Elon Musk doesn’t follow examples–he makes examples to follow. When he observed that our humanity-unifying curiosity for space had seriously waned since the Moon landing, he created a spaceflight company to get people excited about stepping on another heavenly body. When he saw the slow-moving disaster that is climate change wanting for an electric vehicle revolution to mitigate it, he created Tesla. So when engine manufacturer Cummins released their version of an all-electric semi truck ahead of the planned Tesla announcement of the same product, that had to sting a bit.
Admittedly, Cummins’ release is a bit premature. Tesla’s raging electric semi will purportedly have a range of 200-300 miles, taking aim at electrifying local shipping. Cummins’ truck, in the other hand, has a range of just 100 miles, and isn’t even a truck.
Sure, that looks awesome, but the body above is a one-off to show off the powertrain and electric systems. Cummins will only be producing those systems, and not full semi trucks. Tesla on the other hand, is releasing this:
Yeah, now that’s a semi. Still, taking thunder away from a man whose every tweet makes the news is an accomplishment.
Also on the show today, Dan and I are breaking down news that SpaceX is pumping the brakes on their Red Dragon program, we have no idea where Neuralink is getting its money from (yet), and Elon tweets about chemtrails!
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What do you think of this week’s top stories? What else would you like to see us discuss on Muskwatch? Let us know in the comments below!
Image: Cummins; Tesla
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