Tesla has announced plans to produce 50,000 Tesla Semi units annually in 2024.
During Tesla’s Q3 2022 conference call, CEO Elon Musk, and Tesla officials reportedly revealed many fascinating details regarding the Tesla Semi. The Class 8 all-electric truck’s battery range, expected delivery dates, and production was mentioned.
CEO Musk stated, “We’ll be ramping up Semi production through next year. As I think everyone knows at this point, it takes about a year to ramp up production. So, we expect to see significant — we’re tentatively aiming for 50,000 units in 2024 for Tesla Semi in North America. And obviously, we’ll expand beyond North America. And these would sell — I don’t want to say the exact prices, but they’re much more than a passenger vehicle.”
Notably, Tesla produced 20,500 vehicles per week at the Gigafactory Shanghai in the fourth quarter of 2022. That said, the 50,000 targets annually may seem “conservative,” but even that level of productivity would still be astounding.
On the other hand, Freightliner presently dominates the US Class 8 trucking market. It sold more than 71,000 units in 2020 and approximately 100,000 units in 2019, as seen by data from Statista.
Find more statistics at Statista
As evident on the graph, Freightliner is in the top spot. It was followed by Kenworth, which usually sells fewer than 50,000 Class 8 trucks annually.
For instance, Kenworth sold around 42,000 trucks in 2019 and over 30,000 trucks in 2020. If Tesla successfully produces 50,000 Tesla Semis annually by 2024, it will become the US’ second-largest Class 8 truck manufacturer.
The target is quite an accomplishment if attained, given that Tesla Semi would probably soon be constrained by the company’s battery supply. However, it was announced by CEO Musk that the company’s 4680 battery cells would not be used in the Class 8 truck’s initial production.
For reference, here are the Tesla Semi Specs posted on the company website:
· 0-60 mph with 80k lb. 20 sec.
· Speed up a 5% Grade. 60 mph.
· Range. 300 or 500 miles.
· Powertrain. 4 Independent Motors on Rear Axles.
· Energy Consumption. Less than 2 kWh per mile.
· Fuel Savings. $200,000+
· Expected Base Price (300-mile range) $150,000.
· Expected Base Price (500-mile range) $180,000.
Tesla Semi has the potential to overtake other Class 8 haulers in the US market in the future years once Tesla’s 4680 project picks up speed, and Semi production is optimized.
