Tesla begins ramping up pre-production of electric Semi, but still faces delays

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.

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.

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.