(elevator music)
This young man is Dakota Sembler
and he has it all.
A flamingo patterned car.
An office that couldn't quit 1971.
A bunch of surplus military gear,
and then this incredible machine.
An all electric semi-truck
that is both a salute,
and a giant middle finger to Elon Musk.
(intense techno music)
Dakota is the CEO of a two year old company
called Thor Trucks based in North Hollywood.
Thor's one of a handful of companies
trying to bring electric drive trains
to really big vehicles.
Really we set out to solve the issue
that fleets are having right now with diesel vehicles.
A lot of that surrounds around compliance,
maintenance, the cost of fuel, cost of energy,
so we were trying to set out to solve
a lot of those problems that fleets have.
In November, Elon Musk unveiled
this sucker at an event in LA.
Musk said the Tesla semi rig will cost $180,000.
Go 500 miles on a single charge,
and recharge in about 30 minutes.
When it arrives at the end of 2019.
I came to visit Thor to see what a real life
electric semi can do today.
Thor got started in a warehouse
when Dakota bought a diesel truck
and hired a team to convert it.
They replaced the engine with an electric motor,
they built some battery packs,
then they slapped a giant screen in the cab.
Tell me about the logo.
It looks almost like Tesla meets Transformers kind of thing.
Part of what we're trying to do is really exude
kind of the power that EVs can provide.
When you think about EVs,
particularly when you're talking about commercial vehicles,
people are like "they're weak, they're not strong."
So you're Thor's hammer.
Yeah, and it's tough,
and it's a brand that people will really come to be known
as kind of the tough EV brand.
This prototype truck is called ET1,
and Tom here agreed to take me out for a spin
with his mustache.
When I first looked at the truck I thought,
I thought, "Well, don't quite know that's going to work."
Electric trucks are going
to cost more than diesel rigs,
have shorter driving ranges,
and require a charging infrastructure to be built,
but Tom thinks they have a chance.
The way this thing pulls is really unbelievable
for an electric vehicle.
So you were surprised the first time you jumped in.
Oh yeah.
I was shocked more like.
If nothing else,
the truck is getting attention.
Is that the Tesla?
No, this is a Thor Truck.
Yeah, it's electric.
Wow, it's like futuristic.
Are you shittin me? It's electric?
No, I'm serious, I'll show it to you.
No, you see the electric motor?
Oh damn!
Thor expects this truck to cost $150,000
for 300 miles of range when it goes on sale in 2019.
And they're quiet, run clean,
and have amazing pick up.
You know the power in this thing is unbelievable,
the way it takes off and the way it handles.
It speaks for itself.
Thor has 18 employees,
including a handful with deep electric vehicle expertise.
The start up bills itself as an electric auto lab
that will make all kinds of custom vehicles,
including things like delivery and garbage trucks.
Thor will have a hell of a time
going up against giants like Tesla and Daimler.
Since they have, you know,
actual factories and experience.
But LA has long been home to high risk
custom auto projects.
Tesla's early operations didn't look
much different than these.
We set up prototyping tools really early on,
because we realized that was a vital part
of being able to build quickly,
and produce something that we could actually
start demonstrating and showing to customers.
This warehouse has been in Dakota's family
for three generations.
First as a depot for making and selling
military grade electronics,
and then as a storage spot for the family's
Malibu wines vineyard.
Dakota started working here when he was 7,
and eventually ran the family wine business,
and started it's safari tours
so the Hollywood elite can get drunk
and hang out with giraffes.
There's tons of inspiration in this place.
Tucked in the corner is this beauty.
This is a 1918 Walker Electric Panel Van.
This vehicle was fully electric,
a battery electric vehicle
from the early turn of the century.
What did they use it for?
Deliveries.
This was actually one of like a milk delivery vehicle,
or an ice delivery vehicle.
So this would be a range of about 15 miles.
12-15 miles. Okay.
Everybody here is incredibly committed.
This isn't a project that we're trying to do
or gain a bunch of notoriety.
We want to actually make these things exist in fleets.
We're actually driven to make this a viable business,
and not just a science project.
And if things don't pan out,
Dakota can always hop in his RV,
hit the road,
and go soul searching for his next venture.
I'm sure this beast runs great on electricity too.