Nikola Motor Co.’s research and development team announced this week that the company has achieved 100 percent zero emissions on the Nikola One commercial Class 8 truck.
Trevor Milton, founder and CEO, said, “Nikola has engineered the holy grail of the trucking industry. We are not aware of any zero-emission truck in the world that can haul 80,000 pounds more than 1,000 miles and do it without stopping. The Nikola One requires only 15 minutes of downtime before heading out for the next 1,000 miles.”
He said other companies have designed battery-powered semi-trucks that are restricted to a range of only a few hundred miles with four to eight hours of charging between stops.
“Imagine what this could do for the air in every city in America. We knew our emissions would be low, but to have the ability to achieve true zero emissions is revolutionary for the worldwide trucking industry,” Milton added.
Milton cited success as a result of, “a specific zero emission refinement process of fuel and gutsy engineering and product execution. A traditional manufacturer would have to partner with an oil company, environmental group, electric vehicle engineering firm, a broad spectrum of suppliers and a world-class consulting firm to have figured it out. At Nikola, all of our development and talent is under one roof,” said Milton.
In addition to the zero emission semi-truck, Nikola has initiated the first steps to manufacture emission-free power plants that range from 50 kilowatts to 50 megawatts, cutting power generation costs in half. Nikola believes this technology not only has the ability to transform America’s roadways, but how the world will migrate towards zero-emission energy going forward.
Two months ago, Nikola announced more than $2.3 billion in reservations, totaling more than 7,000 truck reservations with deposits.
The Nikola One truck-leasing program costs $4,000 to $5,000 per month, depending on which truck configuration and options the customer chooses. The first million miles of fuel under the lease is included with each truck sale, potentially offsetting 100 percent of the monthly cost. An average diesel burns approximately $400,000 in fuel and can rack up more than $100,000 in maintenance costs over 1,000,000 miles. Milton claims these costs are eliminated with the Nikola One lease, adding companies can have a zero-emission truck with a return on their investment in the first month.
