Tesla unveiled images of its Semi electric truck and announced its delivery date would be December 1.
The Twitter announcement was fairly simple, with a picture of the front of the futuristic- looking truck and the name Semi emblazoned underneath.
Tesla promised the Semi would be the future of trucking and could offer companies a cheaper transport option as the electric truck could travel up to 500 miles on a single charge.
However, many Twitter users couldn’t help but make jokes about the truck’s name, which in colloquial terms refers to a semi-flaccid penis that occurs at an inopportune time, according to Urban Dictionary.
“I suppose he is fifty-one. Happens to us all,” tweeted StephenCVGraham, while singer Curtis Stigers wrote: “You would think a billionaire could afford Viagra.”
Then ELLEN_28 added: “Good luck trying to pull that one off!”
The Semi can go from 0 to 60mph in 20 seconds and can get up to 70 percent capacity after just 30 minutes of charging.
“More powerful, more efficient and fully electric. Semi is the future of trucking,” Tesla wrote on its website.
The announcement comes just days after a Tesla user in China involved in a fatal crash said that the vehicle’s brakes failed to respond for more than a mile.
Tesla denied the driver’s suggestion, saying he didn’t use the brakes at all in the November 5 crash.
Two people died and three others were injured in Raoping County, Guangdong province, southern China.
The driver, named as Zhan in local media, was seen in surveillance videos avoiding a number of other vehicles, but his Tesla Model Y then collided with a cyclist and a three-wheeled cargo motorcycle.
The car eventually crashed into a storefront, even though Zhan said he tried to use the brakes.
“I felt the car was malfunctioning, so I pressed the park button, but it began to accelerate,” Zhan, 55, told the Chinese newspaper Dahe Daily.
“Because I was a truck driver, I knew what to do if ever my brakes failed on a slope, so after I lost control of the car, I immediately began searching for an obstacle to crash into,” said Zhan.
“I continued to try the brakes to see whether they would start working and stop the car,” he added. “I was thinking about where to crash, but my reactions couldn’t keep up with the speed.”
“Suddenly, I was racing ahead, and I tried the brakes repeatedly. There were others on the road. A motorcycle was ahead of me, so I swerved the steering wheel.
Traffic police ruled out drunk-driving after a toxicology test but were following up with an independent test.
Tesla slammed Zhan’s claims and said the surveillance footage showed the vehicle’s brake lights remained off.
The car maker added that was “consistent with backend data,” and planned to “actively provide any necessary assistance” into the investigations of the crash.
“The vehicle’s electronic throttle was depressed deeply for long periods and held at 100 percent for a time,” Tesla said in a statement.
“There was no braking action during the whole process. Please also do not listen to rumors, and do not spread unconfirmed information.”
Newsweek reached out to Tesla for comment.
