Tesla begins series deliveries of the Semi
Tesla has delivered the first series-production vehicles of its Semi electric truck to customers in Nevada, referring to it as the start of high-volume production. At the same time, the firm's order backlog is growing. However, Tesla has not yet provided specific details about the current production rate or pricing.
Tesla Semi production is set to increase significantly in the future.
Image: Tesla
Almost nine years after unveiling the Semi and around four years after delivering the first individual units, Tesla has now handed over multiple series-production models to customers. The handover took place at the new Semi facility in Nevada, which was specifically built for the electric truck. According to Tesla, the event also marks the start of higher-volume production.
The factory is designed for up to 50,000 vehicles per year, covering approximately 167,000 square metres. The same production line will manufacture the Standard and Long-Range versions, as well as the variant intended for Europe.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was not present at the handover but addressed attendees via video message. He highlighted aspects such as range, fast recharging, and lower energy costs, and mentioned an already “long waiting list” for the Semi. However, Tesla did not disclose specific order numbers during the event.
The technical presentation was led by Tesla managers Lars Moravy and Dan Priestley, who also discussed changes compared to the prototype unveiled in 2017. At the end of the event, representatives from around a dozen customers received their vehicles or handover documents.
Large orders place pressure on production ramp-up
The start of series production coincides with a recent significant increase in demand. Just this week, Tesla was selected as the main supplier in a tender by the US purchasing alliance ZET SCALE for a total of 2,500 battery-electric Class 8 trucks. However, it remains unclear how many of these will actually be delivered as Tesla Semi units, as Kenworth, Volvo, and RIDE are also listed as suppliers.
In addition, there are orders for 500 Semi units from Einride and 50 vehicles for IMC Logistics. This increases the pressure on Tesla to achieve the announced production capacity. However, the company did not provide details on the current production rate or specific volume targets for 2026 and 2027 during the handover event. The sale price of the Semi also remains undisclosed. Tesla originally unveiled the vehicle in 2017 but only delivered the first units to selected customers at the end of 2022. The now-launched ramp-up aims to bring the Semi to market in larger quantities for the first time.
For Europe, Tesla recently announced that deliveries will start in 2027. Vehicles for the European market will initially also be manufactured in Nevada. Musk had previously mentioned the possibility of later production at Tesla’s Grünheide factory.