Tesla Semi is finally in volume production, and its first charging corridor just opened

Nine years after its unveiling, the Tesla Semi has a factory of its own. In late September Tesla launched high-volume production at a dedicated plant of about 1.8 million sq ft in Sparks, Nevada, rated for 50,000 trucks a year. "Deliveries start now," the company said.

The truck

The redesigned Semi uses Tesla's in-house 4680 cells and electric steering. Final specs published in February:

	Standard	Long Range
Range at 82,000 lb	325 mi	500 mi
Efficiency	1.7 kWh/mi	1.7 kWh/mi

A European spec, announced September 11, lists 550 km of range and 800 kW charging.

The orders

• Einride committed to 500 trucks in August.
• On September 22, the ZET SCALE procurement alliance named Tesla primary supplier for an initial 2,500 electric Class 8 trucks. Not all of those will necessarily be Semis.

Tesla hasn't published official pricing. Reported quotes of about $260k (Standard) and $290k (Long Range) are unverified.

Charging is the real gate

On October 8, Tesla and Pilot opened the first public Semi Megacharger site at Pilot #1390 in Ellabell, Georgia: six stalls of up to 1.2 MW. Tesla claims a 60% charge in 30 minutes. An eight-stall site in Conley, near Atlanta, opened the same week, giving the Semi its first public corridor outside California. Tulare, CA, Fort Stockton, TX and North Las Vegas, NV are next. The rollout is behind the original "summer 2026" target.

Why it matters

The Semi is a new revenue line in a year when "other models" deliveries hit a five-year low, and a showcase for Tesla's high-power charging. Fleet buyers decide on total cost of ownership, and that depends on how fast the network grows.