Tesla Semi rival Freightliner recently revealed that its test fleet of all-electric commercial trucks has successfully crossed 700,000 miles of real-world travel. In part to several return-to-base type operations, including local and regional pick-up and delivery, Daimler Communications Manager Fred Ligouri detailed the trips and development of its eM2 box truck and eCascadia Class 8 tractor-trailer, the two vehicles responsible for the 700,000-mile travel statistic thus far.
The all-electric vehicle market is raging with competitors, and it goes far beyond the passenger car sector. With Tesla being the dominating force within electric passenger vehicles, fending off competition from several big-name manufacturers, the commercial vehicle sector is definitely wide open. Several companies are testing out all-electric commercial vehicles, and nobody has brought anything to the market that is being mass-produced at the moment. The Tesla Semi has been delayed on several occasions due to battery constraints, and other companies, like Nikola, have disappeared. It’s not to say that there won’t be a dominating company in this sector in the future, but up to this point, it is really anyone’s race.
Daimler Trucks’ line-up of commercial electric vehicles (from left to right): Freightliner eM2, Freightliner eCascadia, Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley, FUSO eCanter [Credit: Daimler North America]
With that being said, Freightliner believes they have what it takes to derail the hype that coincides with the Tesla Semi. After completing so many miles of real-world testing, Ligouri believes that Freightliner is moving closer to putting its all-electric trucks on the road as testing provides its engineers with valuable feedback from drivers who are giving honest opinions about the vehicles moving forward.
“These are real trucks hauling real freight in the real world and racking up zero-emissions mile after mile — in excess of 700,000 thus far,” Ligouri told Inverse. “Through this process of co-creation with our customers, we are ensuring durability and reliability for series-built trucks, incorporating purposeful innovations, and furnishing the opportunity for more and more fleets to experience eMobility.”
Freightliner is in no rush to put anything out before it’s absolutely ready. There are currently 38 preproduction trucks traveling around Southern California to develop modifications and improvements as the truck moves closer to its production stage. The testing phase is apart of Daimler’s Battery Electric Freightliner Customer Experience Fleet. Drivers are responsible for reporting suggestions, dislikes, and areas of improvement to the manufacturer, who considers each comment.
The trucks aren’t prepared for extremely-long and treacherous routes quite yet. The eM2 box truck packs only 230 miles of range, while the eCascadia can take drivers 250 miles per charge. It’s undoubtedly low compared to regular Semi-trucks, but it’s not to say that it won’t improve. And, after all, it travels with zero-emissions.
While Freightliner has an impressive statistic in its 700,000 miles of travel with its two all-electric trucks, it surely doesn’t have the only Semis on the road that are all-electric. The Tesla Semi has made some runs from Fremont, California, to Sparks, Nevada, and has been tested in real-world conditions as well. Additionally, several new sightings of the Tesla Semi have been reported recently, showing Tesla is undoubtedly working to pinpoint a date for a future production run of its all-electric commercial vehicle. After the recent promotion of Jerome Guillen from Automotive President to President of Heavy Trucking, it is evident Tesla is looking to make major strides in Semi development in 2021.
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Tesla shares rare peek at Semi factory’s interior
The new video of the Tesla Semi factory was posted by the official Tesla account on X.
Tesla has shared a rare peek inside the factory of the Tesla Semi, which is expected to start production next year. Based on the video, it appears that work in the facility’s interior is ongoing, just as hinted at by drone flyers of the site.
Tesla Semi factory
The new video of the Tesla Semi factory, which is located close to Giga Nevada, was posted by the official Tesla account on X. While the video was short at less than 30 seconds long, it did show several parts of the factory’s interior, from its gigantic machines to its expansive space. The company also showed some initial production units of the Semi operating around the site.
Elon Musk shared a quick update on the Tesla Semi’s production at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting. While addressing the company’s shareholders, Musk confirmed that production of the Semi is on track for 2026.
“Starting next year, we (will) manufacture the Tesla Semi. So this, we already have a lot of prototype Tesla Semis in operation. PepsiCo and other companies have been using the Tesla Semi for quite some time. But we will start volume production at our Northern Nevada factory in 2026,” Musk said.
Tesla Semi redesign
Apart from Elon Musk’s confirmation that the Semi will indeed enter production next year, Tesla also showed an image of the Class 8 all-electric truck’s overall look. Based on a slide that was shown during Musk’s presentation, it appears that the Semi has undergone a pretty major redesign. The redesigned Semi features updated design cues that align with the company’s current lineup.
