Tesla's Semi Factory: Big Plans, Slow Progress

Tesla's gearing up for a big leap in electric trucking. While some are not so convinced. Here's what we know so far:

• New Semi Factory planned for development next to Gigafactory Texas in Nevada
• Production target: 50,000 Semis per year once factory is in operation
• After completions, plans to produce trucks by late 2025.

While, Dan Priestley, head of the Tesla Semi program is excited for the development of this new factor, freight guru Craig Fuller is a believer of EV technology in the future, but cites that that time is still a ways away, especially with such a limited amount of Tesla's trucks in operations. You can here his full tweet here:

TLDR:

• 1.5M diesel trucks produced since 2017 (compared to Tesla's 140, less than 100 of which is haul freight only for Tesla
• Only 1,000 heavy-duty electric trucks on US roads
• 4M+ diesel trucks still dominate

PepsiCo's experience with Tesla:

• 30% failure rate in initial batch
• Ordered 50 more after Tesla addressed issues
• Still bought 3,000+ diesel trucks since first Tesla Semi delivery

"In the long term, EV technology will be more dependable, but we are still ways out," Craig Fuller says.

The big picture:

Tesla's ambitious, but progress is slow. The Semi Factory could be a game-changer, but it's facing an uphill battle in a diesel-dominated industry.

Source: Electrek | Craig Fuller |Dan Priestley