US purchasing alliance orders 2,500 Tesla Semis

A new U.S.-based shipping alliance named ZET SCALE has placed an order for 2,500 Tesla Semi trucks in the United States. This alliance is a purchasing consortium that aims to acquire electric trucks in large quantities at lower prices through their combined efforts.

Image: Tesla

ZET SCALE stands for “Zero-Emission Truck Shipper-Carrier Alliance Leading Electrification” and was created by Catalyst Mobility (the nonprofit freight organization formerly known as CALSTART) and the Smart Freight Centre. The concept of the alliance is quite simple: The demand from large freight companies is pooled under ZET SCALE, allowing shippers to purchase electric trucks in large quantities at lower prices.

A first major bid has now led to a contract being signed: Tesla secured the position as primary supplier through this initial tender, while Kenworth, Volvo, and RIDE were named as secondary suppliers. The scale is significant: the bid involves 2,500 battery-electric Class 8 trucks — “a single order that nearly doubles the U.S. fleet of electric Class 8 trucks,” according to the initiators. They added, “After evaluating price, range, charging capacity, and production capability, the alliance chose Tesla as its primary OEM for the first 2,500 trucks.” The alliance’s freight forwarders could turn to these secondary suppliers “as additional options to meet their specific operational needs.” These companies have agreed to offer the prices specified in the bid.

It is unclear from the statement whether relying on these other electric truck models will reduce Tesla’s share of orders or if an additional 2,500 units need to be accounted for.

According to the alliance, all truck manufacturers offering Class 8 electric trucks in North America were invited to participate in the bidding process in advance. The initiators do not specify how many ultimately took part. What is clear, however, is that the 2,500 ordered electric trucks are intended to be distributed across ten freight hubs in the coming years—specifically Los Angeles, Stockton, Bakersfield, Seattle/Tacoma, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Chicago, Atlanta, and the Newark/New York area. ZET SCALE does not provide a more detailed timeline for deliveries.

Microsoft and PepsiCo are listed among the founding members of ZET SCALE. Additional members are welcome, it says. This is because the combined demand from freight forwarders, driven by large-volume orders, leads to lower prices for electric trucks. Manufacturers can improve their profitability by producing larger quantities. It’s a classic win-win situation. In the long term, the alliance aims to put more than 10,000 electric vehicles on the roads in the U.S.

Another important detail: The alliance is backed by a financing company named ZET Financial, which places the orders and operates a so-called “ZET Lease” program. This program is designed to remove residual value risk from the balance sheets of vehicle fleets. According to Michael Berube, president and CEO of Catalyst Mobility, this risk has so far been a major obstacle in the market: “You can have good technology yet still lack a market. What’s special about ZET SCALE is that demand was organized in such a way that manufacturers could set prices based on economies of scale. This reduces costs, allowing eco-friendly trucks to move beyond the pilot phase.”

Christoph Wolff, CEO of Smart Freight Centre, added: “Every part of the freight industry wants cleaner trucks, but until now each company has had to fend for itself in making this transition—and dealing with the associated risks. ZET SCALE brings shippers, freight forwarders, manufacturers, and financiers together around a single, genuine demand signal. When risks are spread across the entire chain rather than falling on one individual player, the industry can finally make progress on a large scale.”

Dan Priestley, head of Tesla’s Semi program, also spoke out: “ZET SCALE’s goals are exciting because they leverage and scale up the cost advantages and predictability that electricity offers. We’re proud to have been selected as the primary supplier in this bid, and we look forward to giving shippers and freight companies a new competitive edge.”

This new order overshadows Tesla’s recently announced large order from Einride. The Swedish company ordered 500 Semi trucks in August. Alongside winning the ZET-SCALE bid, Tesla has also received another order for 50 electric trucks from IMC Logistics. The order includes “Standard Range” Sems for port transportation and “Long Range” Sems for trips between Southern California and warehouses inland.

Meanwhile, Tesla aims to expand with the Semi for the first time as well — specifically to Europe starting in 2027. Here is everything you need to know about the truck version for Europe and its plans to establish charging networks in five European markets initially, including Germany.