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A Tesla Semi is spotted in Europe, but why?
A Tesla Semi has been spotted in Europe around Germany, but it’s not clear why since the vehicle is unavailable in the region.
While officially in “production” since late 2022, Tesla Semi is still a rare sight in the US. Only about 100 units are estimated to be in operation, mainly in California.
Tesla has previously talked about bringing the Tesla Semi to Europe, but it admitted that it is going to have to modify the truck to adapt it to European regulations.
CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla would bring the truck to production at Gigafactory Berlin.
However, it will be important to start volume production in the US first.
The CEO attended the reopening of Gigafactory Berlin after it had to shut down for just over a week following an arson attack that crippled its power supply.
Tesla is currently only making the Model Y at Gigafactory Berlin.
Local German media are reporting that Musk mentioned at the event that Tesla is looking to build Tesla Semi at the factory:
“I think it makes sense to produce the Tesla Semi in Europe in Gigafactory Berlin.”
The CEO didn’t offer a timeline for the project. The automaker had yet to announce a new vehicle program beyond Model Y for the factory.
There’s probably a lot of work to be done before it can get there.
Tesla Semi is currently only in low-volume production at a facility outside Gigafactory Nevada.
In January 2023, Tesla announced a massive expansion of Gigafactory Nevada to add production of Tesla Semi trucks and 4680 battery cells and to finally expand the factory to its originally planned size.
However, nothing happened with the factory expansion for a year. In January 2024, Tesla finally broke ground on the project, but it’s not clear when the automaker can start production of the electric semi truck.
Tesla isn’t likely to invest in production at another factory until it can sustainably produce the vehicle in volume at Gigafactory Nevada.
But Tesla is first expected to bring the electric truck to production at a new factory being built outside of Gigafactory Nevada near Reno.
The factory is expected to start producing the Tesla Semi by “late 2025.”
Tesla has unveiled a render of its upcoming ‘Semi Factory’ to build electric semi trucks next to Gigafactory Texas in Nevada.
The Tesla Semi program has seen some significant delays – even since it has officially entered production.
So why is the Tesla Semi in Europe now? It will be displayed at the upcoming IAA show in Germany next month. It could be as simple as that, but Tesla could also be bringing the Tesla Semi to Europe to start the work of adapting it to European trucking regulations as they begin the production planning at Gigafactory Berlin.
August 19, 2024