Tesla Semi Truck Launch Event: Watch Live Stream, Start Time

Updated on

The Tesla semi truck event will be held late this night (if you live in the Eastern time zone), but you can watch the big reveal from the comfort of your own home if you’re a night owl. Set your smartphone reminder for 11 p.m. Eastern/ 8 p.m. Pacific and prepare for some showmanship a la Elon Musk. Instructions on how to watch the Tesla semi truck event are below, but first, let’s take a look at what analysts and tech watchers are saying about it.

NOTE: There does seem to be some confusion about the start time of the event, with even one or two reputable media outlets saying 8 p.m. Eastern/ 5 p.m. Pacific. Given that Musk only said 8 p.m. without a time zone, we’re going with Pacific since he’s in California, especially since Tesla usually holds events later in the evening.

What to expect from the Tesla semi truck event

We know that the Tesla semi truck event will reveal an all-electric Class 8 semi, although the company always leaves some surprises. The bar is set very high though, especially since little of what we’ve seen so far from current electric vehicles suggests that they will be able to do what is needed when it comes to over-the-road hauling.

Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch said in a note that Tesla will have to address concerns about range, payload and charging time, all of which are quite obvious to anyone who knows anything about EVs. He adds that aerodynamics will probably play a major role in the truck, which makes sense because Tesla is very conscientious when it comes to aerodynamics. The retracting door handles on the Model S are a perfect example of this because they make the car ever so slightly more aerodynamic.

He also suggested that Tesla could showcase major changes in its charging technology, possibly by increasing the silicon carbide content and “resonant architecture.”

Where Autopilot plays into the Tesla semi truck event

Nomura analyst Romit Shah has an ultra-bullish $500 price target on Tesla stock, and he seems wowed about all the company has accomplished so far. He said in a note that the Tesla semi will go out-torque Class 8 heavy diesel trucks and more, including “demonstrating a substantially lower cost of operation.”

Shah expects the Tesla semi truck even to include something related to Autopilot, which most agree will be very important when it comes to keeping costs low. He explained that making the electric trucks autonomous will not only increase revenue per vehicle but also help ease investor concerns that the company is lagging competitors in autonomous driving technology.

One reason some have been concern about Tesla’s capabilities in this area is its use of the NVIDIA Drive PX2 architecture scaled down to an “Autochauffer” branded version of it. The problem is that NVIDIA has never actually made it clear that the board Tesla is using will make full self-driving capabilities possible.

How to watch the Tesla semi truck event

All you need to do to watch the live stream of the Tesla semi truck event is go to Tesla’s website here. You can bet there will be lots of opinions flying around, both before and after the event, and then on Friday, buckle up for what could be a bumpy right for Tesla stock. The shares have been on a downward slide mostly since September, so this event could be just what Musk needs to turn things around. Take that, you “hurtful” short-sellers. Then again, the shorts could benefit from a “sell the news” mindset; there’s just no predicting Tesla stock.

The shares jumped by as much as 0.81% to $313.83 in morning trading.

Leave a Comment