Tesla’s autonomous trucks could be huge for the industry but only a small part of Tesla (TSLA)

Tesla is expected to announce a new autonomous semi-truck this month, and it could shake up the trucking industry more than any other innovation in the last decade.

The new trucks are expected to be electric, autonomous and cost about $100,000 a piece, according to a recent note from Ravi Shanker, an analyst at Morgan Stanley. Shanker thinks Tesla will end up leasing the batteries in the trucks to keep the initial costs low and build out a nationwide network of battery swapping stations to quickly change batteries and get trucks back on the road after the approximately 300 miles of battery range is depleted.