Getting the Tesla Model 3 electric car on the road clearly isn’t enough to occupy Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX: Today he tweeted the time frame for unveiling Tesla’s autonomous, all-electric Semi truck and a smaller pickup truck.
But wait … there’s more: The Tesla Roadster, which was the first vehicle the company put on sale, is coming back. And this time, it’ll be a convertible.
Musk’s timetable for executing the next steps of his “Master Plan, Part Deux” spilled out in a series of tweets:
Tesla Semi truck unveil set for September. Team has done an amazing job. Seriously next level.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2017
@elonmusk Cool! Is the Pickup unveil coming this year or next year?
— Noah (@NoahMagel) April 13, 2017
@NoahMagel Pickup truck unveil in 18 to 24 months
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2017
@elonmusk Any chance for a convertible? Sun is out top is down ?
— Sam Gonzales (@SamGonzales) April 13, 2017
@SamGonzales Next gen Roadster will be convertible
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2017
@elonmusk timeframe for Model 3 final unveil?
— M (@gucci_mau) April 13, 2017
@gucci_mau July
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2017
When Musk updated his master plan last year, he said the heavy-duty Semi “will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate.” He also promised “a new kind of pickup truck” that would add to Tesla’s consumer offerings
Trucking companies already have been looking at increased autonomy, principally through a strategy called “platooning” that can link several trucks into a coordinated convoy. Paccar, based in Bellevue, Wash., is one of those companies.
Last August, Uber acquired a company called Otto, which has been working on kits that would allow tractor-trailer trucks to drive themselves. Theoretically, a trucker could leave the driving to a serial bus and take a nap on the road. In October, Otto’s technology was put to the test during a 120-mile beer run in Colorado.
To get a true sense of the Tesla Semi’s design and capabilities, we’ll have to wait until September’s big reveal, or until Musk drops more hints in a future tweetstorm. In the meantime, check out German designer Jan Peisert’s speculative renderings for the Semi as well as Tesla Roadster 2.0: