if it was…pretty much a regular car. We know it’s not the same as a standstill launch, but even so, that type of acceleration seems pretty good – for it to take a full 20-seconds to reach 60 mph that is.
Naturally, these performance figures will vary based on what the cargo is and the precise amount of weight being pulled, but from what we’ve seen so far, merging on a highway or overtaking slower (regular) semis, should be a breeze for this truck.