Tesla to unveil electric big
Tesla Semi
Some analysts fear the truck  named Tesla Semi  will be an expensive distraction for Tesla  which is burning cash  has never posted an annual profit  and is in self-described âmanufacturing hellâ starting up production of the $35 000 Model 3 sedan. Still   Tesla  shares rose on Thursday.
The young market for electric cargo trucks is mostly focused on medium duty  not the heavy big rig market  Tesla  is after. The power capacity  weight and cost of batteries all limit a truckâs ability  analysts say.
 Tesla  arrives in a much more crowded field than when  it  developed electric cars.
Reuters in August reported  Tesla  was working on self-driving technology for the truck. Several Silicon Valley companies see long-haul trucking as a prime early self-driving technology market  citing relatively consistent speeds  scarcity of cross-traffic on interstate highways and benefits of allowing drivers to rest while traveling.
 A Tesla car showroom  is seen in west London  Britain  March 21  2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville
 Tesla  would need to invest substantially to create a factory for those trucks.  The company  is currently spending about $1 billion per quarter  largely to set up the Model 3 factory  and is contemplating a factory in China to build cars.
A  Tesla  truck with a range of 300 to 450 miles would be able to address less than half of the total semi-truck market  estimated Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi in a note on Monday.
âIt is somewhat unclear why  the company  needs another major initiative ... on  its  already full plate â wrote Sacconaghi.
Shares of  Tesla   which have risen 48 percent this year to make  the company  the No. 2 U.S. automaker by market value  were up 1.7 percent to $316.66 in midday trade in New York.
Some analysts fear  [TGT] will be an expensive distraction for Tesla  which is burning cash  has never posted an annual profit  and is in self-described âmanufacturing hellâ starting up production of the $35 000 Model 3 sedan. Still   Tesla  shares rose on Thursday.
The young market for electric cargo trucks is mostly focused on medium duty  not the heavy big rig market  Tesla  is after. The power capacity  weight and cost of batteries all limit a truckâs ability  analysts say.
 Tesla  arrives in a much more crowded field than when  it  developed electric cars.
Reuters in August reported  Tesla  was working on self-driving technology for  [TGT] . Several Silicon Valley companies see long-haul trucking as a prime early self-driving technology market  citing relatively consistent speeds  scarcity of cross-traffic on interstate highways and benefits of allowing drivers to rest while traveling.
 A Tesla car showroom  is seen in west London  Britain  March 21  2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville
 Tesla  would need to invest substantially to create a factory for those trucks.  The company  is currently spending about $1 billion per quarter  largely to set up the Model 3 factory  and is contemplating a factory in China to build cars.
A  Tesla  truck with a range of 300 to 450 miles would be able to address less than half of the total semi-truck market  estimated Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi in a note on Monday.
âIt is somewhat unclear why  the company  needs another major initiative ... on  its  already full plate â wrote Sacconaghi.
Shares of  Tesla   which have risen 48 percent this year to make  the company  the No. 2 U.S. automaker by market value  were up 1.7 percent to $316.66 in midday trade in New York.