Tesla to start delivering Semi trucks with 500 mile range this year

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the Tesla Semi, which has a 500-mile range, will begin delivering this year. The Tesla Semi was first revealed in 2017, when the firm stated it would start production in 2019. This was postponed numerous times, but in July 2020, CEO Elon Musk stated that "it's time to bring Tesla Semi to volume production."

Tesla produced considerable progress toward Tesla Semi production at a low-volume facility near Gigafactory Nevada last summer, according to Electrek. Shortly after, Tesla revealed a new small fleet of "Tesla Semi" electric trucks, but it said the "launch" of the Tesla Semi program would be delayed until 2022 due to battery supply constraints.

Tesla began production of electric trucks in low quantities and it wasn't clear if the firm would stick to its new timetable of delivering the first units to clients in 2022 as Musk later stated not to anticipate new vehicles being delivered in 2022 because Tesla was concentrating on ramping up production of Model 3 and Model Y. Now, in a surprise communication on Twitter today, Musk revealed that Tesla will start offering the Tesla Semi with a 500-mile range this year:

Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, stated the following in response to his "Master Plan, Part Deux," which suggested that he wanted Tesla to manufacture an electric semitruck: “By shipping, I mean delivering the vehicle to customers.” It appears that Musk is talking about Tesla delivering the electric truck to clients when he says "shipping." Since 2017, the firm has taken orders for the truck and amassed a large backlog. It's unclear who will get the Tesla Semi first, but PepsiCo is a likely candidate.

In 2017, PepsiCo placed the largest order for Tesla Semi: 100 electric trucks to be added to its fleet. The firm intended to utilize 15 of them for a project that would convert its Frito-Lay Modesto, California, site into a zero-emission facility.

Last year, when it looked like the Tesla Semi trucks would make their debut in September 2019, PepsiCo said it expected to take deliveries of those vehicles by the end of the year. While no Tesla Semi trucks were delivered last year, Tesla did install a Megacharger station at its Modesto manufacturing plant, suggesting that shipments are now closer.