A brand new white Tesla Semi was spotted today on the highway near Sacramento, California, showing off sleek new design elements.
Spotted by our friends at The Kilowatts, the pearl white Semi was not under its own power, but being trailered on the back of a regular diesel semi.
Aside from the pearl white paint, the first time it has been seen on a Semi, the electric truck also appears to have a number of new design elements.
New Door Handles
The first change appears to be to the door handles. Previous versions of the truck have featured the Model 3 door handles in a reversed orientation (the door opens towards the rear). As you can see in the image below, it now has more traditional pull door handles.
New Windows
You can also see from the comparison images above the Semi also now has an extended side window. In the silver prototype the window ends on the door, whereas on the white prototype it now extends further past the door towards the rear of the truck.
This could be a prototype of the Semi with a sleeper cab, but a view from the rear shows it is completely empty behind the cab.
UPDATE: This new design could have been implemented with Nikola’s Semi in mind. Find out more here.
New Taillights
This new Tesla Semi prototype also features four round taillights. Previous iterations have had a straight taillight that stretches across the rear of the truck.
In a conversation with Drive Tesla, Kilowatts host Ryan Levenson tells us the Semi was heading east towards Reno, the location of Giga Nevada. That is interesting because it was recently rumoured the automaker had begun building prototypes at the Gigafactory.
Tesla also recently published job postings for the Semi program at the factory in Sparks, just outside Reno.
During the company’s Q4 2020 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk revealed production of the Semi truck will begin this year. Musk also explained it could have begun much earlier, but battery cell shortages forced several delays.
Can you spot any other new details from the photos? Let us know in the comments below.
WE SPOTTED A NEW WHITE TESLA SEMI IN SACRAMENTO!! @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/6W3eUF0xVV
— The Kilowatts 🚗⚡️ (@klwtts) February 2, 2021
