Tesla Doesn’t See Higher-Volume Production for Electric Semi Truck Until Late 2024
Tesla CEO Elon Musk called on the nation’s largest energy providers to invest in more power generation. Photo: TINGSHU WANG/REUTERS By Rebecca Elliott June 13, 2023 1:03 pm ET AUSTIN, Texas— Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said the company doesn’t expect to begin producing its new electric semitrailer truck in larger volumes until the end of next year, citing battery-supply constraints. Tesla began delivering its first trucks in December, five years after it revealed the model. The semi, originally due out in 2019, is the first new model Tesla has put in customers hands since early 2020. Speaking Tuesday at an energy conference in Austin, Texas, Musk didn’t elaborate on how he defines higher-volume production. While a niche product for Tesla, M
Tesla CEO Elon Musk called on the nation’s largest energy providers to invest in more power generation.
Photo: TINGSHU WANG/REUTERS
AUSTIN, Texas— Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said the company doesn’t expect to begin producing its new electric semitrailer truck in larger volumes until the end of next year, citing battery-supply constraints.
Tesla began delivering its first trucks in December, five years after it revealed the model. The semi, originally due out in 2019, is the first new model Tesla has put in customers hands since early 2020.
Speaking Tuesday at an energy conference in Austin, Texas, Musk didn’t elaborate on how he defines higher-volume production. While a niche product for Tesla, Musk has said the semitrailer truck is crucial to accelerating the company’s transition to more sustainable energy, noting that heavy trucks account for an outsize share of vehicle emissions.
Musk, on stage before a room of utility executives, also called on the nation’s largest energy providers to invest in more power generation, forecasting electricity demand would triple by around 2045 as more drivers turn to electric vehicles.
“The future is not like the past. The future is a massive increase in electricity demand, and it’s going to take everything that we’ve got to just keep up with it,” Musk said.
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Photo: Tesla
Write to Rebecca Elliott at [email protected]
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