Tesla is set to deliver its highly-anticipated all-electric Semi today for the first time. Will the truck live up to the hype?
Roughly two months ago, CEO Elon Musk announced Tesla would deliver the Semi to Frito Lay locations in California following the vehicle’s acquisition of an EPA Certificate of Conformity. Tesla and Musk had previously teased the ‘imminent’ arrival of the Semi for several years, but the hype of this year can only be slightly equated to the energy that Tesla and Frito Lay expressed last year: both had confirmed deliveries in December 2021, only for the trucks to never make it to their destination.
Fast forward a year, and what has changed? For starters, last year, Tesla did not earn an EPA certification for the Semi, which is required by law. The fact that Tesla finally received this certification and set up a special delivery event in Nevada can only lead Musk’s loyal believers and even skeptics to believe that the Semi is finally here, and it seems that it really is.
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
Now that the Semi is finally here, or will be in a few hours from when this article is published, the real questions begin to surface: Will it really change the trucking industry? How does the Semi match up to Class 8 EVs already on the market? How long will it take to get one?
Will it really change the trucking industry?
The Tesla Semi is no doubt a huge development in the world of EV trucking. Will it change the industry? If it can live up to its astronomical range predictions, which are rumored to be around 500 miles when pulling an 81,000-pound load, it surely can raise the bar for competitors. The currently offered EV trucks on the market from Volvo, Freightliner, and Nikola offer significantly less in terms of range on a full charge. However, many of these trucks are geared toward local or regional logistics.
The Semi is definitely different than the others. A breakdown of the Semi vs. other trucks on the market below will break it down further. Where Tesla has set itself apart from competitors is in terms of tech, and just looking at the Semi, you know it’s different from the rest. The throne is set in the center of the cabin, dual monitors will track data and analytics for performance while offering basic features like navigation. Whether it is better or not, well, we’ll have to wait for some trucking experts drive it for a while.
How does the Semi match up to Class 8 EVs already on the market?
The Volvo VNR’s highest-range trim is its 6×4 Tractor, which packs 275 miles of range when configured with its six-battery offering. It also is capable of regenerating between 5 and 15 percent of its energy through braking. It has a top speed of 68 MPH, and is an ideal fit for “Local distribution and regional transportation with planned routes and frequent stops,” especially food service delivery, Volvo said. This may be why McDonald’s Canada ordered a few.
The Freightliner eCascadia just was delivered for the first time this week, with Penske commemorating first deliveries. This truck packs a 230-mile range rating with its top-of-the-line offering. Freightliner only offers a day cab, and with the range specs, it would also be ideal for local or regional deliveries. Its 80 percent charging in 90 minutes will keep deliveries going without much of a delay.
Nikola’s Tre offers 330 miles of range, the most impressive number thus far. Nikola has ramped up production of the Tre recently to reach 75 units in Q3. Arguably the best competitor to the Tesla Semi, the Tre may not offer charging speeds as fast as the eCascadia (80 percent charge in 160 minutes), but its impressive range ratings make it more applicable for longer routes.
The Semi offers the best of all of these, along with a 500-mile range rating, according to recent tests performed by Tesla. At first glance, the Semi just seems like a market-leading version of most Class 8 EVs on the market. Tesla still leans on self-driving and autonomous trucking as where the Semi will truly set itself apart from competitors. It may be some time before truckers can let the Semi drive them between hubs.
For what it’s worth, we received several emails from readers who were skeptical of the 500-mile claim from Musk. We were asked several times whether the trip was taken on a single charge.
How long will it take to get a Tesla Semi?
Tesla Semi production could reach 100 units this year, company Chair Robyn Denholm said. Next year, Tesla wants to build 50,000.
The potential production rate of 50,000 units is nothing to bat an eye at. However, Tesla has some big plans for 2023, and they include ramping Cybertruck production at Gigafactory Texas, a potential revamp of the Model 3 in Fremont, and more production in Germany and China. The Semi will undoubtedly reach higher production rates next year, but it will be difficult to scale production of a fresh vehicle this quickly.
Battery availability also comes into question, as it was the issue that kept the Semi from being built two years ago when Musk announced volume production would kick off. Tesla is building a lot of cars and using a lot of batteries. We know Tesla isn’t using the 4680 cell for the Semi, which means the much more widely available 2170 cell will not limit the Semi’s production rate, at least not in my estimation.
How long it takes to get a Semi is purely reliant on how fast Tesla can scale production. Tesla has typically done a good job of scaling its passenger vehicles, but the Semi is a different animal.
Tesla’s Semi Delivery Event will take place this evening at Gigafactory Nevada in Reno.
Disclosure: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
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Starlink goes mainstream with first-ever SpaceX Super Bowl advertisement
SpaceX used the Super Bowl broadcast to promote Starlink, pitching the service as fast, affordable broadband available across much of the world.
SpaceX aired its first-ever Super Bowl commercial on Sunday, marking a rare move into mass-market advertising as it seeks to broaden adoption of its Starlink satellite internet service.
