Tesla has reportedly begun limited production of the long-awaited Semi electric truck at its Giga Nevada factory, though series production is still not scheduled to start until 2023 due to supply chain constraints.
Though Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed in the company’s annual general meeting in October that series production of the Semi electric truck would not begin until 2023 – having been delayed several times due to battery supply shortages – a source confirmed over the weekend that Tesla had begun limited production.
Twitterer and self-described Tesla investor ‘Sawyer Merritt’ Tweeted on Saturday that “a source” had informed him the Tesla Semi had entered limited production.
BREAKING: A source has informed me that the Tesla Semi is now in limited production. Key word here is LIMITED. This has been independently corroborated by drone footage taken today (Dec 10, 2021) of the Giga Nevada Semi prod building, & sent to me.
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 11, 2021
Information provided by Merritt’s “source” appears to have been independent corroborated by recent drone footage of what looks to be a Semi performing basic tests out the back of the Giga Nevada factory.
The truck in the video does not appear to have any Department of Transport stickers or manufacturers plates, but if all is as it appears, the Tesla Semi is a sleek looking electric truck.
And limited early production is of no surprise for any company, let alone Tesla, and let alone PepsiCo still expects to receive some small number of Tesla Semi’s by the end of the year.
However, as Musk himself stated on Twitter, we should not “read too much into” PepsiCo’s recent comments, as it does not necessarily mean full production is expected anytime soon.
Please don’t read too much into this. As mentioned publicly, Tesla is constrained by chip supply short-term & cell supply long-term.
Not possible to produce additional vehicles in volume until both constraints are addressed.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2021
PepsiCo ordered 100 Tesla Semi’s back in 2017 shortly after the electric truck was unveiled, and will likely help Tesla with early testing, if take place as expected by PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.