Tesla is best known for its passenger EVs, but it has also been working on launching one of its most impactful products to reduce transport emissions, in the form of the Tesla Semi electric truck.
The Semi has so far had a limited number of customers as Tesla works towards bringing it to the heavy freight and logistics industry globally.
Now, DHL, a global logistics leader, has taken delivery of its first Semi and has undertaken a two-week trial covering almost 5,000 km, with some impressive results.
This report was shared by Tesla and EV news account run by Sawyer Merritt after being originally reported by American Journal of Transportation.
The Semi trial had the trucks running at an average speed of 80 km/h. At these speeds, the truck averaged 1 kWh/km, making it one of the most efficient in its class.
Fully loaded tests were also undertaken with one test showing the Semi cover 628 km, while being loaded with a 34-tonne load.
Jim Monkmeyer, President, Transportation, DHL Supply Chain North America, said the pilot exceeded expectations, proving its ability to efficiently haul a typical DHL freight over long distances on a single charge.
“Integrating the Tesla Semi into our fleet is an important step toward achieving our decarbonization goals and delivering more sustainable solutions for our customers,” he said.
“With its range of up to 500 miles, the Semi unlocks opportunities that were previously beyond the limits of heavy-duty EVs, and we’re excited to partner with Tesla to make that a reality.”
DHL plans to add more Semi to its fleet in the US, helping the company reduce its emissions as a road logistics operator in the coming years.
Tesla Semi first began deliveries as part of a trial with a large food and beverage customer, PepsiCo, in the US back in 2022.
After taking deliveries of the Tesla Semi, PepsiCo announced in May 2024 that they had taken new deliveries of the all-electric truck, doubling its fleet to 50 operating out of its manufacturing and distribution facility in California.
In recent months, the company unveiled an updated design of the Semi with several class-leading upgrades. This included improved range and charging specs.
The updated Semi also has upgraded aerodynamics for better efficiency and increased payload capacity, along with upgrades to charging.
It can now deliver over 800 km of range and an 800 kW drivetrain with energy consumption as low as 1.06 kWh/km. This is very much in line with the consumption figure DHL saw on its trial after taking delivery of the Semi.
On charging, 1.2 MW ultra-fast charging will be on offer, and the Semi will be able to use Tesla’s supercharging hardware to achieve those speeds.
One other area the Tesla team shared is gearing the Semi up for autonomous operations and zero-emission long-distance trucking.
That’s likely to use the company’s in-house developed full-self-driving (FSD) technology, seen on its Robotaxi fleet and the upcoming Cybercab.
That would help operators of these trucks, like DHL, potentially have access to some of the most advanced trucking fleets, reducing stress and fatigue for drivers.
Over the last couple of years, there have been sightings of the Tesla Semi being used by Walmart, retail store giant Costco and other operators.
We look forward to seeing more real-world use of the Semi in the coming months, ahead of the upgraded Semi going into expected mass production in 2026.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.