Is the Tesla Semi finally real — and what do the specs mean for trucking?

Tesla has opened its dedicated Semi factory with 325-mile and 500-mile versions. Operating cost and charging availability—not peak horsepower—will decide whether fleets adopt it at scale.

After years of delay, Tesla held the Semi rollout at its 1.7-million-square-foot factory in Sparks, Nevada, built for an eventual 50,000 trucks a year. The production lineup includes 325-mile and 500-mile versions, an 800-volt tri-motor system with more than 1,000 horsepower, a 48-volt low-voltage architecture, and Megacharging that Tesla says can restore roughly 70% of range in about 30 minutes. PepsiCo, DHL, US Foods, and Einride are among the fleet customers; Einride has ordered 500.

The business case is fuel and maintenance, not acceleration: Tesla claims about 50% lower California operating cost than diesel. Fleets should watch real uptime, payload, route charging, and total cost. Megachargers are still rolling out, and promised Full Self-Driving is not available yet.