Large fleet operators like PepsiCo, Walmart, Meijer and J.B. Hunt Transport Services were among the companies that placed non-binding reservations for the Semi five years ago.
The first deliveries will go to PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay plant in Modesto, California.
During Tesla’s last earnings call, Musk said the company is tentatively planning to produce 50,000 Semis for North America in 2024.
He appears to have taken the product off the back burner after the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act, which makes tax credits of as much as $40,000 available to commercial vehicles.
Musk did not say anything about volume production or pricing Thursday evening.
The Semi has an estimated range of 500 miles per charge and its own “Tesla Semi” chargers.
The introduction will add a fifth vehicle to Tesla’s lineup, featuring the passenger models S, X, 3 and Y, and fulfills Musk’s longstanding pledge to move into heavy-duty trucks.
The Semi will be put to work for Tesla, carrying freight between the company’s factories in Nevada and Fremont and back again so that engineers can continually refine the product, Dan Priestley, the truck’s program manager, said on stage Thursday.
In his “Master Plan, Part Deux” opus from 2016, Musk said “the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate.”
