Tesla's Semi finally hits production after nine-year wait, with major freight partners ready to order

Tesla held a launch event Thursday to mark the arrival of its Semi in volume production, a milestone that comes nearly a decade after the electric truck was first shown in concept form in 2017. The company is now shipping vehicles to customers following the April 2026 start of full manufacturing at a new factory alongside Gigafactory Nevada.

Production readiness and customer roster#

The Semi factory can churn out 50,000 trucks annually, or roughly 1,000 per week, according to Tesla. The company announced a lineup of customers eager to take delivery, including PepsiCo, US Foods, DHL, WattEV, ABF, Einride, IMC Logistics, and OK Produce. Autonomous trucking startup Einride has already committed to purchasing 500 trucks, while IMC Logistics intends to acquire 50 units for California drayage operations. Tesla was also selected by a major shipping coalition to supply 2,500 vehicles for zero-emission freight transport in California.

The path to production was long and winding—the trucks were originally scheduled to enter manufacturing in 2019 but faced repeated setbacks tied to the pandemic and global supply chain disruptions. Tesla delivered a small pilot batch to PepsiCo in 2022, but those were hand-assembled at a test facility.

Specs and pricing#

Tesla confirmed two configurations for the production Semi: a Standard Range model delivering 325 miles of range at maximum 82,000-pound gross weight, and a Long Range variant rated for 500 miles. The company redesigned the final production version in February 2026, shaving off nearly 1,000 pounds compared to earlier iterations. Original 2017 pricing started at $150,000 for the 300-mile version and $180,000 for the 500-mile option, but those figures are no longer valid. Reports suggest the long-range model now costs roughly $290,000, though Tesla hasn't officially updated its stated price at this event.

Engineering and efficiency breakthroughs#

Tesla's engineering leadership highlighted substantial refinements to the truck's core systems. The new powertrain uses an in-house 4680 battery cell instead of purchased 2170 cells, paired with efficiency gains that allow a smaller, lighter battery without sacrificing range. The truck achieves approximately 1,700 Wh per mile when fully loaded—down from an original 2,000 Wh/mile target—thanks to a redesigned steel rotor, a bar-wound stator, and an 80-kilogram lighter drive axle.

The Semi now uses redundant electric power steering rather than hydraulic, allowing sharp turning radii comparable to a Model Y sedan. Engineers also eliminated three separate oils from the original design, replacing them with a single fluid for the motor and gearbox rated to last over 250,000 miles. The thermal management system is borrowed from Tesla's Cybercab autonomous vehicle, using heat exchangers to shift warmth between the cabin, battery, and drivetrain to boost efficiency.