Tesla begins mass production of the Semi
Tesla has delivered the first batch of its electric truck Semi to customers in Nevada and says it is beginning production at a higher volume. At the same time, order backlog is increasing. However, Tesla still does not provide specific figures regarding current production rates or prices.
The Tesla Semi is set to be manufactured in significantly larger quantities going forward.
Image: Tesla
Just under nine years after the introduction of the Semi and about four years after the delivery of the first units, Tesla has now handed over several production models to customers. The handover took place at the new Semi facility in Nevada, built specifically for this electric truck. According to Tesla, this event also marks the start of higher-volume production.
Tesla states that the factory is designed to produce up to 50,000 vehicles per year and covers an area of around 167,000 square meters. Both the standard and long-range versions, as well as the version intended for Europe, of the Semi are planned to be manufactured on the same production line.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was not present at the delivery but sent a video message. He highlighted aspects such as range, fast charging, and lower energy costs, and mentioned that there is already a “long waiting list” for the Semi. However, Tesla did not provide specific order numbers during the event.
Tesla managers Lars Moravy and Dan Priestley handled the technical presentation, which also covered changes from the prototype introduced in 2017. At the end, representatives of about a dozen customers received their vehicles or delivery documents.
Large orders increase pressure to boost production
The series launch coincides with a significantly rising demand. Just this week, Tesla was selected as the primary supplier for 2,500 battery-electric Class-8 trucks in a bid issued by the U.S. purchasing alliance ZET SCALE. It remains unclear how many of these will actually be delivered as Tesla Semi models, as other manufacturers such as Kenworth, Volvo, and RIDE are also set to supply trucks.
In addition, there are 500 Semi trucks ordered from Einride and 50 vehicles for IMC Logistics. This increases pressure on Tesla to actually achieve its announced production capacity. However, the company did not provide any details regarding the current production rate or specific volume targets for 2026 and 2027 at the delivery event. The selling price of the Semi remains undisclosed as well. Tesla first introduced the vehicle in 2017 but did not deliver the first units to selected customers until late 2022. The accelerated production now underway aims to bring the Semi to market in larger quantities for the first time.
Tesla previously announced deliveries to Europe starting in 2027. The vehicles for the European market are also set to be manufactured initially in Nevada. Musk had earlier mentioned the possibility of later production at Tesla’s plant in Grünheide.