Photo: @SawyerMerritt/Twitter
Tesla Semi was spotted being tested at Giga Nevada and was a new unit as observed. Sources say limited production of the truck has already begun, which may hint at the start of a small number of deliveries earlier than expected.
While Tesla claims that mass production of the Semi has been delayed until 2023, it seems that in reality, it could be a little different. @SawyerMerritt/Twitter shared a video of Semi being tested near Giga Nevada. The video shows the truck performing various maneuvers, including fast acceleration, cornering, and circle driving. Sawyer's sources said that, unlike previous Tesla Semi builds spotted near the factory, this one did not have any department of transportation stickers or manufacturer plates. Sources also said the Tesla Semi is already in limited production and confirmed that mass production will not begin until 2023 at the earliest.
BREAKING: A source has informed me that the Tesla Semi is now in limited production. Key word here is LIMITED. This has been independently corroborated by drone footage taken today (Dec 10, 2021) of the Giga Nevada Semi prod building, & sent to me.
— Sawyer Merritt 📈🚀 (@SawyerMerritt) December 11, 2021
1/3https://t.co/04U3Xpcyl8
At the moment, the purpose of this small number of Semis, which are produced at Giga Nevada, is unknown. On the one hand, they can be tested in the real world, transporting something between the manufacturer's factories in Nevada and California. On the other hand, they may be delivered to PepsiCo., which expects to receive the first units by the end of 2021.
In late November, PepsiCo. received permission to install Tesla Megacharger to charge Tesla Semis, 15 of which are to be shipped to their facility in Modesto, California. Stanislaus County has officially issued a permit to install Megacharger requested by the company back in April 2021. This hints at increased preparations for the receipt of the trucks, which would not make sense if their arrival was not expected soon.
© 2021, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
