The Nikola One has received over 7000 pre-orders with deposits for the electric truck since its unveiling this month.
CEO Trevor Milton says the pre-orders are worth a potential $2.3 billion.
“Our technology is 10-15 years ahead of any other OEM [original equipment manufacturer] in fuel efficiencies, mile per gallon and emissions,” Milton said.
“We are the only OEM to have a near zero emission truck and still outperform diesel trucks running at 80,000 pounds [36280 kilograms].”
The company says its truck has 6x6 electric drive, half the fuel cost per mile compared to diesel, a 2000 horsepower engine, regenerative braking, and a ‘never plug-in’ feature as the turbine charges the batteries automatically while driving.
Nikola is so confident it is offering the first million miles of fuel with every truck sale for the first 25,000 customers.
The average diesel truck burns over $400,000 in fuel and racks up over $100,000 in maintenance costs over one million miles, the company says.
The Nikola One lease will cost $US4000-5000 per month.
Nikola Motor has already completed a seed round of funding and is working raising a further $300 million by December 2016.
The company says it has 55 strategically positioned CNG stations planned for across the US and Canada for a roll out that will cover the entire country and will allow the gas extender to be refilled with compressed gas.
It even has its own gas wells across the US from which it says it will take natural gas, liquefy it on-site and ship it as CNG to refuelling stations.
Normal filling times will be between 10-15 minutes from empty.
The company aims to have one CNG refuelling station every 800km, and is promising a warranty on each battery pack for the life of the lease which is earliest of seven years or one million miles.
The Nikola One prototype has a 320 kilowatt hour lithium ion battery pack with each weighing in around 1360-1820kg.
Travel on the battery alone is expected to be at least 160-320km at full battery level, depending on the size of the load in the event the turbines fail.
The truck is expected to retain for around $500,000.
In other vehicle news, German automaker Volkswagen plans to deliver 30 electric plug-in models by 2025.
The new plan comes in the wake of a devastating emissions scandal that cast doubt on the future of its once-beloved diesel cars.
Electric vehicles have proven to be quite poplar. In April Tesla, which also takes its name from scientist Nikola Tesla, claimed over 115,000 people had plonked down $1000 for the Telsa Model 3 in just 24 hours.
If each tech-savvy enthusiast who pre-ordered the Model 3 in the first 24 hours follows through with their $US35,000 purchase, Tesla would make $US4 billion in sales.
The rubber will hit the road when the Nikola One prototype will be unveiled until December, although there is considerable effort still to go before the first truck hits the streets, and proves Nikola’s claims are more than vapourware.
