When Musk introduced the prototype of the advanced, battery-powered Semi in 2017, he stated the Class 8 truck would go right into production by 2019.

Shares in Nikola have even more than doubled in cost over the previous week as the firm’s CEO has actually made use of Twitter and interviews to advertise strategies to launch an electric pickup truck to competing Tesla’s forthcoming Cybertruck.

Nikola as well as CNH Industrial’s IVECO business truck procedure last year created a joint endeavor to construct a battery electrical and gas cell truck line called the Nikola Tre.

Musk has said Tesla is scouting other U.S. states for a site to build a new factory, hinting that Texas could be a candidate. Oklahoma and other states are campaigning for the investment.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When Musk unveiled the prototype of the futuristic, battery-powered Semi in 2017, he said the Class 8 truck would go into production by 2019. More recently, he said the Semi would go into volume production by 2021.

Nikola, a rival electric and fuel cell truck startup, earlier this month began trading on the NASDAQ after it merged with special purpose acquisition company VectoIQ.

Shares in Nikola have more than doubled in price over the past week as the company’s CEO has used Twitter and interviews to promote plans to launch an electric pickup truck to rival Tesla’s forthcoming Cybertruck.

Nikola and CNH Industrial’s IVECO commercial truck operation last year formed a joint venture to build a battery electric and fuel cell truck line called the Nikola Tre. IVECO has said orders are strong for the electric version of the truck, due out next year.

Nikola on Wednesday said it had hired a former Tesla executive, Mark Duchesne, to lead its manufacturing and a former Caterpillar executive, Pablo Koziner, to head its hydrogen fueling and battery recharging business.