Tesla Presents Electric Truck, Updated Sports Car

特斯拉推出电动卡车和升级版跑车

American electric carmaker Tesla hopes its electric-powered trucks will replace today's diesel-fueled ones.

美国电动汽车制造商特斯拉希望其电动卡车能够取代今天以柴油为燃料的卡车。

Tesla founder Elon Musk showed off the new truck, called the Tesla Semi, during a launch event Thursday in Los Angeles. The company also announced a new sports car model.

特斯拉创始人伊隆·马斯克(Elon Musk)周四在洛杉矶的一场产品发布会上展示了这种名为特斯拉Semi的新卡车。该公司同时还发布了一款新的跑车车型。

Musk said the truck can travel 800 kilometers on a single electric charge while pulling a full load of 36,000 kilograms.

马斯克表示，这款卡车充满一次电可以满载36吨货物行驶8百公里。

Musk did not give an exact price for the new trucks. Instead, he said the cost of operating the Tesla truck will be less than diesel trucks because of fuel savings and lower maintenance costs. He even claimed that moving goods with the Tesla Semi would cost less than transporting them by train.

马斯克并未给出这款新卡车的确切售价。相反他表示，由于动力和维护成本降低，特斯拉卡车的运营成本将会低于柴油卡车。他甚至声称使用特斯拉Semi运输货物的成本要低于铁路运输成本。

Musk said production will begin in 2019. The company says interested buyers could pay $5,000 to reserve a truck.

马斯克表示，这款卡车将于2019年开始生产。该公司表示，有兴趣的买家可以支付5千美元预定一辆。

Musk told a crowd gathered to see the launch he believes the new truck's features are "better in every way" than any current transport trucks on the road.

马斯克在产品发布会上表示，他认为这款新卡车的性能在各方面都要比任何目前路上行驶的运输卡车更好。

The trucks will be equipped with the same driver-assist system built into some of Tesla's other vehicles. The Autopilot system can keep vehicles at a set speed and is capable of slowing them down automatically. It can also keep vehicles within traffic lanes.

这款卡车将会配备跟特斯拉其它车型相同的驾驶辅助系统。自动驾驶系统可以使车辆维持设定速度并且能够自动减速。它也可以将车辆保持在车道内。

Musk said he can imagine that someday, several Tesla electric trucks will autonomously follow each other down the road.

马斯克表示，他可以想象出有一天，几辆特斯拉卡车将会在路上自动相互跟随(自动组队行驶)。

He added that the company plans to build a worldwide system of solar-powered "megachargers" to provide electrical charges for the trucks. He said the system could power trucks for another 640 kilometers after charging for as little as 30 minutes.

他补充说，该公司计划建造一个全球性的太阳能megachargers充电系统，为这些卡车充电。他表示，该系统给卡车充电30分钟可以再行驶640公里。

Tesla and other major manufacturers are making big investments in electric vehicles in a worldwide shift to energy-saving technologies.

在全球转向节能技术这样一个背景下，特斯拉和其它主要制造商都对电动车投入巨资。

U.S. government information shows that trucks create nearly one fourth of all transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases are blamed for trapping heat and warming the Earth's atmosphere.

美国政府数据表明，卡车造成了全球近1/4跟交通相关的温室气体排放。温室气体可以导致热量聚集和地球大气变暖。

Tesla faces competition in the electric truck market however. German carmakers Volkswagen and Daimler AG are designing their own versions. Daimler recently showed off its first all-electric zero-emission transport truck in Germany.

然而特斯拉在电动卡车市场面临着竞争。德国汽车制造商大众和戴姆勒公司都在设计它们各自的车型。戴姆勒公司最近在德国展示了旗下第一款全电动零排放的运输卡车。

In the U.S., Nikola Motor Company is developing electric transport trucks powered by hydrogen. It says the trucks will be able travel up to 1,900 kilometers, with a refill time of just 15 minutes.

在美国，尼古拉汽车公司正在开发氢气动力的电动运输卡车。该公司表示，这种卡车只需要15分钟的燃料补充时间就能行驶1900公里。

A record-setting sports car also introduced

特斯拉还推出了一款创纪录的跑车

At the publicity event, Musk surprised the crowd with a new model of Tesla's Roadster. The car unexpectedly drove out of the back of the Tesla Semi.

马斯克在这次宣传活动中还以一款特斯拉新款跑车给观众带来了惊喜。这辆车出乎意料地从特斯拉Semi背后驶出。

Musk said he was pleased to announce that Tesla was launching the second-generation Roadster, a new version of the first car the company made.

