TransportationNewsElectric CarsHere\u2019s the Tesla Semi\u2026 againThe long-delayed truck is finally in production and reaching customers this week. Now Tesla has to prove that it was worth the wait.by Andrew J. HawkinsSep 25, 2026, 2:12 AM UTCShareGift Image: TeslaTransportationNewsElectric CarsHere\u2019s the Tesla Semi\u2026 againThe long-delayed truck is finally in production and reaching customers this week. Now Tesla has to prove that it was worth the wait.by Andrew J.<\/p>\n
HawkinsSep 25, 2026, 2:12 AM UTCShareGiftPart OfAll of the news from Tesla\u2019s electric semi truck eventsee all updates Andrew J. Hawkins is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.Remember the Tesla Semi? The long-gestating, heavy-duty truck first introduced in concept form in 2017 is finally in volume production as of April 2026 \u2014 nearly a decade after its initial introduction.<\/p>\n
On Thursday evening, the company held yet another event for the Semi to demonstrate to customers and investors that the long wait was finally over.The event was held at Tesla\u2019s new Semi factory next to Gigafactory Nevada, where the company says it can build 50,000 trucks a year, or 1,000 per week. The purpose was to announce a raft of new (and old) customers for the Semi, including PepsiCo, US Foods, DHL, WattEV, ABF, Einride, IMC, and OK Produce. (Most of these names were leaked ahead of the event by a YouTuber flying a drone over the company\u2019s facility in Sparks, Nevada.) First deliveries of the truck started this week.PreviousNext1\/9But there were still a lot of missing details that could have helped explain why the wait was so long, and where the Semi goes from here. Tesla didn\u2019t reveal order numbers, nor did it update the price of the Semi \u2014 which is rumored to be $290,000 for the long range version. In short, like many Tesla events these days, this one was lacking in some key updates.The trucks were supposed to go into production in 2019 but were delayed for a variety of reasons, including the covid pandemic and a global parts shortage.<\/p>\n
Tesla delivered a handful of trucks to PepsiCo in 2022, but those units were essentially built by hand on a pilot line.Back in 2017, the company advertised a starting price of $150,000 for the 300-mile version and $180,000 for the 500-mile one. Tesla never officially updated those prices until today, but Eletrek reported earlier this year that Tesla was quoting customers $290,000 for the 500-mile range version.Tesla spent the last three years refining the Semi\u2019s design, shaving nearly 1,000 lbs off the weight, and building out a dedicated factory next to its Gigafactory in Sparks. The company revealed the final production design in February 2026, confirming two trims: a Standard Range truck with 325 miles at full 82,000-lb gross combination weight, and a Long Range version with 500 miles of range. In April, Tesla announced that the first Semi had rolled off the line at the new facility, kicking off volume production of the long-delayed truck.Tesla CEO Elon Musk wasn\u2019t at the event \u2014 he was in Washington, DC, attending a state dinner with President Trump and Chinese President Xi \u2014 but in a pre-recorded message, he praised the Semi as \u201cthe funnest truck to drive.\u201d\u201cThis is really going to be a revolutionary truck,\u201d Musk said, \u201cthat is capable of carrying the heaviest loads over very long distances.<\/p>\n
With ease of recharge, Megacharger that\u2019s capable of a megawatt of power. This is really going to be a phenomenal truck.\u201dMuch of the event was devoted to the hardware and engineering that went into the truck. Tesla\u2019s Director of Semi Truck Engineering Dan Priestley emphasized that the 500 mile figure comes from fully loaded trucks rather than tests with a diminishing payload. Tesla Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy said a Semi carrying a lighter load of around 60,000 pounds could potentially reach about 600 miles.<\/p>\n
The lower-range truck will have lower mass and be suited to a variety of applications, giving the company multiple Semi configurations rather than relying solely on the long-range version.Tesla claims the Semi, with its lower energy cost and far fewer parts to maintain, is cheaper to run than diesel. That\u2019s not hard to believe with diesel prices having hit historic record highs, soaring past $6.50 a gallon in the US \u2014 nearly double what it cost a year ago. Tesla says the fully loaded truck now consumes about 1,700 Wh\/mile, compared with an original target of 2,000 Wh\/mile. The efficiency gains allow Tesla to use a smaller, lighter and cheaper battery while retaining the same range.The Semi is using Tesla\u2019s in-house 4680 battery cells, replacing the purchased 2170 cells used in previous test versions.<\/p>\n
Tesla says the change, combined with vehicle-efficiency improvements, produces a lower-mass, lower-kWh battery without sacrificing range.Much of the event was devoted to the hardware and engineering that went into the truck.The company has also substantially redesigned the powertrain and drive axle since the Semi\u2019s initial reveal. The truck gets a new steel-caged rotor instead of the earlier carbon-fiber-sleeved rotor, a bar-wound stator shared with Cybertruck, and a redesigned drive axle that is about 80 kilograms lighter. Tesla also eliminated the three separate oils used in the original drive axle, leaving no oil in the hub and one common oil for the motor and gearbox, which Moravy says should last more than 250,000 miles.The hydraulic steering has been replaced by redundant electric power steering that Tesla says provides much greater precision and response. Meanwhile, the truck\u2019s increased wheel cut gives it nearly the turning radius of a Model Y.<\/p>\n
Tesla specifically designed the system to make tight urban and loading-dock maneuvers easier, Priestley said.The Semi also shares parts with the newly road-worthy Cybercab, using the same indirect thermal system, including pumps, compressors, and heat exchangers, as the autonomous vehicle. Tesla says the system eliminates long refrigerant lines running to the front of the vehicle and can move heat between the cabin, battery and drive unit to improve efficiency.PreviousNext1\/8Over the past year, Tesla has been building up a customer list for the Semi, including PepsiCo, DHL, ABF Freight, and others. Autonomous trucking startup Einride announced a 500-truck order in August, while IMC Logistics said it would buy 50 Semis for California drayage earlier this week. And on Monday, Tesla was selected by \u201ca coalition of the world\u2019s largest cargo-owning shippers\u201d to supply 2,500 trucks for zero-emission freight shipping in California.Now the challenge will meeting this demand by getting trucks to customers \u2014 and quickly.<\/p>\n
Some of these freight operators have been waiting for years for Tesla to deliver its promised electric trucks, and any more delay will just further damage the company\u2019s reputation.\u201cThis is really going to be a revolutionary truck.\u201d\u2014 Elon MuskCharging will be another challenge, as the Semi requires higher power levels in order to fill its enormous 822 kWh battery pack. Tesla has begun to build out its Megacharger system that can deliver up to 1.2 Megawatts of power per stall. Tesla says it will have more than 30 Semi charging stations representing over 200 megawatt-capable posts by the end of the year, while also supporting customer-installed overnight charging. During the event, Priestley and Moravy kept checking in on a Semi charging at one of the new Megawatt chargers, demonstrating a 3-60 percent charge in about 30 minutes.Tesla is positioning the Semi as an integrated fleet product, not just an electric truck.<\/p>\n
The company says its existing fleet has demonstrated more than 98 percent uptime, compared to an average 90-95 percent for diesel-powered class 8 trucks across the industry. Tesla is also building out a dedicated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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