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Tesla to turn self-driving focus to trucks in 2027 at latest
Autonomous Semi will be ready alongside scaled-up production
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Key Takeaways:
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk said July 22 the company expects autonomous Semi development to ramp up in late 2026 or early 2027.
- Musk said a self-driving Semi could ease driver shortages and improve safety as autonomous truck developers target commercial-scale operations in 2027.
- Tesla is ramping Semi production in Reno, Nev., expects many thousands of trucks by late 2026 and says the factory can build 50,000 annually.
Tesla expects to ramp up development of autonomous versions of its Class 8 battery-electric Semi tractor toward the end of 2026 or in early 2027, CEO Elon Musk said July 22.
The world’s richest person said the company — whose initiatives range from humanoid robots to satellites — would largely focus on full self-driving versions of its high-volume Model 3 and Model Y passenger vehicles, plus the Cybercab, for the coming six months instead of the low-volume production of the Semi.
But Musk, speaking on Tesla’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call July 22, said of an autonomous Semi: “It will definitely be working next year and in time for the scale-up to high production of the Tesla Semi.”
An autonomous Semi would help solve a shortage of truckers, Musk said, as well as improve road safety. Both are themes Musk previously mused about during Tesla earnings calls.
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Capacity constraints as driver numbers fell played a substantial role in boosting freight rates over the past seven or so months following the longest downturn in industry memory. Federal enforcement initiatives reduced the number of non-domiciled commercial driver licenses, closed driving schools and cut into visa availability for overseas drivers.
Acknowledged as a pioneer in self-driving passenger vehicles, Tesla’s update on the timeline for autonomous Semi tractors comes at a pivotal time, with the five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill including a federal policy framework on autonomous trucks for the first time, and truck-specific self-driving software developers, including Aurora Innovation, PlusAI and Torc Robotics, set to ramp up operations to commercial scale in 2027.
MORE: Tesla’s Cybertruck could be as big a flop as the Ford Edsel
Meanwhile, commercial production of the Semi tractor continues to ramp up at the company’s factory in Reno, Nev., Tesla said in a presentation accompanying the earnings. The factory can build as many as 50,000 trucks a year, according to the company.
Tesla expects to build “many thousands” of its Class 8 battery-electric Semi tractors before the end of 2026, Semi program director Dan Priestley said at the end of April.
Priestley’s acknowledgment came a day after the first Semi rolled off the company’s high-volume production line in Reno on April 29.
Tesla previously said volume manufacturing of the long-awaited tractor would ramp up in 2026 after construction of the factory finished in October 2025 and installation of the production line was completed in the first quarter of 2026.
Site work started in 2023 at the Reno facility next to Tesla’s existing Gigafactory Nevada. Tesla first unveiled the Semi in 2017. At the time, the company slated it for a 2019 production launch.
In North America, Tesla will offer two versions of the Semi, the company confirmed in February. The standard truck will have a range of about 325 miles, while the long-range version’s will be around 500 miles.
