Electric vehicle giant Tesla has just offered an early glimpse at its planned “Semi Factory” besides Giga Nevada in Texas. As the name suggests, the new facility will produce the Tesla Semi all-electric Class 8 semi-trailer truck.
New factory render hints at big plans for Semi production
Tesla Semi Program Head Dan Priestley released an image of the current progress at the factory site and a project render on social media platform X on Saturday.
“Semi Factory progress and render of final building. The @Tesla construction team is awesome.”
Dan Priestley, Tesla Semi Program Head
As you can observe from the images, Tesla is already working on the foundation to establish what seems to be an extremely enormous building in Nevada.
The Tesla executive’s announcement stimulated significant excitement among fans, while some pointed out the absence of solar roofs.
For reference, Tesla announced in April 2024 that the company aims to complete the Semi Factory by 2025 to kick off production by “late 2025.”
Tesla Semi project
Tesla faced major delays in its Semi program despite already initiating production.
In hindsight, it introduced the Semi way back in 2017, with plans to launch it in 2020. However, it only hit the manufacturing line in late 2022 due to several challenges that hampered the original plans. Until now, the Semi production has been limited.
As of October 2023, Tesla had only produced around 70 Semi units for its own fleet and major client, PepsiCo. Tesla planned to expand the Giga Nevada to start Semi’s mass production.
Tesla’s latest update suggests that the expansion plans will actually come to fruition, potentially bringing the Semi to volume production after years of delay.
Boosting Semi truck production
Tesla has yet to disclose more information about the upcoming Semi Factory. However, it previously announced that it aims to build as many as 50,000 Semi trucks per year.
As mentioned, Tesla aims to start production in late 2025. Some initial customers will reportedly get deliveries by early 2026.
The new Semi Factory can substantially aid Tesla’s efforts to boost theSemi’s production to meet the growing demand of its major customers, including PepsiCo, Costco, Martin Brower, and Walmart.
