VOA慢速英语--特斯拉推出电动卡车并升级了跑车

Tesla Presents Electric Truck, Updated Sports Car

American electric carmaker Tesla hopes its electric-powered trucks will replace today’s diesel¹-fueled ones.

Tesla founder² Elon Musk³ 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 savings⁴ 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 autonomously⁶ 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 emissions⁸. 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-emission⁷ 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 publicity⁹ 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 costly¹⁰ model, is $200,000.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

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

autonomous⁵ – 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

1 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

4 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

5 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

6 autonomously   

adv. 自律地，自治地

参考例句：

• To learn autonomously in the network environment is totally new to students. 基于网络环境下的自主学习对学生来说，是一种全新的学习方式。
• The QC-RS can operate autonomously or by remote control. QC-RS能实现自动操作或通过遥控来操作。

7 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

8 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

9 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。