December 4, 2022 9:17am EST | Updated The Tesla Semi has less aerodynamic drag than some other semis. (Tesla) The truck uses several off-the-shelf Tesla parts to reduce costs, including a three-motor powertrain derived from the one in the Tesla Model S Plaid. It can cruise along using just one of the motors and engage the other two for added torque when necessary. Tesla showed a video of a truck operating at its maximum combined weight of 82,000 pounds accelerating up a 6% grade at highway speeds and a time-lapse of one that weighed 81,000 pounds completing a 500-mile trip from Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, to San Diego on a single charge. Electric Semis are allowed to operate at a maximum of 82,000 pounds, rather than the traditional maximum of 80,000 pounds to accommodate the added weight of their batteries. The Semi uses a three-motor drivetrain derived from the Tesla Model S Plaid. (Tesla) Tesla has not released the size of the battery pack required to do this, but Elon Musk said after the event on Twitter that the truck operates at an efficiency of 1.7 kilowatt-hours per mile, which would suggest the pack has a capacity of approximately 900 kilowatt-hours or more, given that it had some charge left at the end of the trip.