Image: TeslaTesla shared the image on its official Tesla Semi account on X, with the caption: ‘First Semi off high-volume line’. This milestone appears to mark the end of one of the longest development cycles in Tesla’s history, as noted by the US news portal Electrek. First unveiled in 2017 and initially promised for the roads by 2019, the Semi is now expected to go on sale in 2026. The electric truck is being manufactured in a purpose-built facility adjacent to Gigafactory Nevada. The plant is reportedly designed for an annual capacity of up to 50,000 trucks, although production will be ramped up gradually rather than reaching that level immediately.Even so, the start of mass production represents a pivotal moment for Tesla. In February, the manufacturer released the final production specifications and confirmed two variants: a Standard Range with a range of 325 miles (approximately 523 kilometres) and a gross vehicle weight of 82,000 pounds (around 37.2 tonnes), and a Long Range with a range of 500 miles (approximately 800 kilometres).Thanks to economies of scale, the company aims to offer the Semi at prices of $290,000 for the Long Range version and $260,000 for the Standard version. According to industry experts, these prices would make the Semi the most affordable Class 8 battery-electric semi-trailer tractor on the US market. At the same time, the Semi outperforms much of the competition in terms of technical specifications, some of which are now outdated.A few Semis have already been spotted on US roads. These were early units, largely hand-built on a pilot production line. Most of these pre-production vehicles are believed to be part of Tesla’s own fleet, with an additional 36 units confirmed in PepsiCo’s California fleet. Tesla began producing the first Semi units in the US in October 2022, as reported here. Over the following three years, Tesla focused on “refining the design, cutting roughly 1,000 lbs from the truck, and building out a dedicated factory adjacent to Gigafactory Nevada in Sparks,” according to Electrek.Both variants feature a powertrain with three integrated electric motors, delivering up to 800 kW of power. Further specifications can be found here. Another key highlight: the Semi is designed to support megawatt charging at 1.2 MW. A corresponding charging infrastructure is currently being rolled out in parts of the US. The first Megacharger station is now operational in Ontario, California, with an additional 66 sites planned across 15 states.The charging hardware being installed is the 1.2-MW charging solution Tesla announced last spring for the Semi, based on its proprietary V4 technology. The manufacturer also uses this technology to enhance the performance of its passenger vehicle chargers. The system is decentralised, comprising sleek satellite chargers and a separate technical cabinet, known as the Power Unit. When scaled up, the technology can achieve the aforementioned 1.2 MW, which is expected to restore the majority of the Semi’s 800-kilometre range in just half an hour.The ‘California Clean Truck & Bus Voucher’ programme suggests that the Semi could be well-received in the US. As Electrek reports, this programme can be seen as a reliable indicator of commercial demand: between January 2025 and February 2026, 965 of the total 1,067 applications submitted under the programme were for the Tesla Semi. In contrast, Daimler, Paccar, and Volvo received fewer than 100 applications combined.electrek.co, reuters.com, x.com
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