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Tesla Sees ‘Many Thousands’ of Semis Being Built in 2026
OEM Ironing Out Processes, Then Will 'Ramp Like Hell,' Program Chief Says
Key Takeaways:
- Tesla began high-volume Semi production in Reno on April 29 and expects many thousands built by the end of 2026, Semi program director Dan Priestley said.
- The ramp targets 50,000 trucks annually using shared components and in-house powertrain production as Class 7 and 8 EV registrations total 2,829 in the U.S. and Canada.
- Next, Tesla will sell two Semi variants in North America in 2026 and enter Europe in 2027 while expanding charging via Pilot sites and $20,000 overnight chargers.
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.
The company, a newcomer to the heavy-duty truck sector and the world’s most valuable passenger car manufacturer, remains committed to ramping up to manufacturing 50,000 a year, he added.
“It’s hard to predict the exact balance for the year because it’s a bit of an S-curve. When you’re talking about a short time horizon, exact date and quantity, it’s all about the area under the curve. And if you miss by a day or two, it can actually have an effect because that S-curve goes up pretty steep,” Priestley told attendees of the 2026 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo.
For perspective, Erik Neandross, president of ACT Expo organizer TRC, noted during the fireside chat with Priestley that currently there are 2,829 Class 7 and 8 battery-electric trucks registered in aggregate in the U.S. and Canada.
Priestley’s acknowledgment came a day after the first Semi rolled off the company’s high-volume production line in Reno, Nev., on April 29.
Tesla previously said volume manufacturing of the long-awaited Class 8 battery-electric tractor would ramp up in 2026 after construction of the factory finished in October and installation of the production line was completed in the first quarter of 2026.
“Right now, we’re focused heavily on ironing out all the processes, balancing the lines and the stations, ensuring factory equipment is running optimally. We’re going to be trying to do all the things to demonstrate rate. And then it’s ramp like hell. We’re going to try to get as many trucks out as fast as we can of high quality,” the executive said.
Priestley explained at ACT Expo on May 6 that a lot of parts for the tractor are stamped at the plant, while the powertrain is also built in Reno, helping control the process and boost output potential. Production of the e-axle also takes place at the factory.
Ramping up production will also be aided by the Semi sharing high-volume components — such as the drive converter, thermal compressor and screens — with Tesla passenger vehicles, including the Cybertruck, Cybercab and Model 3 and Y, he said.
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.
Come 2027, however, Priestley said Tesla would begin taking the Semi to Europe, where legacy rivals Daimler Truck, Volvo Group, International Motors parent company Traton and Paccar unit DAF are more entrenched with Class 8-equivalent battery-electric options.
In North America, Tesla will offer two versions of the Semi, the company confirmed in February. Details on options available to customers interested in the much-ballyhooed truck were closely held until Tesla publicly released specifications for the tractor Feb. 8.
The standard truck will have a range of about 325 miles, while the long-range version’s range will be about 500 miles. The standard version has a curb weight of less than 20,000 pounds, while the long-range option tips the scales at 23,000 pounds, according to the company, indicating the latter will come with more batteries.
“I think the standard range is going to be a big part of our volume when it gets introduced later this year,” Priestley told ACT Expo attendees.
Tesla expects demand across the drayage, less-than-truckload and truckload segments.
Demand in the U.S. was illustrated by WattEV’s ACT Expo announcement that it purchased 370 Semi tractors, with 50 scheduled to be delivered in 2026 and the remainder by the end of 2027.
Long Beach, Calif.-based truck-as-a-service and charging specialist WattEV began using its first Semis in the drayage sector in February.
Businesses can purchase and install Semi chargers, powering electric trucking
- 1.2 MW Megacharger for quick stops
- 125 kW Basecharger for longer stays
Learn more about Semi Charging for Business and pricing: https://t.co/5IvVPmLTLb — Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) May 1, 2026
Tesla is also attempting to facilitate demand by offering low-cost charging equipment on an industrial scale to carriers. On May 1, the company — which also manufactures charging and solar products as well as passenger vehicles — expanded its Supercharger for Business program.
“We really saw the need for a lower cost, things that you could deploy in increments of one, and an overnighter off-shift charger,” Priestley told ACT Expo attendees. “So that’s our base charger, which we just announced last week, and can be made available for $20,000. And so that provides a really great low entry point for somebody that’s trying to electrify, maybe it’s just one truck, but it could also be a smaller fleet or a complement where you have a mix of both off-shift charging as well as high-speed charging on-site.”
A couple of weeks earlier, Tesla also revealed it was teaming up with truck stop operator Pilot Travel Centers to create a public charging network for battery-electric trucks. The initial Tesla Megacharger sites at Pilot truck stops will be located along interstates 5 and 10, plus other corridors in California, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas, the partners said.
