It’s a testament to the power of the company’s marketing that Tesla routinely takes the spotlight over competing electric vehicles (EVs) from veteran automotive manufacturers, like the Chevrolet Bolt.
At its peak, the Model 3 reached nearly 400,000 pre-orders--although more recent reports suggest that number has dropped to 373,000. The deposits are refundable and at USD$1,000 for a reservation, that still translates to $373 million for Tesla.
Meanwhile, a lesser-known vehicle manufacturer has quietly raked in $2.3 billion in pre-sales in the first month alone. Meet Nikola Motor Company, no doubt named for the famous Serbian-American inventor—I guess his last name was already taken.
The Nikola One
The trucks use 800V AC motors powered by 320kWh lithium-ion batteries to run their 6x6 all-wheel drive. They also employ WABCO air disc front and rear brakes, both with regenerative electric motor braking.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the Nikola One is not its technology, but its leasing program, which costs $4,000 to $5,000 per month, depending on the truck configuration and additional options customers choose.
What’s more, scheduled maintenance and the first million miles of fuel—more on that below—are included for the first 25,000 reservations, offsetting the entire monthly cost of the truck for those customers. That’s based on the company’s estimates of the average diesel semi, which it claims burns approximately $400,000 in fuel and accumulates $100,000 in maintenance costs over a million miles of driving.
An “Electric” Semi-Truck
The natural question to ask in the face of such startling figures is, “Where is all this free fuel coming from?”
Initially, we wondered whether Nikola would be installing charging stations for customers, or providing their own charging hubs. As it turns out, the answer is neither.
Although the trucks are marketed as being electric, their batteries are charged by a turbine, which Nikola describes as “fuel agnostic” meaning that it can be ordered in multiple versions: diesel, gasoline or natural gas.
Nikola owns several natural gas wells, which the company intends to use to supply its CNG stations by shipping liquid natural gas (LNG) on Nikola trucks for on-site compression and storage. This allows the company to strictly control fuel prices for its customers.
The Tesla of Semi-Trucks?
The Nikola One will not be unveiled officially until December 2, 2016, which makes its $2.8-billion pre-sale figure all the more impressive. However, although comparisons with Tesla are inevitable, Nikola would do well to avoid emulating the electric car maker too closely.
“We believe we will pass the current market leaders like Daimler, PACCAR, Volvo and Navistar in sales orders within the next 12-24 months. Just image the orders that will come in once we begin taking dealer applications. We have shown other OEMs and their shareholders why they should be nervous about Nikola Motor Company.”
Sound familiar?
For more information, visit the Nikola Motor Company website.