According to recent reports, Elon Musk announced at the reopening of Gigafactory Berlin that Tesla is considering manufacturing its electric semi-truck, Tesla Semi, at the factory. However, the CEO did not provide a timeline for the project. Currently, Tesla is only producing the Model Y at the Berlin facility, with the Tesla Semi in low-volume production at a separate location outside Gigafactory Nevada.
Tesla revealed a massive expansion plan for Gigafactory Nevada in January 2023, which included the production of Tesla Semi trucks and 4680 battery cells, and the expansion of the factory to its originally planned size. However, the project did not move forward until January 2024, when Tesla finally broke ground. It remains unclear when the automaker can start producing the electric semi-truck in volume.
There have been significant challenges in the Tesla Semi program, as evidenced by the multi-year delay between the prototype and production, and the anticipated multi-year delay before volume production begins. Although Elon Musk had previously announced that Tesla would produce 50,000 Tesla Semi trucks in 2024, it is uncertain whether the automaker will meet this target. In fact, it is estimated that Tesla may only produce a few hundred Tesla Semi trucks this year, although this may be an optimistic prediction.
Overall, while the prospect of Tesla Semi production in Europe is exciting, there are still many obstacles to overcome before this becomes a reality. It is clear that Tesla needs to address the challenges in the program and provide more transparency on its progress.
