Tesla is diving into the trucking industry.Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Thursday that the company will unveil its semi-truck in September, as well as a pick-up truck in 18 to 24 months."Tesla Semi truck unveil set for September," Musk wrote on Twitter. "Team has done an amazing job. Seriously next level."This isn't the first time we've heard Tesla expressinterest in building a semi-truck.Musk first announced the semi-truck project in his "Master Plan, Part Deux" released during July of last year."We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate," Musk wrote in the plan.Musk said in February that the company was making progress on its semi-truck.Jerome Guillen, Tesla's vice president of programs, isleading the company's semi-truck product.Tesla Semi truck unveil set for September. Team has done an amazing job. Seriously next level.' Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2017@NoahMagel Pickup truck unveil in 18 to 24 months' Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2017Tesla CTO JBStraubel has alsodiscussed the role Tesla can play in the trucking industry."I can't say too much about the new products and the things we are developing, but from a pure technology point of view, everything that we've done on vehicles translates directly into trucks," Straubel saidat a forum in 2016. "There's no reason that today you can't make a very compelling electric truck."Musk will have some competition in the electric trucking space.Daimler, Mercedes' parent company, firstshowed off its electric truckin November. Guillen actually led Daimler's semi-truck program before joining Tesla in 2012.Daimler is currently testing the vehicle, which can drive 124 miles on a single charge, on public roads in Germany. The company said in February it was talking to 20 potential customers about its electric truck.Tesla also plans to build a self-driving, electric bus, Musk wrote in his "Master Plan," but he has yet to disclose a timeline for that project.Musk teased some other upcoming announcements on Twitter.He said the company's next-generation Roadster, which will be Tesla's fastest car when it's released in a few years, will be a convertible. Musk also said the final unveiling for the Model 3, the company's mass-market sedan, will occur in July.Tesla is having a big month. The California-based companyis now valued as high as Ford and General Motors, making it one of the most valuable automakers in the US. That puts pressure on Tesla to execute Model 3 production; the sedan is set to roll out to customers at the end of this year.Tesla has an ambitious goal of producing 500,000 cars per year in 2018, and will soon add two more vehicles to its offerings.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Tesla will begin selling its Solar Roof this year ' here's everything you need to know
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