Tesla’s giant electric truck, the Tesla Semi, is supposed to be the future of trucking. But production is moving much slower than expected. Tesla has only built around 140 Semis since production started in late 2022.
In late 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said they would be making 50,000 Semis a year by 2024. Now, they’re saying they won’t hit high volume production until late 2024 due to battery shortages. Out of the 140 Semis built, Tesla is using about 100 of them for themselves. That means only 40 have been delivered to customers.
PepsiCo, one of Tesla’s biggest customers for the Semi, ordered 100 trucks back in 2017. So far, they’ve only received 36. Tesla is facing problems with production for both their passenger cars and the Semi. It looks like we’ll have to wait a while longer to see electric trucks become commonplace.
While Tesla is using about 100 Semis for themselves, deliveries to other customers haven’t gone smoothly. Out of the 140 Semis built so far, PepsiCo is the only major customer with trucks. They’ve received 36 but are still waiting on the remaining 64 they ordered in 2017. Other companies like UPS (ordered 125 trucks) and Asko Norway (ordered 10 trucks) haven’t received any Semis yet. They’re working with Tesla to get a delivery date.
Because of the delays, some companies hoping to be eco-friendly with electric trucks had to switch to other manufacturers, like Daimler Truck’s eCascadia. Because of the delays, some companies hoping to be eco-friendly with electric trucks had to switch to other manufacturers, like Daimler Truck’s eCascadia.
Tesla needs to speed up production and deliveries if they want to keep customers happy and win the electric truck race.
