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The sound — and smell — of thousands of idling trucks at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach could be fading if a new pilot project to convert them to part-time electric vehicles sticks.

After years of anticipation and debate, the federal mandate of electronic logging devices is nearly here.

HAWTHORNE, Calif. — Tesla’s success in the passenger-car arena has changed consumers’ perceptions and pushed the limits of what’s possible with electric cars.

To ease the trucking industry’s transition to the federal electronic logging device mandate, citations issued between Dec. 18 and April 1 for failure to comply with the new law will not be posted to motor carriers’ safety profiles. But carriers still could be fined, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials said Nov. 20.

Large for-hire carriers and major retailers are reserving their places in line to be among the first to test the all-electric Tesla Semi in their operations.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Autonomous heavy trucks not only show promise to reduce crashes, but they also offer a potential to improve cargo security and driver recruitment, according to executives speaking here at a recent national safety and security conference sponsored by American Trucking Associations.

Tesla Inc.’s superstar chief executive Elon Musk unveiled a futuristic looking electric semi truck last week that surpassed analyst expectations and weighed heavily on the shares of truck and truck component makers.

Penske Truck Leasing Co. launched a mobile app that will allow rental truck drivers to comply with the federal mandate for electronic logging devices and to access other information that enhances productivity.

Finding and retaining qualified drivers can be a difficult and time-consuming task, but there are some human resources firms offering alternatives to old-fashioned interviews to get them on the road.