TESLA: 38 year trucking veteran choses the Tesla Semi over Peterbilt. The turning radius was his favorite feature. Plu after years of diesel enginees, his hearing is bad so the silence is so much nicer. Video by Chris Kuna.

Covenant Logistics has completed two weeks of @Tesla Semi testing. They were blown away by its capabilities. "We were amazed at the performance of the Tesla Semi and felt a level of confidence that was hard to match in a diesel truck. As one of our final runs we tackled a section of I-5 between Santa Clarita and the San Joaquin Valley over the Tejon Pass - famously known as "The Grapevine" - a lane critical to trucks hauling cargo from the ports in Oakland, Los Angeles, and Long Beach. "The Grapevine" sits at an elevation of 4,160 feet and represents the highest point on I-5 in California. The northbound descent from Tejon Summit drops 2,613 feet over 11.6 miles, with the steepest section — known as the Grapevine Hill — running about 6% grade for 5 miles. Running the Grapevine with a loaded trailer is about as demanding a real-world test as you could design for any truck. Running Northbound - lose momentum on a steep grade with a heavy load can be stressful as speed drops fast and recovering on that grade is challenging. Running Southbound requires attention to braking and heat management (which isn't a problem for an EV when you've got regenerative braking doing most of the work)."

Our new 125 kW Basecharger is designed for longer dwell times and overnight charging of Semis. It's the "home charging" for heavy-duty fleets. It features a fully integrated design that eliminates the need for a separate AC-to-DC cabinet, simplifying installation. The 6 meter cable offers layout flexibility for all depots. Up to 3 Basechargers can be daisy-chained on a single breaker (sharing 125 kVA) to further reduce installation and operational costs.

Great to see some mainstream media coverage of Tesla Semi: "With a diesel Semi, to go about 500 miles here in California with diesel being $7.66 on avg, you're looking at about $520 to go that distance. But with the @Tesla Semi, one single charge will get you there for $275." DHL thinks the higher upfront cost of the Tesla Semi will be more than worth it over the lifetime of the vehicle with big fuel and maintenance savings.

Here, in all its glory, is the exclusive first look at the massive @Tesla Semi factory. Our @corememory crew went to Nevada to see the line come to life, as it gets ready to pump out thousands of all-electric trucks. We saw the new cab and went on a drive too. Wunderbar!

We got the first look inside the @tesla semi factory. It's enormous and quite spectacular. Episode coming soon here and on our YouTube channel. @brexHQ card worked hard on this road trip through Nevada