Tesla Launches High-Volume Semi Production and Starts Deliveries

Tesla launched high-volume production of the Semi at its new truck factory in Sparks, Nevada, on Thursday and began handing production trucks to fleet customers during a livestreamed rollout event.

The Sparks plant is Tesla's first factory built for the Semi. Tesla said the plant covers 1.8 million square feet and is built for 50,000 trucks a year, with Standard, Long Range and European-spec versions all coming off the same line. The company makes stampings, batteries, drive axles, high-voltage distribution, cooling modules and seats in house, and said the Semi is the first powder-coated Class 8 truck.

Tesla redesigned the truck around its in-house 4680 cells. The company said four years of redesign work moved the Semi from 2170 cells to 4680 cells, for less battery mass and fewer kWh with no loss of range. The drivetrain now uses a steel-caged rotor instead of carbon fiber and a bar-wound stator shared with the Cybertruck.

Tesla rates the Standard Range Semi at about 325 miles and the Long Range at about 500 miles. Tesla's Lars Moravy said during the presentation that the Semi can go more than 600 miles on a charge at half weight, or 500 miles at the full 82,000-pound gross combination weight. On a Megacharger, the truck can regain up to 60% of its range in 30 minutes.

The Semi is the first heavy-duty truck with electric steering. Tesla said the system removes hydraulic compressors and fluids, is redundant by design and lays groundwork for future autonomy. A new heat pump called Megamanifold runs cabin HVAC and all powertrain heating and cooling at once, pulling excess powertrain heat to warm the cab. Tesla said the same thermal system is used in Cybercab.

Tesla pitched the cab and uptime to fleet drivers and operators. The cab has acoustic glass, a roll-down window and room to stand up, and Tesla has automated parts of the pre-trip inspection with electronic logs showing when those checks were done. Tesla said Semi uptime has been above 98% so far in 2026.

Customer deliveries started at the event. Tesla handed keys to its first production Semi customers, including PepsiCo, DHL and US Foods, and said it will also use Semis to haul its own freight.