Tesla opened its first dedicated factory for the Semi electric truck in Sparks, Nevada, on Thursday, marking the start of high-volume production after years of limited builds and delays. Elon Musk, appearing by video from a state dinner in Washington, called the Semi a breakthrough product for heavy shipping and likened it to a sports car in truck form. The plant near Reno has already begun turning out vehicles, with the company targeting 50,000 trucks a year, or roughly 1,000 per week, and more than 3,000 jobs during the ramp.
This is our first factory built for Semi.
– 50,000 units/year
– Every variant built on the same production line (Standard, Long Range, European spec)
– 1.8M sq ft pic.twitter.com/LqWfZDEq7K
— Tesla Semi (@tesla_semi) September 25, 2026
The Semi, first demonstrated in 2017, saw only small-scale deliveries to a few early customers, including PepsiCo, beginning in late 2022. Then, in late April of this year, production of the first high-volume units began at the new Nevada site. Executives such as Lars Moravy and Dan Priestley were on hand to certify that all major plans had been laid out during the ribbon-cutting broadcast. Customers such as PepsiCo, DHL, and US Foods could be seen onstage, with trucks sporting their branding parked directly outside.
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Recent orders show that there is a lot of interest building. A consortium of major shippers, including Microsoft and PepsiCo, have not only picked Tesla for an initial 2,500 Semis through the ZET SCALE initiative, but also intend to purchase up to 10,000 more of the electric vehicles in the future. Meanwhile, Swedish startup Einride has purchased 500 units to get them on the road as quickly as feasible. Unfortunately, like with most of Tesla’s new models, you’ll have to ask around for pricing, but some speculate that the long-range variation will cost around $290,000.
Range remains one of the Semi’s main draws, especially for long hauls. The long-range version can travel 500 miles on a single charge, while the conventional version can travel approximately 325 miles. On the plus side, fleet operators that have tested it have claimed 98% uptime and extremely few unexpected maintenance difficulties. Meanwhile, Tesla is expanding their service network with specialized garages and mobile specialists to handle on-site repairs.
Musk has even said that the Semi’s full self-driving software will be available later this year or early next year. He believes that autonomy would significantly alleviate the truck driver shortage, which has been a big issue for some time. Tesla isn’t the only company working on this type of technology; companies such as Aurora Innovation and Kodiak are currently testing driverless trucks on public highways.
At the same time, the higher cost of diesel, combined with the potential for lower operational costs per mile, makes the electric Semi an appealing option for commercial freight; however, the question remains whether the new factory in Nevada will be able to meet its ambitious volume targets and autonomy promises.
