Tesla finally starts building the Semi truck at its new Nevada factory

The long wait for Tesla's big electric truck is finally over. The company finished making its first Semi truck on a new, high-volume production line at the dedicated factory in Nevada. This is a big deal for Tesla, which has talked about this truck for a long time, and now it is finally moving from a small project to a major manufacturing operation.

Tesla shared a picture of the new truck on its official social media account. The company is using a dedicated building that covers 157,935 square meters (1.7 million square feet) and sits right next to the original Gigafactory Nevada. Tesla has made a few trucks before, but those were built slowly by hand.

First Semi off high volume line pic.twitter.com/fI1AdQrJFH

— Tesla Semi (@tesla_semi) April 29, 2026

It has been a very long road for the Tesla Semi. The company first showed the truck to the world in 2017. Back then, they promised to start making it in 2019. However, that date changed many times. It moved to 2020, then 2021, and then 2022. Tesla eventually gave a few trucks to PepsiCo in late 2022, but those were not made on a mass-production line. Some people started to wonder if the truck would ever truly arrive. Tesla is famous for its "Elon time," where "next year" sometimes means "in five years."

Tesla's engineers worked to make the truck better and lighter. They managed to cut about 1,001 lb from the weight of the truck. This is important because the lighter the truck is, the more cargo it can carry. The truck is built to handle a total weight of 82,000 lb with a fully loaded trailer.

There are two versions of the new Semi. The first is the Standard Range model. It can travel 325 miles on a single charge and it starts from $260,000. The second version is the Long Range model. This one can travel 500 miles before it needs to plug in. This version starts from $290,000. Even though these prices seem high, they are actually lower than what other companies charge for similar electric trucks.

The Semi uses three independent motors on its back axles. Together, they deliver 1,072 horsepower. To keep these motors running, Tesla uses its new 4680 battery cells. A great thing about the Nevada factory is that Tesla makes these batteries in the same complex where they build the trucks, helping the company avoid delays because they do not have to wait for batteries to ship from somewhere else.

Charging a giant truck takes a lot of energy, so Tesla created a "Megacharger" for this job. These chargers provide 1.2 megawatts of power - enough to charge the truck from near empty to 60% in just 30 minutes. This is perfect for truck drivers because they are required by law to take breaks. They can plug in the truck, eat lunch, and be ready to hit the road again with plenty of battery life. Tesla has already built a Megacharger station in Ontario, California, and plans to build 66 more across 15 different states.

Tesla is not the only company making electric trucks, with companies like Volvo and Daimler already selling their models. Volvo has actually delivered thousands of trucks already, but Tesla's trucks usually have a longer range and a lower price. Tesla wants to build 50,000 of these trucks every year, but some experts think they will only build between 5,000 and 15,000 in 2026, which still seems like a big challenge.

There is a lot of interest in the Tesla Semi. In California, there is a program that gives money to businesses that buy clean trucks. Between early 2025 and early 2026, people applied for 965 Tesla Semis through this program. All other companies combined had fewer than 100 applications, showing that many shipping companies are choosing Tesla over the older truck brands.

Some companies are finding new ways to help businesses afford these trucks. Alyath is one of those new companies and is starting a "Semi as a Service" program. Instead of buying the truck for $290,000, a business can pay a monthly fee that covers the truck, the charging stations, and the electricity, making it easier for smaller businesses to switch to electric trucking without spending all their savings at once.

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