马斯克表示，他很高兴地宣布，特斯拉推出了第二代跑车，这是该公司制造的第一辆车的新款车型。

Tesla said its updated Roadster will break several world records. Musk said the sports car will be the first vehicle in regular production to reach 100 kilometers an hour in just 1.9 seconds.

特斯拉公司表示，这款升级版跑车将会打破几个世界记录。马斯克表示，这款跑车将成为首辆百公里加速仅1.9秒的量产车。

Musk added that the car will have a travel range of 1,000 kilometers on a single charge, which he said would be a new record for an electric vehicle.

马斯克补充说，这款车的续航里程将会达到1000公里，他说这会成为电动车的一项新纪录。

"You'll be able to travel from LA to San Francisco, and back, at highway speed without recharging," Musk said.

马斯克表示：“你可以从洛杉矶到旧金山高速跑个来回不用充电。”

Tesla says it plans to begin selling the new Roadster in 2020. However, the car is probably not for everyone. Its starting price, which is for the least costly model, is $200,000.

特斯拉表示计划在2020年开始销售这款新款跑车。然而，这款车可能并不适合所有人，因为这款车最便宜款的起价为20万美元。

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布莱恩·林恩报道。

American electric carmaker Tesla hopes its electric-powered trucks will replace today’s diesel-fueled ones.

Tesla founder Elon Musk showed off the new truck, called the Tesla Semi, during a launch event Thursday in Los Angeles. The company also announced a new sports car model.

Musk said the truck can travel 800 kilometers on a single electric charge while pulling a full load of 36,000 kilograms.

Musk did not give an exact price for the new trucks. Instead, he said the cost of operating the Tesla truck will be less than diesel trucks because of fuel savings and lower maintenance costs. He even claimed that moving goods with the Tesla Semi would cost less than transporting them by train.

Musk said production will begin in 2019. The company says interested buyers could pay $5,000 to reserve a truck.

Musk told a crowd gathered to see the launch he believes the new truck’s features are “better in every way” than any current transport trucks on the road.

The trucks will be equipped with the same driver-assist system built into some of Tesla’s other vehicles. The Autopilot system can keep vehicles at a set speed and is capable of slowing them down automatically. It can also keep vehicles within traffic lanes.

Musk said he can imagine that someday, several Tesla electric trucks will autonomously follow each other down the road.

He added that the company plans to build a worldwide system of solar-powered “megachargers” to provide electrical charges for the trucks. He said the system could power trucks for another 640 kilometers after charging for as little as 30 minutes.

Tesla and other major manufacturers are making big investments in electric vehicles in a worldwide shift to energy-saving technologies.

U.S. government information shows that trucks create nearly one fourth of all transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases are blamed for trapping heat and warming the Earth’s atmosphere.

Tesla faces competition in the electric truck market however. German carmakers Volkswagen and Daimler AG are designing their own versions. Daimler recently showed off its first all-electric zero-emission transport truck in Germany.

In the U.S., Nikola Motor Company is developing electric transport trucks powered by hydrogen. It says the trucks will be able travel up to 1,900 kilometers, with a refill time of just 15 minutes.

A record-setting sports car also introduced

At the publicity event, Musk surprised the crowd with a new model of Tesla’s Roadster. The car unexpectedly drove out of the back of the Tesla Semi.

Musk said he was pleased to announce that Tesla was launching the second-generation Roadster, a new version of the first car the company made.

Tesla said its updated Roadster will break several world records. Musk said the sports car will be the first vehicle in regular production to reach 100 kilometers an hour in just 1.9 seconds.

Musk added that the car will have a travel range of 1,000 kilometers on a single charge, which he said would be a new record for an electric vehicle.

“You’ll be able to travel from LA to San Francisco, and back, at highway speed without recharging,” Musk said.

Tesla says it plans to begin selling the new Roadster in 2020. However, the car is probably not for everyone. Its starting price, which is for the least costly model, is $200,000.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

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Words in This Story

maintenance – n. act of keeping property or equipment in good condition by making repairs, correcting problems, etc.

reserve – v. make arrangements to be able to use or get something at a later time

automatic – adj. having controls that allow something to work or happen without being directly controlled by a person?

lane – n. part of a road marked by painted lines and used for a single line of vehicles

autonomous – adj. engaging in an activity separately from other things

emission – n. the act of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source?

second-generation – n. a second line of a product or products that represent improvements over the first

regular – adj. happening or done very often?