Paul Berger

One of the drivers in particular, he recounted how he was trying to get to Tesla's charging station, took a wrong turn and ended up going down a road where basically he got stuck on a bend because the 40-foot container that he was hauling wouldn't make it all the way around because of an obstacle.

Ordinarily, he would have to reverse out of that situation, getting out of the cab several times because of blind spots and also just to check his position in the road.

But because of the way he was located in the center of the cab and because of all of the technology that Tesla provides, he said he just basically reversed out of it no problem, as though he'd never gotten himself into that situation in the first place.

And he said that right there and then he realized that the technology is going to change working life for the drivers that are able to drive the semi.

Tesla has not publicly announced the cost of the semi truck.

Diesel trucks generally sell for about $150,000.

Some of the people I spoke to told me that the Tesla semi, there are two models with different ranges and different prices, but that they're basically available for $300,000 or less.

But just to set that in perspective, most other battery electric heavy duty trucks cost $400,000 or $450,000.

So-

The Semi will be less expensive than other battery electric trucks, but twice as expensive as a diesel.

I think it's fair to say that when the semi truck was first announced in those days, Tesla was really oriented towards sustainability and trucks are the most heavily polluting vehicles on the road and also, you know, manufacturing and selling vehicles.

Of course, in the last 10 years, Tesla has pivoted and is much more focused now on artificial intelligence, robotics, and things like the cyber cab.

You know, it doesn't take a stretch of the imagination to imagine that one day the Semi might remove the driver and might become an autonomous truck.

You could imagine Tesla selling the Semi as a service, but I think it's too soon to tell.