Elon Musk Tweets He'll Inquire About Electric Vans With Mercedes

Not content to talk pickups, semis, roadsters, and new SUVs, Tesla’s Elon Musk is now floating the idea of partnering with Daimler to investigate electric Sprinter vans.

Like many of Musk’s big ideas, this one came to light as part of a conversation on Twitter. The CEO was talking service calls, and announcing that the electric automaker was in the process of adding one or two-tap service request ordering to the company’s phone app. It was a reply to a customer happy with the roadside service that provided a loaner tire and then followup tire repair.

Another Twitter user replied saying it was too bad that the service didn’t come from a Tesla van, but rather a regular van (in this case what appeared to be a Ford Transit Connect) with a Tesla logo.

Musk replied “maybe interesting to work with Daimler/Mercedes on an electric Sprinter. That’s a great van. We will inquire.”

SEE ALSO: Mercedes eSprinter Range: Up to 93 Miles With a Full Payload

Now that’s far from a firm commitment, but it is an interesting idea. He expanded on it, saying that “[there’s a] lot on our plate, so it’s either get van gliders (no battery, powertrain or compute tech) from Daimler & produce sooner or do all & produce later. Not a big difference to total vehicles produced either way.”

Shame that’s not a Tesla VAN. Because we REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY need a good tough as nails electric trades van. We burn fuel like crazy.

— Dragonmyass (MFF) (@ScaleyMurrsuit) November 19, 2018

Musk added that a van wouldn’t be a priority though. The Model Y, solar tiles, pickup, semi, and Roadster are all higher up on the list.

Daimler, of course, already has some electric vans with more on the way. The eVito is a smaller van that offers a 94-mile range. That vehicle went on sale earlier this year. The company has also said that there is a Sprinter EV in the works based on the all-new Sprinter revealed earlier this year. The electric model is expected to arrive sometime next year.

The two have also had previous technology sharing. They collaborated on electrification of the Smart fortwo, as well as the Mercedes-Benz A-class and B-class. At the time, Daimler had acquired a 10 percent share in Tesla.

From HybridCars.com