Tesla is building a new Tesla Semi production line at a new building near its Gigafactory Nevada plant, and it plans to produce five electric trucks per week, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Over the last few weeks, we have been trying to gauge the situation regarding Tesla Semi production after some vague comments by Elon Musk about the program being constrained by battery cell production.
Now, we are getting some clarity through reliable sources.
Last year, Electrek reported that Tesla took over a large more than 500,000 square feet building in the industrial park where Tesla Gigafactory Nevada is located.
At the time, we couldn’t be sure about the automaker’s plan for the building, but we had indications that it had to do with Tesla Semi production.
Now, we can confirm that the building, which sits at 550 Milan Drive (pictured above) next to another building used as a warehouse by Tesla, is housing a new production line for Tesla Semi currently being deployed by the automaker.
Reliable sources familiar with the matter told Electrek that Tesla is currently building a low-volume Tesla Semi production line in the building.
Once completed, they expect a production capacity of five Tesla Semi electric trucks per week.
The plan is still for volume production to happen at Gigafactory Austin once Tesla can also ramp up battery cell production there.
Electrek’s Take
This could result in more Tesla Semi production than most people expected, especially after Elon’s recent comments.
This morning, we held a poll, and the majority of respondents thought that Tesla would produce fewer than 50 Tesla Semi trucks in 2021:
While this prediction could still turn out to be accurate, if Tesla can reach that goal by the fourth quarter, we are talking about 60 Tesla Semi electric trucks this year.
This would be a good start for the program, which saw many delays over the years.
Of course, the goal is for much higher production once the program moves to Gigafactory Austin and Tesla can reach high volume production of 4680 battery cells.
Musk even mentioned that Tesla could eventually produce 100,000 electric semi trucks per year.
In my opinion, we are at least 3-4 years away from that, but I think it’s a real possibility due to Tesla Semi’s potential for significantly reducing the cost of transport by freight.
Tesla already has thousands of reservations for the vehicle, and if they can prove the economics in real-world use, it is safe to assume that it would have a massive impact on the industry.
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