Tesla has announced a major a new partnership that brings its Megawatt Charging System (MCS) directly to the largest network of truck stops across the United States.
On Tuesday, Pilot Travel Centers confirmed it has signed an agreement with Tesla to deploy high-power Semi chargers at select Pilot locations along some of the busiest freight corridors in the U.S., giving Tesla access to prime, high-traffic real estate purpose-built for long-haul truck drivers.
The collaboration will see the 1.2 megawatt (MW)Tesla Semi charging stations installed at Pilot travel centers along Interstate 5, Interstate 10, and several other major trucking routes across California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Georgia, New York, Illinois, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas.
Construction is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2026, with the first sites expected to open by summer 2026.
Each participating Pilot location will host between four and eight Tesla Semi charging stalls. These chargers will use Tesla’s V4 cabinet technology, capable of delivering up to 1.2 megawatts of power per stall. Tesla has previously demonstrated Semi charging at this power level and says the performance is key to making electric long-haul trucking viable at scale.
The initial rollout will focus exclusively on supporting Tesla Semi trucks, but both companies have left the door open to expansion. Pilot has indicated that the infrastructure could eventually be upgraded to support heavy-duty electric trucks from other manufacturers as the market matures.
While the deal only includes locations in the U.S, where Pilot operates more than 900 locations across 44 U.S. states, the company also have locations in five Canadian provinces, leaving open the possibility the deal could extend north of the border in the future.
As Tesla prepares to ramp Semi production in the coming months at its dedicated factory in Nevada, the Pilot partnership removes a major barrier to adoption: reliable, high-power charging exactly where fleets need it most.
