Tesla has built its first Semi truck at the main production line in Nevada, hopefully kicking off series production for the long-awaited heavy electric truck. The Gigafactory has an annual production capacity of 50,000 Semi trucks, but it remains to be seen if Tesla is finally ready to produce its biggest vehicle yet at volume.
In February, Tesla quietly updated the Semi’s website with the Class 8 electric truck’s definitive specs, hinting at a possible launch into series production. Now, the news is official: Tesla’s X (Twitter) account posted a picture of the first Semi to roll off the high-volume production line at Gigafactory Nevada.
First of many, or just the first?
With no other comments, it’s difficult to tell whether this has definitively kicked off series production or was just a test run. In any case, it’s been a long time coming, with the Tesla Semi being presented in 2017 and with an initial launch scheduled for 2019.
As is clear, Tesla missed its self-imposed deadlines multiple times. In late 2022, the electric vehicle manufacturer delivered a pilot run of Semi trucks to PepsiCo, but those were hand-built on a separate line. Since then, there has been radio silence, apart from unveiling an updated model in 2025 with a design more similar to the Model 3 and Model Y passenger vehicles.
From $260,000 and up to 800 km of range
But with production now underway, customers can finally expect to receive their orders – and the subsidies that come with them. The Tesla Semi is the cheapest Class 8 battery-electric truck on sale in the US, with a price tag of $260,000 (€222,600) for the Standard Range model (325 miles/523 km of range), or around $290,000 (€248,300) for the Long Range version (500 miles/805 km of range). That’s nearly double the price initially announced at the Semi’s unveiling, but that was also nearly 10 years ago.
American customers will likely be the first to receive their Semi vehicles before the truck reaches international markets. In Europe, it will have to compete against established models like the Mercedes eActros 600, the Volvo FH Electric Aero, and the Renault Trucks T E-Tech, which claim ranges of up to 700 km and are available for only slightly higher prices.
