Tesla Semi: status and timeline · The Techno Optimist

Milestones

No announced next step

First Tesla Semi production units delivered2023Complete.
Volume production begins at Nevada Gigafactory29 Apr 2026Complete.

Most important updates

Tesla Semi volume production begins at Nevada Gigafactory; ramping toward 50,000 units annually29 Apr 2026
Tesla Semi volume production begins at Nevada Gigafactory; Standard Range and Long Range variants rampingQ2 2026

Current obstacles

Charging infrastructure for high-power routesLong-haul trucking requires 1+ MW chargers spaced along routes; public megawatt-scale charging is sparse outside Tesla Supercharger corridors.

Physics limits

Battery weight limits payload and rangeA 500-mile battery pack weighs 3,000+ kg; heavier batteries reduce payload capacity and require three motors to accelerate the full load.

How it works

2 parts

Triple motor

Three independent rear motors

Three independent 800 kW motors on the rear axle provide redundancy, torque vectoring and dynamic braking for a truck and trailer combination.

Charging

MCS 3.2 standard, 1.2 MW peak

Supports the Megawatt Charging Standard, reaching 1.2 MW peak charge rate for 30-minute fast charging on long routes.

Spec sheet

Spec	Tesla Semi
Standard Range variant	325 miles^R (reported)
Long Range variant	500 miles^R (reported)
Rear motor power output	800 kW^R (reported)
Energy consumption	1.7 kWh/mi^R (reported)
Long Range peak charging	1.2 MW^R (reported)
60% charge recovery time	30 minutes^R (reported)
Standard Range weight	Under 20,000 lbs^R (reported)
Long Range weight	Approximately 23,000 lbs^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

2 updates

Wed 29 Apr

Major: Tesla Semi volume production begins at Nevada Gigafactory; ramping toward 50,000 units annuallyPressManufacturing

Q2 2026

Major: Tesla Semi volume production begins at Nevada Gigafactory; Standard Range and Long Range variants rampingPressManufacturing

About Tesla

The team behind Tesla Semi

Tesla

EVs, FSD, Robotaxi, Cybercab, Optimus

Tesla makes electric cars and batteries and is betting on self-driving: camera-only Full Self-Driving software, a Robotaxi service with no safety monitors in several Texas and Florida cities, the two-seat Cybercab, and the Optimus humanoid robot.

Robotaxi went from a supervised Austin pilot (June 2025) to rides with no safety monitor in six Texas and Florida cities by July 2026.
Cybercab, with no steering wheel or pedals, began low-rate production in Texas and started rolling out in Austin on 3 Sept 2026.
Fremont's Model S/X line ended in May 2026 and is being turned into the first Optimus production line.

tesla.com (opens tesla.com)Company profile →

Founded: 200323 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Public
Listed: TSLA (opens google.com)NASDAQ
Valuation: public
Works in: VehiclesRobotaxisAIRoboticsEnergy
Coverage: 13 programs · 46 updateslatest 3d 17h agochecked 11 Oct
Partners: SpaceX
Suppliers: Samsung (opens samsung.com)TSMCNVIDIA
People: Elon Musk (opens en.wikipedia.org)CEOVaibhav Taneja (opens en.wikipedia.org)CFOAshok ElluswamyVP, AI Software

Spec

Tesla Semi

Standard Range variant

325 miles^R (reported)

Long Range variant

500 miles^R (reported)

Rear motor power output

800 kW^R (reported)

Energy consumption

1.7 kWh/mi^R (reported)

Long Range peak charging

1.2 MW^R (reported)

60% charge recovery time

30 minutes^R (reported)

Standard Range weight

Under 20,000 lbs^R (reported)

Long Range weight

Approximately 23,000 lbs^R (reported)