In a bold prediction in October 2022, Elon Musk assured investors that Tesla would produce 50,000 Tesla Semi trucks by 2024. However, the reality has unfolded quite differently as the production of the Tesla Semi has been affected by delays and setbacks, much to the frustration of eager customers.
Tesla initially aimed to have the Semi in production by 2019. Fast forward to late 2022, and the company finally unveiled its long-anticipated Semi truck. A high-volume production facility for the Semi is currently under construction at Giga Nevada, with the first set of vehicles expected to roll off the line in late 2025. For external customers, deliveries are slated to begin in 2026, as confirmed by Tesla executive Lars Moravy during the company’s first quarter earnings call last month.
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The delay has left many customers, including industry giants like PepsiCo, in a challenging position. PepsiCo, one of the few to receive the Tesla Semi, currently has 36 trucks deployed in its fleet, with plans to expand to 86 Semis soon.
However, other customers, like ASKO Norway, have also faced long waits with no end. Svein Sollie, the transportation director at ASKO Norway, expressed his dissatisfaction, noting that despite placing a deposit for 10 Semis back in 2017, they have not received any. "We are not happy with the situation at Tesla," Sollie remarked to Reuters. "(It’s) almost seven years now, it’s a long time to wait."
UPS, another major customer, reserved 125 Tesla Semis in 2017. A spokesperson for the package delivery giant stated that they are "working closely with Tesla to determine a date for us to take delivery of the trucks" but did not provide further details.
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There are also new developments regarding the truck’s price. At launch, Tesla set the price for the 500-mile version of the Semi truck at $180,000 and the 300-mile version at $150,000.
Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management provided a grant of $4.5 million to PepsiCo to buy 18 Tesla Semi trucks. This grant was part of the agency’s initiative to promote the adoption of electric vehicles in the region, and it significantly reduced the cost of the trucks for PepsiCo.
However, that also means that PepsiCo bought the trucks for $250,000 apiece, making the price the company paid with Sacramento’s grant approximately 40% higher than the initially announced price for the longer-range version of the highly anticipated truck.
Several other companies that have placed their orders are still waiting for their trucks and have, in the meantime, turned to alternatives. Sysco, Schneider National, UPS, and Walmart Canada have begun incorporating dozens of Daimler Truck’s Freightliner eCascadia electric big rigs into their operations.
This emphasizes the urgency of transitioning to electric fleets and the practical challenges of relying solely on Tesla’s Semi, despite the range of eCascadia being half of what Tesla originally promised for the Semi (230 vs. 500 miles).
All in all, Tesla has made under 200 trucks since the prototype was unveiled in late 2017. This figure includes Tesla’s own fleet of around 100 trucks doing test runs between its facilities.
As 2024 progresses, Tesla’s ambitious goal of producing 50,000 Semis is far from reality. The company’s production capabilities and supply chain constraints have resulted in significant delays, leaving customers to seek alternative solutions to fulfill their electric truck requirements.
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