Nikola Teases New All-Electric Truck Models on Twitter

Breaking: Our CEO, @nikolatrevor will announce Nikola Two and Nikola Tre in both Hydrogen and BEV at Nikola World. You will be able to order both trucks in 500kWh, 750kWh and 1mWh options BEV. Don't miss Nikola World 2019. Hydrogen long haul, BEV short haul. #emissionsgameover

— Nikola Motor Company (@nikolamotor) February 8, 2019

Nikola Motors exploded onto the scene three years ago, initially promising an all-electric, long-haul, tractor. Almost immediately, that mission statement was amended, detailing a hybrid hydrogen-battery electric drive system, which Nikola said would give its truck 1,000 miles of range between refueling stops.

But it appears the company never gave up on its initial, proposed, all-electric truck. In a surprise tweet late last week, the company announced that at its Nikola World technology showcase in April it will announce short-haul, battery-electric versions of the Nikola Two and Nikola Tre in addition to the hydrogen-electric model.

Nikola said the all-electric truck is designed for inner city delivery routes and weight-sensitive applications. However, the company stressed that it is not phasing out hydrogen drivetrains. Indeed, Nikola said it is expecting to see 50 times the number of orders for hydrogen drivetrains over electric ones – but noted that in some applications, battery-electric trucks “work great.”

Details are sketchy – Twitter being what it is – but Nikola did give away some additional information on the news in a series of additional Tweets. Both trucks will be offered in 500kWh, 750kWh and 1mWh versions. And there will be an option to spec Nikola’s hydrogen-electric drivetrain instead of a battery-electric one.

H2 is 5,000 lbs lighter than BEV and is cheaper for long haul applications even with H2 costs. BEV is for inner cities and non weight sensitive applications. Nikola is not phasing our hydrogen at all, we will see 50:1 more hydrogen orders but some applications BEV works great.

— Nikola Motor Company (@nikolamotor) February 8, 2019

Looking specifically at the Nikola Two model, the company tweeted that it will be an 80,000 lbs. vehicle that uses 2.25 kWh per mile in most applications. The 1 MWh model has a range of 400 miles, which falls to 300 miles in cold weather, the company said.

1) BEV @ 80,000 lbs. uses ~ 2.25 kWh per mile in real weather and normal hills on routes. 1MWh gets about 400 miles. Only 90% battery is useable. In cold weather, you get 300 miles / 1Mwh. Takes 69,000 "21700" cells @ 68grams = 1MWh. 10.5k weight in cells. 20k truck weight

— Nikola Motor Company (@nikolamotor) February 8, 2019

2) Fuel cell 80 kg H2 gets 7-10 miles per kg and uses same 2.25 kWh per mile as BEV. Fuel cell weight 15k -17k so about 3k – 5k pounds less than BEV. Fuel Cell can't be beat long haul and BEV is good option for short haul. World needs both. ICE is enemy, not hydrogen or BEV

— Nikola Motor Company (@nikolamotor) February 8, 2019

The Nikola Tre previously was announced as a fully electric hydrogen-powered day cab tractor aimed at markets in Europe.

Nikola unveiled its first hydrogen-electric prototype, the Nikola One, in December 2016.

The official word debut for the Nikola Two and Nikola Tre is stated for the Nikola World technology fair in Scottsdale, Arizona, April 16 and 17, 2019.