Tesla delivers its first Semi trucks, aiming for 50,000 a year

Tesla has officially handed over the first units of its all-electric Semi truck to customers, nearly a decade after the concept was first shown in 2017, reports TechCrunch. The handover took place Thursday night in Reno, Nevada.

A dedicated plant next to the Reno Gigafactory

The event was held at a new factory dedicated to the Semi, adjacent to Tesla's first Gigafactory in Reno. Tesla plans to build as many as 50,000 trucks a year there (roughly 1,000 a week) and create 3,000 jobs for the local economy.

A launch years in the making

Originally slated for production in 2019, the Semi was delayed again and again: the pandemic, a global semiconductor shortage and pilot-customer feedback all pushed its release back year after year.

Dan Priestley, head of the Semi program, noted that heavy trucks produce 16% of emissions while making up just 1% of vehicles on the road.

A 30-minute charging demo

During the roughly 30-minute presentation, Tesla showed a Semi go from 3% to 60% battery while plugged into one of its megawatt chargers. Elon Musk promised the Semi's partial-automation features — notably absent despite the delays — will arrive "in the near future."

Sources: TechCrunch — Tesla finally moves to electrify trucking after a decade of work and delays