Immediately noticeable from the Semi’s updated design is its front end, which now feature headlights that resemble the style of the Cybertruck, Cybercab, and the new Model Y. Several other changes appear designed to improve aerodynamics, with Tesla now stating that the Semi has an efficiency of 1.7 kWh per mile. Side cameras, likely for FSD, are also quite prominent on the redesigned Semi.
Elon Musk
Tesla says texting and driving capability is coming ‘in a month or two’
“In the next month or two, we’re going to look at the safety statistics, but we’re going to allow you to text and drive, essentially.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that within the next month or two, the company will be able to open the ability for people to text and drive because its Full Self-Driving suite will be robust enough to allow drivers to take their attention away from the road.
In its current state, Tesla Full Self-Driving is a supervised driver assistance suite that requires the vehicle operator to maintain control of the vehicle and pay attention to the road surroundings.
However, the company has been aiming to release a fully autonomous version of the Full Self-Driving suite for years, teasing its future potential and aiming to release a Level 5 suite as soon as possible.
CEO Elon Musk believes the company is on the cusp of something drastic, according to what he said at yesterday’s Annual Shareholder Meeting.
One thing Musk hinted at was that the company should be able to allow those sitting in the driver’s seat of their cars to text and drive “in the next month or two,” as long as the statistics look good.
He said:
“In the next month or two, we’re going to look at the safety statistics, but we’re going to allow you to text and drive, essentially.”
The company recently transitioned to its v14 Full Self-Driving suite, which is its most robust to date, and recently expanded to Cybertruck, completing its rollout across the vehicle lineup.
Currently, Tesla is running v14.1.5, and when major improvements are made, that second number will increase, meaning v14.2 will be the next substantial improvement.
Musk said that v14.3 will be when you can “pretty much fall asleep and wake up at your destination.”
🚨🚨 Elon Musk says Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3 will be when you can “pretty much fall asleep and wake up at your destination.”
We are on v14.1 currently 👀 pic.twitter.com/KMkWh5Qa7T
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 6, 2025
We’ve heard a considerable amount of similar statements in the past, and Tesla owners have been conditioned to take some of these timeframes with autonomous driving with a grain of salt.
However, with the upgrades in FSD over the past few months, especially with the rollout of Robotaxi in Austin, which does not utilize anyone in the driver’s seat for local roads, it does not seem as if autonomy is that far off for Tesla.
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Tesla Semi undergoes major redesign as dedicated factory preps for deliveries
The Semi has been one of the most anticipated products in the Tesla lineup due to the disruption it could cause in the trucking industry.
Tesla put its all-electric Semi truck through quite a major redesign as its dedicated factory for the vehicle is preparing for initial deliveries to the public starting next year.
The Semi has been one of the most anticipated products in the Tesla lineup due to the disruption it could cause in the trucking industry.
It has already been in numerous pilot programs for some pretty large companies over the past couple of years, PepsiCo. being one of them, and it is moving toward first deliveries to other companies sometime in 2026.
Yesterday at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Tesla unveiled its new Semi design, which underwent a pretty significant facelift to match the aesthetic and vibe of the other vehicles in the company’s lineup.
Additionally, Tesla announced some other improvements, including changes to efficiency, and some other changes that we did not get details on yet.
The first change was to the design of the Semi, as Tesla adopted its blade-like light bar for the Class 8 truck, similar to the one that is used on the new Model Y and the Cybertruck:
There also appear to be a handful of design changes that help with aerodynamics, as its efficiency has increased to 1.7 kWh per mile.
Tesla also said it has an increased payload capability, which will help companies to haul more goods per trip.
All of these changes come as the company’s Semi Factory, which is located on the same property as its Gigafactory in Reno, Nevada, is just finishing up. In late October, it was shown that the Semi facility is nearly complete, based on recent drone imagery from factory observer HinrichsZane on X:
The factory will be capable of producing about 50,000 Tesla Semi units annually when it is completely ramped. The company has major plans to help get the Semi in more fleets across the United States.
Other entities are also working to develop a charging corridor for electric Class 8 trucks. The State of California was awarded $102 million to develop a charging corridor that spans from Washington to Southern California.
Another corridor is being developed that spans from Southern California to Texas, and 49 applicants won $636 million from the Department of Transportation for it.
Tesla requested funding for it, but was denied.
The Semi has been a staple in several companies’ fleets over the past few years, most notably that of Frito-Lay and PepsiCo., who have reported positive experiences thus far.
Musk said last year that the Semi had “ridiculous demand.”
Tesla shares rare peek at Semi factory’s interior
Tesla says texting and driving capability is coming ‘in a month or two’
Tesla Semi undergoes major redesign as dedicated factory preps for deliveries
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