Tesla Semis Were Just Spotted In Europe

Despite not being widely launched in the U.S., Tesla could be gearing up to bring the Semi to Europe.

Photo by: Tesla

By: Rob Stumpf

Aug 23, 2024 at 3:00pm ET

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Tesla has shipped two Tesla Semi trucks to its Gigafactory near Berlin, Germany.
The automaker has posted a job on its website to build relationships with potential Semi customers.
A Tesla insider confirmed that the manufacturer is "taking steps to bring the Tesla Semi to Europe"

Nearly seven years after it debuted—and still not officially launched in volume production in the U.S.—Tesla may be looking to bring the Semi to Europe.

Two Tesla Semi trucks arrived at Gigafactory Berlin today after being spotted by motorists on German highways headed towards the plant. Shortly after the spottings were posted to X, the trucks arrived at the facility and speculation of their purpose in Europe began hitting the internet. Could Tesla be looking to bring its long-awaited Semi to Europe?

That answer, according to a high-ranking Tesla insider, is yes.

Graham Carroll, Tesla's head of Business Development for the Semi project, took to LinkedIn earlier this month to announce that Tesla is scouting for talent to bring its Semi program to Europe:

"We are taking steps to bring the Tesla Semi to Europe and I'm looking for someone with industry experience in electrification to help us develop this exciting new market," wrote Carroll. "This is a groundbreaking product that meaningfully advances Tesla's mission, and the team behind it is world-class. Let the wild rumpus begin."

The announcement brought with it a job posting for a Business Development Manager for Tesla's Europe region. Specifically, the position is tasked with building and maintaining relationships with potential customers interested in purchasing one (or a fleet) of Tesla's Class 8 trucks.

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However, Tesla hasn't confirmed that the Semi is coming to Europe.

Even CEO Elon Musk, who is typically over-optimistic about the automaker's deliverables and associated timelines, hasn't made this claim. Instead, reports from earlier this year indicate that the CEO believes building the truck at its German plant (if produced in Europe at all) wouldn't be out of the question.

"I think it makes sense to produce the Semi truck in Europe at Giga Berlin," said CEO Elon Musk in a Handelsblatt from March.

Tesla has actually been planning the Semi's arrival in Europe for months, but not for production reasons. The automaker plans to display its flagship commercial product at Hannover's IAA Transportation 2024 event next month. However, that's not to say that its engineers in Germany aren't getting a good look at the truck first.

However, to sell the truck in Europe, the automaker must assess the compliance nuances needed to make the semi roadworthy.

Meanwhile, despite beginning low-volume production in 2022, Tesla still hasn't cranked up the numbers on the Semi in its home market. High-volume orders from companies like PepsiCo are taking ages to be partially filled. This could point to several manufacturing and engineering hurdles still being in place, perhaps even related to the 4680 battery cells that are under Musk's microscope as of late. If Tesla wants to launch a viable product in Europe, it needs to get all of the kinks worked out first, and that could be exactly what the automaker is working on now.