Tesla Semi: delivering a disruptive electric truck
Tesla delivered its first Tesla Semi electric trucks to customers and revealed details of its production version of the vehicle – delivering on a 5-year-old promise.
Today, the company held its Tesla Semi Delivery Event in Nevada.
As expected, Tesla delivered the first electric trucks to Pepsico, a long-time reservation holder, and held a presentation to reveal more details about the production version of the Tesla Semi.
There wasn’t any big surprise during the presentation.
Tesla basically delivered on its original promises made in 2017 when it first unveiled the prototypes of the Tesla Semi.
Despite the lack of major changes, it’s still a big moment since the electric truck has the potential to change the trucking industry for good by eliminating emissions and significantly reducing costs.
The company started out by explaining why it is going from making consumer electric vehicles to an electric class 8 truck. That’s pretty simple: even if semi trucks only account for about 1% of vehicles in the US, they account for about 20% of emissions:
Obviously, battery-electric class 8 trucks have an opportunity to greatly reduce those numbers.
But they need to be just as if not more capable than diesel semi trucks in order to take over the market, and that’s exactly what Tesla claims to be delivering.
In terms of the technology powering the truck, things have changed since the original prototypes, but not in any major ways.
Tesla is now using a tri-motor drivetrain that is basically the same as in the Model S and Model X Plaid.
Dan Priestley, Tesla Semi Program Manager, explained that Tesla is using one of the motor for cruising speed geared toward peak efficiency at highway speeds and the two other motors are used for torque when accelerating in order to create a smooth driving experience never seen in a class 8 truck before.
To prove the capacity, Tesla shared a very impressive video of a Tesla Semi loaded at 82,000 lbs passing a diesel truck at 6% incline on the Donner Pass as if it’s nothing:
Ok, it’s powerful, but it can it travel long distances. Well, yes it can. Tesla promised a range of 500 miles with a full load 5 years ago and it delivered on the promise.
Tesla shared data on a 500-mile trip with a full load of just under 82,000 lbs total with the tractor. It started out in the Bay Area with a 97% state of charge and ended up in San Diego with still 4% charge:
Tesla reiterated that it can achieve a less than 2 kWh per mile efficiency, which means that trucking companies can achieve up to $70,000 in fuel savings per year depending on their cost of electricity.
Once the battery pack is depleted after 500 miles or so, you can expect blazing-fast charging thanks to the new 1-megawatt charging technology developed by Tesla. The automaker also said it will make it to the Cybertruck.
I felt like I was back in 2012 with the event as Elon Musk was again listing some basic benefits of electric vehicles that people coming from internal combustion engines wouldn’t necessarily be familiar with, like truck drivers who haven’t had the opportunity to go electric just yet.
Things like regenerative braking, which can greatly improve safety in trucks, and the millisecond reaction time of electric motors resulting in great traction control.
Tesla also unveiled several quality-of-life features for Tesla Semi drivers like an automatic suspension dump for easy latching to trailers, a cabin that you can stand in, and easy light checks for inspections.
There’s no doubt that the interior of the vehicle is cool and quite a change compared to most diesel trucks on the market today.
Now these machines are in the hands of customers for the first time starting with Pepsico/Frito Lay.
Electrek’s Take
There was no major surprise out of the event aside from maybe that the Cybertruck will have the same charging technology, but that’s not really about the Tesla Semi.
It felt like was more about delivering on the promises made 5 years ago and they mostly did that to their credit.
There are only two major points that Tesla didn’t discuss that I think are important and we should know about: the price and the weight.
Tesla didn’t update the price, which originally was $200,000. I have a feeling that it might have changed after 5 years, but no word from Tesla about it.
The other thing is the weight of the actual tractor, which is critical since the weight of the tractor dictates the weight of the load and the load is the trucking business. How much a truck can carry means how much money a trip can make up to a certain degree.
Class 8 trucks have total limit (truck plus trailer with load) of 80,000 lbs and the tractor itself weight between 12,000 and 25,000 lbs depending on the model. The difference is what it can carry.
Tesla only mentioned a total weight of 82,000 lbs (electric trucks are allowed an extra 2,000 lbs) during the event, but it never confirmed the weight of the Tesla Semi or load capacity. It would be important information to have.
Aside from the lack of those two important pieces of information, I feel like the event was impressive and Tesla might have a new very disruptive product on its hands.
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After a month off trying to wrap our heads around all the chaos surrounding EVs, solar, and everything else in Washington, we’re back with the biggest EV news stories of the day from Tesla, Ford, Volvo, and everyone else on today’s hiatus-busting episode of Quick Charge!
It just gets worse and worse for the Tesla true believers – especially those willing to put their money where Elon’s mouth is! One believer is set to lose nearly $50,000 betting on Tesla’s ability to deliver a Robotaxi service by the end of June (didn’t happen), and the controversial CEO’s most recent spat with President Trump had TSLA down nearly 5% in pre-morning trading.
