Thor Trucks Making Electric Semi Truck to Challenge Tesla

A new electric truck startup company planning to bring an e-semi to market before Elon Musk could be good news for anyone who hasn’t placed a preorder with Tesla.

Allegedly launching a year before Tesla’s electric semi starts delivering in 2019, the ET-One from LA-based Thor Trucks claims to offer up to 30% more power than diesel with 0% of the emissions or need for EPA scrutiny.

Capable of toting up to an 80,000-pound load, the ET-One is supposed to arrive with a 300-mile range and a top speed of 70 MPH, specs that admittedly put it a bit behind the Tesla version.

Thor Trucks (3 images)

However, in addition to getting to market first, Thor Trucks is hoping it can get a foot in the door and stand out from competitors by converting standard gas-guzzling semis into all-electrics by installing its dynamic powertrain and battery systems into old models, says The Verge.

“A lot of players are coming in the commercial EV industry, because it’s a good time to get into it,” Thor cofounder Giordano Sordoni told the publication. “In comparison to other folks, I think what we’re talking about is all super reasonable. We’re not promising thousands of charging stations and millions of trucks. What we’re offering is scaled-down and realistic.”

Considering “scaled-down” and “realistic” aren’t even in Musk’s vocabulary, we’re interested to see how this all plays out.

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Evan Bleier

Evan is a senior editor with InsideHook who earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has called Brooklyn home since 2006. A fan of Boston sports, Nashville hot chicken and Kentucky bourbon, Evan has had his work published in publications including “Maxim,” Bleacher Report and “The Daily Mail.”