Tesla has confirmed that production of the Tesla Semi, its electric semi truck, has been delayed into 2026 despite claiming the contrary a few months ago.
The timeline of the Tesla Semi program can be pretty confusing, as Tesla is now talking about bringing the vehicle to production despite previously announcing that it had already went into production in 2022.
Generally, a vehicle program goes like this: concept/prototype unveiling, production version unveiling, and then start of production and deliveries.
Tesla Semi was initially unveiled in 2017, and CEO Elon Musk claimed that it would go into production in 2019.
In late 2022, Tesla held an event where it unveiled the “production version” of the Tesla Semi and delivered the first few units to a “customer-partner”: PepsiCo.
Three years later, the vehicle never went into volume production. Instead, Tesla ran a very low-volume pilot production at a factory in Nevada and delivered only a few dozen trucks to customers as part of test programs.
In 2024, Tesla announced that it is building a new high-volume production factory specifically for the Tesla Semi program in a new building next to Gigafactory Nevada.
This time, it is bringing the Tesla Semi into production for real.
The automaker guided a start of production in 2025 and a ramp-up to high-volume production in 2026.
In April, we released a report based on comments from a Tesla Semi customer who claimed the program had further delays and a “dramatic” price increase:
Dan Priestley, manager of the Tesla Semi program, commented, “No change to schedule. And multiple incorrect conclusions,” on the report without explaining what those “incorrect conclusions” were.
The leader of the Tesla Semi program sang a different tune during yesterday’s conference call following Tesla’s Q3 earnings.
Priestley said that Tesla is still installing production equipment and now plans to have its first “online builds” in the first half of 2026:
I’ll start with that in terms of the semi production plan and schedule. The factory is going on schedule. We’ve completed the building and are installing the equipment now. We’ve got our fleet of validation trucks driving on the road. We’ll have larger builds towards the end of this year, and then our first online builds in the first part of next year, ramping into the Q2 timing, with real volume coming the back half of the year. So that’s going quite well, and that’s the first step, obviously, getting autonomous trucks on the road.
In short, Tesla now plans to deliver its first official builds to customers in the first half of next year, rather than in 2025 as previously stated, and volume production will begin in the second half of 2026.
Electrek’s Take
Another example of Tesla denying a media report that later proved true. Tesla Semi production has slipped into 2026.
That’s fine. I’m still hyped about the program.
The biggest question remains the price, as these commercial vehicles are all about return on investment. The operating cost will undoubtedly be lower, but the sticker price will be a difference-maker.
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
Tesla never updated those prices, but, as we reported earlier this year, a “dramatic” price increase is believed to have occurred.
I think the price of the 500-mile Tesla Semi is now likely much closer to $300,000 than to the original $180,000 price.
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