After revolutionizing electric cars, Tesla is tackling a new frontier in "green" transportation with the introduction a futuristic all-electric semi truck.

"We designed the Tesla truck to be like a bullet," said Tesla co-founder and CEO, Elon Musk.

The billionaire South African-born inventor unveiled the new vehicle Thursday at an event in Hawthorne, California, site of the automaker's design bureau and the headquarters of SpaceX, the aerospace company he also founded.

Its sleek, aerodynamic profile, in somber matte or metalic colors, will make it a standout on the road.

But the company is touting performance that it says will make the Tesla Semi quicker and more economical than today's diesel-powered trucks.