After nearly a decade of delays, Tesla's all-electric heavy truck, the Tesla Semi, is finally hitting US roads. A dedicated factory inaugurated in March 2026 in Sparks, Nevada will ramp through the year, with first deliveries set for summer. Two versions are sold: one with over 500 km (325 miles) of range, another exceeding 800 km (500 miles).

According to a Tigress Financial note cited by the Wall Street Journal, Tesla should produce between 5,000 and 15,000 trucks in 2026 and up to 50,000 in 2027. Industry press puts the long-range version at up to $300,000; Tesla has not disclosed pricing publicly. California has earmarked nearly $200 million to subsidise more than 1,000 orders. Early fleet partners including PepsiCo and DHL (which ran a pilot praised by DHL North America transport president Jim Monkmeyer) report the truck meets expectations on long-haul payloads.

Deployment is constrained by charging infrastructure: Tesla has mapped around 60 'megacharger' sites along major corridors, each capable of 1.2 MW of output — enough to bring the battery to 60% in half an hour. Diesel prices, driven higher by the Iran war, strengthen the economic case for fleets, though the truck remains a heavy upfront investment. A European launch is envisaged but has no timeline. Batteries are produced at the Sparks gigafactory in a new compact cube architecture derived from the Cybertruck. Source: Les Echos, 15 April 2026, Bastien Bouchaud.