Tesla recently started testing its ‘Tesla Semi’ electric trucks with cargo and it’s giving us opportunities to start seeing the real potential of electric heavy-duty trucks at work.

A new sighting is as impressive as it gets.

Electric trucks are exciting for many reasons beyond the reduction of emissions and potential for lower cost of freight transport, like the noise reduction and the safety and traffic implications that comes with a vehicle that can accelerate quickly.

Tesla still needs to prove the range and lower cost of operation of the vehicle, but the prototypes are already proving those other exciting advantages of electric trucks.

A recent sighting near Sacramento gave of a great example of how easily Tesla Semi can merge on the highway without slowing down traffic on the ramp and now we get a great similar example in the street.

Watch how the Tesla Semi accelerates with a trailer compared to the vehicle already in motion on the street:

This video would have been twice as long if the truck would have been equipped with a diesel engine.

It’s not clear if that trailer is loaded with cargo or empty, but it’s impressive either way.

Electrek’s Take

If you have been driving for a long time and you don’t know about the Tesla Semi, it must be very alien to see that truck pull in front of you like that and just hit the speed of the traffic flow almost instantly.

Normally, you would have to slow down or switch lane with a diesel truck pulling in front of you like that, but now you can just keep driving, which has great safety and traffic implications in the long-term as electric trucks become standard.

And the noise level is just as exciting.

A diesel truck accelerating in a residential neighborhood like that is sure to be heard and disturb dozens if not hundreds of people, but now it just sounds like someone is revving up an RC car at a distance.

I feel like there are so many advantages here that even climate change deniers should be able to get on board with electric semi trucks because of the many benefits unrelated to the environment (not that those are not great either).

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