Tesla’s electric semi truck is drawing lots of attention, not to mention orders from major corporations. But now a new competitor has emerged with an all-electric big rig of its own. The Thor Trucks ET-One is the product of a small Los Angeles-area startup. It may be named after the god of thunder, but does Thor have what it takes to challenge what is arguably the biggest name in electric vehicles?
The brutish-looking ET-One doesn’t have the sleek lines of Tesla’s truck, but it should offer similar performance. Thor promises a 300-mile range and the ability to haul up to 80,000 pounds with a base price of $150,000. All of those figures match Tesla’s estimates for the base-model version of its truck. But Tesla also plans to offer a version with 500 miles of range for $180,000. Both trucks are expected to enter production in 2019.
It’s unclear if Thor Trucks will try to match Tesla’s claimed 0-to-60 mph time of 5.0 seconds (which admittedly isn’t very relevant to truckers), or whether it will include a comparable amount of bells and whistles. Tesla has said its semi truck will get many electronic driver aids that are already common in passenger cars, including autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist, and forward collision warning, as standard equipment.
Thor Trucks also faces the same hurdles as every other startup trying to build vehicles. Tesla faces significant challenges because it’s never built a commercial truck before, but Thor Trucks hasn’t built anything before. Vehicle manufacturing is a complex and expensive undertaking that has left a number of companies broken and defeated.