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Hyundai is getting ready to shake things up. A new electric crossover SUV, likely the Hyundai IONIQ 2, is set to debut in the coming months. It will sit below the Kona Electric as Hyundai expands its entry-level EV lineup.
Is Hyundai launching the IONIQ 2 in 2026?
After launching the Inster late last year, Hyundai is already preparing to introduce a new entry-level EV in Europe.
Xavier Martinet, President and CEO of Hyundai Europe, confirmed that the new EV will be revealed “in the next few months.” It will be built in Europe and scheduled to go on sale in mid-2026.
Hyundai’s new electric crossover is expected to be a twin to the Kia EV2, which will likely arrive just ahead of it next year.
It will be underpinned by the same E-GMP platform, which powers all IONIQ and Kia EV models (EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, and EV9).
Like the Kia EV3, it will likely be available with either a 58.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh battery pack option. The former provides a WLTP range of 267 miles while the latter is rated with up to 372 miles. All trims are powered by a single electric motor at the front, producing 201 hp and 209 lb-ft of torque.
Although it may share the same underpinnings as the EV2, Hyundai’s new entry-level EV will feature an advanced new software and infotainment system.
According to Autocar, the interior will represent a “step change” in terms of usability and features. The new system enables new functions, such as ambient lighting and sounds that adjust depending on the drive mode.
It’s expected to showcase Hyundai’s powerful new Pleos software and infotainment system. As an end-to-end software platform, Pleos connects everything from the infotainment system (Pleos Connect) to the Vehicle Operating System (OS) and the cloud.
Pleos is set to power Hyundai’s upcoming software-defined vehicles (SDVs) with new features like autonomous driving and real-time data analysis.
As an Android-based system, Pleos Connect features a “smartphone-like UI” with new functions including multi-window viewing and an AI voice assistant.
The new electric crossover is expected to start at around €30,000 ($35,400), or slightly less than the Kia EV3, priced from €35,990 ($42,500). It will sit between the Inster and Kona Electric in Hyundai’s lineup.
Hyundai said that it would launch the first EV with its next-gen infotainment system in Q2 2026. Will it be the IONIQ 2? Hyundai is expected to unveil the new entry-level EV at IAA Mobility in September. Stay tuned for more info. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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Tesla has unveiled its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cell factory in Nevada and claims that it is nearly ready to start production.
Like several other automakers using LFP cells, Tesla relies heavily on Chinese manufacturers for its battery cell supply.
Tesla’s cheapest electric vehicles all utilize LFP cells, and its entire range of energy storage products, Megapacks and Powerwalls, also employ the more affordable LFP cell chemistry from Chinese manufacturers.
This reliance on Chinese manufacturers is less than ideal and particularly complicated for US automakers and battery pack manufacturers like Tesla, amid an ongoing trade war between the US and virtually the entire world, including China.
As of last year, a 25% tariff already applied to battery cells from China, but this increased to more than 80% under Trump before he paused some tariffs on China. It remains unclear where they will end up by the time negotiations are complete and the trade war is resolved, but many expect it to be higher.
Prior to Trump taking power, Tesla had already planned to build a small LFP battery factory in the US to avoid the 25% tariffs.
The automaker had secured older manufacturing equipment from one of its battery cell suppliers, CATL, and planned to deploy it in the US for small-scale production.
Tesla has now released new images of the factory in Nevada and claimed that it is “nearing completion”:
Here are a few images from inside the factory (via Tesla):
Previous reporting stated that Tesla aims to produce about 10 GWh of LFP battery cells per year at the new factory.
The cells are expected to be used in Tesla’s Megapack, produced in the US. Tesla currently has a capacity to produce 40 GWh of Megapacks annually at its factory in California. The company is also working on a new Megapack factory in Texas.
Ford is also developing its own LFP battery cell factory in Michigan, but this facility is significantly larger, with a planned production capacity of 35 GWh.
Electrek’s Take
It’s nice to see this in the US. LFP was a US/Canada invention, with Arumugam Manthiram and John B. Goodenough doing much of the early work, and researchers in Quebec making several contributions to help with commercialization.
But China saw the potential early and invested heavily in volume manufacturing of LFP cells and it now dominates the market.
Tesla is now producing most of its vehicles with LFP cells and all its stationary energy storage products.
It makes sense to invest in your own production. However, Tesla is unlikely to catch up to BYD and CATL, which dominate LFP cell production.
The move will help Tesla avoid tariffs on a small percentage of its Megapacks produced in the US. Ford’s effort is more ambitious.
It’s worth noting that both Ford’s and Tesla’s LFP plants were planned before Trump’s tariffs, which have had limited success in bringing manufacturing back to the US.
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