Photo: @HinrichsZane via X
Tesla delivered the first Semi trucks in December 2022, but little has been said about the Class-8 truck or its dedicated production line at Giga Nevada in the past year. Now, Tesla's VP of Engineering Lars Moravy reveals that Tesla has tripled its Semi fleet, with volume production planned for 2024.
Tesla dominates the global EV market, but its plans to expand to new segments have not gone very well. Tesla may have delivered the first Cybertrucks to their reservation holders, but so it did with the Semi. One year later, the electric Class-8 truck is still being produced by hand in a small shop near Giga Nevada. Little has been known about Tesla Semi's progress in the past year, and Tesla hasn't offered details during the recent earnings calls.
When talking about the truck earlier this year, Elon Musk revealed that supply chain issues could delay initial plans. More specifically, Musk was worried about battery cell supply constraints. We know the Tesla Semi should've used 4680 cells, but the truck is still built with 2170 cells because 4680 cell production is not fully ramped up. This is the reason why the Cybertruck was also delayed and why its range tops at 340 miles (547 km) instead of the promised 500 miles (805 km).
In the case of Tesla Semi, things are more complicated because the electric truck doesn't have a dedicated production line. The current production facility near Giga, Nevada, is only appropriate for small-batch production, which is another way of saying that the Semi is assembled by hand. Tesla plans to build a dedicated production line for the Semi, with a planned capacity of 50,000 units per year. This production line only exists on paper for now after Tesla switched plans.
Initially, the Semi was supposed to start production at Giga, Texas, but Tesla later changed the course. The Semi's home will remain in Nevada, although not in the artisanal shop where it is built nowadays, but in a brand new production facility close to Giga Nevada. However, there's no movement so far to indicate that the Semi's production line has broken ground.
Even so, Tesla remains committed to starting volume production next year. The information was offered by Tesla's vice president of Engineering, Lars Moravy, in a Jay Leno's Garage episode earlier this week. The episode was focused on the Cybertruck, but the discussion eventually touched on various Tesla-related topics. Although Tesla offered few details to the public, the Semi production continued at a slow pace.
Moravy confirmed that Tesla has about 100 Semi trucks split between PepsiCo's fleet and its own. The food company has provided crucial data to help Tesla assess durability in preparation for volume production next year. If everything goes as planned, the EV maker is confident it could build 50,000 Semi trucks per year. This volume doesn't sound like much, but it's enough to turn Tesla into the biggest American truck maker.
When talking about the truck earlier this year, Elon Musk revealed that supply chain issues could delay initial plans. More specifically, Musk was worried about battery cell supply constraints. We know the Tesla Semi should've used 4680 cells, but the truck is still built with 2170 cells because 4680 cell production is not fully ramped up. This is the reason why the Cybertruck was also delayed and why its range tops at 340 miles (547 km) instead of the promised 500 miles (805 km).
In the case of Tesla Semi, things are more complicated because the electric truck doesn't have a dedicated production line. The current production facility near Giga, Nevada, is only appropriate for small-batch production, which is another way of saying that the Semi is assembled by hand. Tesla plans to build a dedicated production line for the Semi, with a planned capacity of 50,000 units per year. This production line only exists on paper for now after Tesla switched plans.
Initially, the Semi was supposed to start production at Giga, Texas, but Tesla later changed the course. The Semi's home will remain in Nevada, although not in the artisanal shop where it is built nowadays, but in a brand new production facility close to Giga Nevada. However, there's no movement so far to indicate that the Semi's production line has broken ground.
Even so, Tesla remains committed to starting volume production next year. The information was offered by Tesla's vice president of Engineering, Lars Moravy, in a Jay Leno's Garage episode earlier this week. The episode was focused on the Cybertruck, but the discussion eventually touched on various Tesla-related topics. Although Tesla offered few details to the public, the Semi production continued at a slow pace.
Moravy confirmed that Tesla has about 100 Semi trucks split between PepsiCo's fleet and its own. The food company has provided crucial data to help Tesla assess durability in preparation for volume production next year. If everything goes as planned, the EV maker is confident it could build 50,000 Semi trucks per year. This volume doesn't sound like much, but it's enough to turn Tesla into the biggest American truck maker.
NEWS: Tesla reiterates plans on going into volume production with their Semi truck in 2024.
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 19, 2023
Lars: We have close to 100 (Tesla) Semis in our fleet now; We're working with Pepsi to understand the durability and get it right for when we go into volume production next year (2024). pic.twitter.com/XWQdOIYuvy
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