Tesla says that deliveries of its all-electric Semi will begin this year. The news that Tesla delivered in its Q1 2021 Update Letter seems to hint that the battery constraint issues that put the Semi’s initial delivery dates into question could be coming to an end once-and-for-all.
Earlier today, Tesla released its Q1 2021 Shareholder Deck, an Update Letter that brings shareholders and enthusiasts up to date on some of the lesser-known details surrounding the world’s most-discussed car company. In its Product Outlook section, the automaker revealed that the Tesla Semi is now set to begin deliveries later this year, positive news for the many pre-orderers of the all-electric commercial truck.
The news effectively can put an end to talks of battery constraints, an issue that has plagued automakers who manufacture electric vehicles for years. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said in the past that battery constraints have been the main bottleneck affecting Semi production. As recently as March 2021, Musk said, “Demand is no problem, but near-term cell supply makes it hard to scale Semi. This limitation will be less onerous next year.” Still, it is not a new issue. During the Q3 Earnings Call in 2020, Musk said, “We need to solve the cell constraint before ramping Semi to significant volume. That’s the only real constraint on Semi’s progress.”
The Semi, due to its large size, increased range, and need for excessive power output requires a significant number of battery cells. The Semi could have been produced earlier, but it could have affected the production processes of Tesla’s mass-market vehicles, like the Model 3 and Model Y. Ultimately, the widespread consumer vehicles take priority, and the Semi project simply had to wait.
Tesla is not dealing with any issues in terms of Semi demand, however. Earlier this year, it was announced that PepsiCo. would be receiving 15 Semis from Tesla, making it one of the first companies to accept delivery of the all-electric 18-wheeler. PepsiCo. said that it expected to take delivery by the end of 2021, and Tesla’s new estimates align with these predictions.
The hype surrounding the Semi has been especially loud this year. Tesla has been building out a Semi technician team in multiple locations. The vehicle was also spotted on the Fremont Test Track earlier this year in a video released by Tesla on Twitter.
Tesla Semi rips through Fremont Factory’s test track in new video
Along with the Semi, Tesla plans to continue building out Model Y capacity at both Giga Berlin and Giga Texas, both remaining on schedule with production and deliveries set to begin “in each location in 2021.” Additionally, the automaker said that Tesla’s China-located production plant in Shanghai is also set to continue expanding.
Tesla reported its seventh-straight quarter of profitability along with a revenue of $10.389 billion for the first quarter, non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.93, and non-GAAP net income surpassed $1B for the first time in the company’s history.
Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.
Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Energy
Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.
The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.
Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.
Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.
The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.
Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.
The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.
At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
