Nikola Motor receives 7,000 orders for electric truck

The Nikola Motor Company says it raised $2.3 billion in the first month in which potential customers could reserve a semi-electric truck. In total, more than seven thousand interested parties contributed money.

You can place an order by putting in $1500, so the amount that Nikola Motor has actually raised is about $10.5 million. In the press release, the company speaks of 2.3 billion dollars, it tells Autoblog that it is based on the total costs of the trucks.

The first truck that the Nikola Motor Company plans to deliver is to be shown for the first time “within five months,” the company says. The first truck is called Nikola One. Nikola Motor is also developing the Nikola Zero, an all-electric utility task vehicle.

A Nikola One should cost between $4,000 and $5,000 per month in lease. The batteries, consisting of 32,000 lithium-ion cells, have a capacity of 320 kWh. The batteries are charged by a turbine that requires fuel. In principle, the capacity of almost four hundred liters of gas tank should be sufficient to allow the truck to drive up to 1900 kilometers.

According to the specifications, the car should be a lot more economical than a comparable diesel truck. The truck is powered on all six wheels with 800V ac motors that deliver a total of 2000hp or 1471kW. Regenerative braking should provide extra recharging during deceleration and the batteries also recharge when driving down a mountain. The total weight of the truck is between 8,000 and 9,500 kilograms.

The first electric truck prototype will be on display in Salt Lake City on December 2, 2016.