500-mile Tesla Semi goes into production and begins deliveries to Pepsi on December 1.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced late Thursday on Twitter that production had begun on the company's semi-trailer truck, called the Semi.
He also confirmed that Pepsi, which has ordered 100 Class 8 trucks following their 2017 debut, is among the first recipients of the order. Deliveries of the semis to the beverage company will begin on December 1. Budweiser also ordered 40 trucks at the same time as Pepsi. [Production of the semis will take place at Tesla's plant in Austin, Texas. This plant is also where Tesla builds the Model Y crossover and will begin production of the Cybertruck pickup truck in 2023.
Production of the Semi was originally scheduled to begin in 2019, but that date was pushed back as Tesla faced limited availability of battery cells and other supply chain issues and prioritized production of the Model Y in Austin. Since then, existing truck manufacturers such as Daimler Trucks and Volvo Trucks have already launched electric trucks, including Class 8 trucks.
Tesla began taking reservations for the semi in May and began requiring a $20,000 deposit in August, at which point reservations were closed. The trucks were initially priced at $150,000 for the 300-mile model and $180,000 for the 500-mile model. It is possible that Tesla will raise the price when it starts taking reservations again, a situation that has affected many electric vehicles in recent months.
Tesla's announced performance of the Semi includes 0-60 mph acceleration in 20 seconds and the ability to accelerate on gradients of up to 5%. These figures are based on the Semi's maximum gross weight of 82,000 lbs. Power is provided by three motors.
Tesla has not disclosed the size of the battery, but it can be charged to 70% in 30 minutes using a charger designed for the Semi.
The Semi could also feature Tesla's Autopilot and full self-drive electronic driver assistance features, but the company has not confirmed whether or not this is possible. However, Telsa initially stated that some self-driving features would be included when the truck was announced in 2017.
