Tesla Built 60-70 Semi Trucks So Far, Engineering Head Tells Jay Leno

Tesla's Dan Priestley also said the Semi's price is "very competitive."

Dan Mihalascu

By: Dan Mihalascu

Oct 4, 2023 at 4:49pm ET

Add InsideEVs as a preferred source in Google

Comment

Tesla has built 60-70 Semi Class 8 electric trucks so far since low-volume production started in Q3 2022 on a pilot production line at Gigafactory Nevada.

This latest production update comes from Tesla's Senior Manager of Semi-Truck Engineering Dan Priestley, who was a guest on Jay Leno's Garage in the recent video that saw the famous comedian and car collector get behind the wheel of a Tesla Semi.

Interestingly, this is the first production update since learning via a June recall that Tesla had built 36 Semis as of March 2023.

"We've made a few dozens of it, we're up in the maybe 60-70 range, but we're cranking out just our pilot volume," Priestley told Leno. "We're collecting data, we're getting a lot of really great driver feedback, and then we're going to take that time to do a bunch of improvements and bring that into a high volume and really try to be a major player in the market."

Speaking of high volume, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in June that volume production of the Semi would not start until late 2024, citing battery constraints.

Gallery: Tesla Semi new photos

Musk had previously said the Tesla Semi would reach annual production of 50,000 units starting in 2024. He also said in October 2022 that it would take about a year to ramp up Semi production, which would have indicated late 2023-early 2024 as the start of the production ramp.

When volume production does start, it will take place at a new dedicated facility on the Gigafactory Nevada complex. In January this year, Tesla announced a $3.6 billion investment to build the Semi and 4680 cells at Giga Nevada, which will gain 4 million square feet (371,612 square meters) of new manufacturing footprint.

What do you think?

View

Comments

Besides revealing Semi production numbers, Dan Priestley also told Jay Leno that Tesla's electric truck provides $200,000 in fuel savings in the first three years of operation compared to a diesel truck; he wouldn't reveal the purchase price, but said it is "very competitive."

Perhaps more importantly, he revealed that Semi trucks have proven that they can replace diesel trucks on Tesla's route hauling battery packs from Giga Nevada to the Fremont Factory. Priestley said the Semi has covered the 260-mile trip with the same load along the same route, which means the truck is really capable.