Five years after it was revealed – and three years behind schedule – the first production Tesla Semi trucks have been built, with customers to begin taking delivery in December.
Production of the 2023 Tesla Semi truck has commenced – three years later than planned – according to CEO Elon Musk, ahead of deliveries to its first customer Pepsi next month.
Revealed in 2017, the Tesla Semi was initially promised for deliveries in 2019, before delays pushed the launch date to 2021, and then 2022 – with Tesla CEO Elon Musk claiming on Twitter production has finally begun.
Pepsi is said to be the truck’s first customer, and will reportedly take delivery of its first example – out of the 100 it has ordered – on December 1, according to Musk.
Other companies previously reported to have placed orders for Tesla Semi trucks include US department store chain Walmart, shipping giants DHL and UPS, and a number of other freight companies in Europe and North America.
As reported previously, new pre-orders were paused for the Semi in August – coinciding with the release of updated specifications and a new batch of photos for the production (or near-production) model, rather than 2017’s concept.
The two models available at launch will be powered by three electric motors, not four as previously announced – with batteries good for 483km or 805km of claimed driving range, both measured fully loaded at its 37,194kg (82,000lb) gross combination weight (includes truck and trailer).
Battery sizes have not been disclosed, but calculations from the 500-mile range and claimed energy consumption of the flagship model – which is set to launch first – suggest about 1000kWh (or one megawatt-hour) of energy capacity.
Tesla says the Semi can add up to 563km worth of driving range (down from 644km claimed previously) to its battery in 30 minutes on one of the car maker’s upcoming Megachargers – though no other details of these have been quoted.
A 20-second run from zero to 60mph (96km/h) when fully loaded is quoted, as in 2017 – but the 5.0-second unladen 0-60mph time announced at the initial reveal is nowhere to be seen on Tesla’s website.
Design changes have been made since the 2017 reveal, including longer side windows, large side mirrors, the deletion of the wheel covers, and new door handles.
The interior has been revised with a new steering wheel and side console, and restyled dashboard – but the central driving position and dual-screen layout from the 2017 concept remains.
There’s no word on whether the Tesla Semi may be made available in Australia – but as previously reported by Drive, it may be too wide to be legal to drive on local roads.
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