First revealed in 2017, the Tesla Semi Truck has been on hold due to unknown reasons. It was supposed to be released this year, but accoding to CEO Elon Musk, the EV has "cell-constrained" batteries to this date.
Tesla Semi Truck Release Date Moved to 2022
On his Twitter account, Elon Musk responded to a fan asking about the production of the Tesla Semi Truck and when it will be released. Musk stated that it is "too cell-constrained right now" and that the truck will be out by next year.
How’s Semi coming along, Elon?
— James Stephenson (@ICannot_Enough) March 27, 2021
What year do you think we’ll see follow-the-leader driverless platooning? pic.twitter.com/bE1oPMcQra
We are too cell-constrained right now, but probably ok next year
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2021
According to Carscoops, the reason the Tesla Semi Truck is delayed is that it is tipped to use its new 4680 battery cells launched last year. The lone manufacturing team currently producing it is at the Fremont factory. While it will be soon making 4680 batteries for the Tesla Semi Truck, it will also be busy creating other batteries for the Model Y and more.
Also Read: Elon Musk Teases First Tesla Semi-Truck And Exciting New Projects At TED 2017
Also, EVBite reported that the number of cells the Tesla Semi Truck needs could be used to produce more Model 3s, so it's not surprising they cannot spare any batteries for the truck. Besides that, the Semi Truck has reportedly fallen on the priority list of Tesla until the company can produce and source more cells.
Tesla Secures Order of Electric Trucks and Megachargers With Help From US Government
According to electrek, Tesla has acquired new orders for 10 Tesla Semi Trucks and two Megachargers with nearly $2 million in US government support. The publication stated that the company is amping up the production of their Semi Trucks this year. There have also been several government-incentive programs helping to accelerate the electric truck and car production to aid with the Global Warming crisis that is happening to the planet.
The Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee that provides clean transportation funding on California's southern coast has awarded MHX Leasing LLC, a California-based logistics company, $1.9 million for the deployment of 10 Tesla Semi class 8, and $560,000 to help deploy two overhead electric cranes.
To charge the Tesla Semi Truck and the Cranes, the deal also includes two Megachargers at MHX's Fontana, California facility that Tesla will install and operate. The Megacharger is Tesla's charging solution for the Tesla Semi Truck, with a capacity expected to be over one MW.
Tesla has been working with CharIN--an industry association behind the CCS standard in developing High Power Charging for Commercial Vehicles (HPCCV)--to standardized the charger for the Tesla Semi Truck. The automaker recently produced Tesla Semi Truck prototypes, the first one in three years, and it has indicated that production should start this 2021.
Tesla Semi Truck Price
When the Tesla Semi Truck was unveiled in 2017, many retailers and shippers were eager to score one of the electric-powered eight-truck for their companies to spend less on fuel and maintenance. Tesla stated that the Semi Truck could be fully-autonomous, meaning that the fleet owners could run trucks for longer hours and save labor costs.
Pepsi, Walmart, Anheuser, Busch, UPS, and FedEx have all placed reservations for the Tesla Semi Truck that the company expects will cost them $180,000 for the 500-mile variation and $150,000 for the 300-mile one, as Insider reported.
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