Elon Musk has announced the Tesla Semi has officially entered production and the first deliveries to a customer will take place on December 1.
Musk made the announcement in a tweet this afternoon, saying that first lucky customer will be Pepsi. Musk did not specify how many of the class 8 electric trucks will be delivered to Pepsi, or if there will be a special livestream event for the occasion.
Excited to announce start of production of Tesla Semi Truck with deliveries to @Pepsi on Dec 1st! pic.twitter.com/gq0l73iGRW
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 6, 2022
The start of production and the first deliveries of the Semi mark a big step to Tesla. The Semi was first announced in 2017, and was originally supposed to enter production two years later in 2019.
The program was delayed and pushed back several times over the years, mainly due to battery supply constraints as Tesla ramped production of the Model 3, and subsequently the Model Y.
It was originally believed the first Semi deliveries to Pepsi would take place last year. PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said during an interview with CNBC in early November 2021 that he was expecting his company to take delivery of 15 Semi trucks before the end of the year.
That never came to fruition, but PepsiCo always looked like the customer that was going to take those first deliveries, whenever they happened to be. Tesla has already installed a Semi Megacharger at a Fritolay facility in Modesto, California.
The only other Megacharger that has been installed is on Tesla property at Giga Nevada.
Musk first revealed the Tesla Semi would begin deliveries this year back in August, after the company updated the product page on their website with some new information and stats on the electric hauler.
The Semi will be able to travel 500 miles (804km) on a full charge, when fully loaded at 82,000lbs Gross Combination Weight. It will also be able to reach 60mph in just 20 seconds, compared to as much as 60 seconds for a traditional diesel semi.
Tesla shuts down orders for Semi, updates website with impressive specs ahead of first deliveries