Starlink Super Bowl advertisement
SpaceX used the Super Bowl broadcast to promote Starlink, pitching the service as fast, affordable broadband available across much of the world.
The advertisement highlighted Starlink’s global coverage and emphasized simplified customer onboarding, stating that users can sign up for service in minutes through the company’s website or by phone in the United States.
The campaign comes as SpaceX accelerates Starlink’s commercial expansion. The satellite internet service grew its global user base in 2025 to over 9 million subscribers and entered several dozen additional markets, as per company statements.
Starlink growth and momentum
Starlink has seen notable success in numerous regions across the globe. Brazil, in particular, has become one of Starlink’s largest growth regions, recently surpassing one million users, as per Ookla data. The company has also expanded beyond residential broadband into aviation connectivity and its emerging direct-to-cellular service.
Starlink has recently offered aggressive promotions in select regions, including discounted or free hardware, waived installation fees, and reduced monthly pricing. Some regions even include free Starlink Mini for select subscribers. In parallel, SpaceX has introduced AI-driven tools to streamline customer sign-ups and service selection.
The Super Bowl appearance hints at a notable shift for Starlink, which previously relied largely on organic growth and enterprise contracts. The ad suggests SpaceX is positioning Starlink as a mainstream alternative to traditional broadband providers.
Tesla engineers deflected calls from Apple on a daily basis while the tech giant was developing its now-defunct electric vehicle program, which was known as “Project Titan.”
Back in 2022 and 2023, Apple was developing an EV in a top-secret internal fashion, hoping to launch it by 2028 with a fully autonomous driving suite.
However, Apple bailed on the project in early 2024, as Project Titan abandoned the project in an email to over 2,000 employees. The company had backtracked its expectations for the vehicle on several occasions, initially hoping to launch it with no human driving controls and only with an autonomous driving suite.
Apple canceling its EV has drawn a wide array of reactions across tech
It then planned for a 2028 launch with “limited autonomous driving.” But it seemed to be a bit of a concession at that point; Apple was not prepared to take on industry giants like Tesla.
Wedbush’s Dan Ives noted in a communication to investors that, “The writing was on the wall for Apple with a much different EV landscape forming that would have made this an uphill battle. Most of these Project Titan engineers are now all focused on AI at Apple, which is the right move.”
Apple did all it could to develop a competitive EV that would attract car buyers, including attempting to poach top talent from Tesla.
In a new podcast interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, it was revealed that Apple had been calling Tesla engineers nonstop during its development of the now-defunct project. Musk said the engineers “just unplugged their phones.”
Musk said in full:
“They were carpet bombing Tesla with recruiting calls. Engineers just unplugged their phones. Their opening offer without any interview would be double the compensation at Tesla.”
Interestingly, Apple had acquired some ex-Tesla employees for its project, like Senior Director of Engineering Dr. Michael Schwekutsch, who eventually left for Archer Aviation.
Tesla took no legal action against Apple for attempting to poach its employees, as it has with other companies. It came after EV rival Rivian in mid-2020, after stating an “alarming pattern” of poaching employees was noticed.
There are a lot of Tesla bulls out there who have astronomical expectations for the company, especially as its arm of reach has gone well past automotive and energy and entered artificial intelligence and robotics.
However, some of the most bullish Tesla investors believe the company could become worth $100 trillion, and CEO Elon Musk does not believe that number is completely out of the question, even if it sounds almost ridiculous.
To put that number into perspective, the top ten most valuable companies in the world — NVIDIA, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, TSMC, Meta, Saudi Aramco, Broadcom, and Tesla — are worth roughly $26 trillion.
Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI
Cathie Wood of ARK Invest believes the number is reasonable considering Tesla’s long-reaching industry ambitions:
“…in the world of AI, what do you have to have to win? You have to have proprietary data, and think about all the proprietary data he has, different kinds of proprietary data. Tesla, the language of the road; Neuralink, multiomics data; nobody else has that data. X, nobody else has that data either. I could see $100 trillion. I think it’s going to happen because of convergence. I think Tesla is the leading candidate [for $100 trillion] for the reason I just said.”
Musk said late last year that all of his companies seem to be “heading toward convergence,” and it’s started to come to fruition. Tesla invested in xAI, as revealed in its Q4 Earnings Shareholder Deck, and SpaceX recently acquired xAI, marking the first step in the potential for a massive umbrella of companies under Musk’s watch.
SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise
Now that it is happening, it seems Musk is even more enthusiastic about a massive valuation that would swell to nearly four-times the value of the top ten most valuable companies in the world currently, as he said on X, the idea of a $100 trillion valuation is “not impossible.”
It’s not impossible
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2026
Tesla is not just a car company. With its many projects, including the launch of Robotaxi, the progress of the Optimus robot, and its AI ambitions, it has the potential to continue gaining value at an accelerating rate.
Musk’s comments show his confidence in Tesla’s numerous projects, especially as some begin to mature and some head toward their initial stages.
Starlink goes mainstream with first-ever SpaceX Super Bowl advertisement
Tesla engineers deflected calls from this tech giant’s now-defunct EV project
