The long-awaited Tesla Semi continues to garner attention with its most recent partnership with RoadOne IntermodaLogistics. The Massachusetts-based company broadened its relationship with Tesla earlier this week with the purchase of a fully electric Tesla Semi.
The company’s relationship with Tesla dates back to 2012, when it began delivering containers of aluminum coils that were then transloaded and shipped to Tesla’s stamping facility in Fremont, California. By 2014, RoadOne created a storage program with Tesla to help with its just-in-time delivery program.
There is growing buzz that this EV semi will be seen as an attractive option for fleets looking to electrify, based on conversations with carriers that have placed preorders for these units.
The partnership reflects a wider trend that may give Tesla a competitive edge: its focus on vertical integration. The Tesla Semi uses in-house 4680 battery cells developed and manufactured at its Gigafactories in Texas and Nevada. The powertrain is also produced in-house at the Gigafactory in Nevada.
In the EV space, imagine a battery as a tasty wafer cookie — more specifically, a Kit Kat bar. The humble wafer cookie has many layers, alternating between crisp wafers and chocolate cream. These are then pressed lightly together, forming bonds of wafer and chocolate cream, allowing flavor to alternate and transfer while being enclosed in a layer of chocolate.
An EV battery also has many layers. Like our Kit Kat bar, an EV battery uses stacked pouch or prismatic cells. Instead of wafers and cream, there are layers of cathode, separator, anode, separator and so on. In our example, the positive cathode is the wafer, and the negative anode is the cream. Thin sheets of film separate them to prevent direct contact.
In this example, instead of stacked Kit Kat fingers combined in a wrapper, an EV battery consists of multiple cells that form a module, which then comprises the battery pack.
This long-winded explanation is crucial because in the EV space, it’s common for various companies to focus on one particular aspect of our metaphorical cookie battery. Vertically integrating this process requires more upfront cost and effort, but through economies of scale it can unlock significant savings. And in the battery business, savings are key. Battery packs are expensive and heavy.
Another aspect of vertically integrating an EV semi is building all the other major components in-house.
Many global OEMs operate like a familiar scene from a bank heist movie. Instead of a wheelman, safe cracker, tech guru and point man, the global OEM works with Tier 1 suppliers to fill gaps in brake and steering systems, electrical components and infotainment systems.
In this scenario, the OEM may produce the engine and drivetrain itself, or it may outsource them to suppliers that deliver nearly finished modules just in time for assembly on the factory floor.
Cutting through the hype is tricky. Tesla’s marketing is sparse. Assuming the company will meet its lofty goal of producing 50,000 Class 8 Semis annually in Nevada with any certainty remains difficult. Here’s a FreightWaves story by Noi Mahoney from 2022 highlighting Tesla’s original stated goal of building 50,000 units by 2024 at its factory in Sparks, Nevada. It’s now 2026.
But based on conversations with companies that have placed preorders, the production Tesla Semi appears to be a solid contender in the Class 8 EV space. Respondents from charging depot owners, EV infrastructure providers and EV trucking fleets describe an electric rig that delivers the range needed for regional-haul applications.
The exact number of Tesla Semis currently on the road is not publicly disclosed. FreightWaves reported last April that approximately 200 Semis had been delivered to customers such as PepsiCo, DHL, Walmart and others.
Looking ahead, that number could grow to around 1,000 units based on data from the California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). Approximately 892 vouchers have been requested or issued for Tesla Semis (more than 80% of all Class 8 BEV vouchers at the time). To receive a voucher, a fleet must have a reservation for a Tesla Semi.
For the Class 8 EV tractor, there is plenty of room for growth. EV tractors remain a tiny fraction of the estimated 220,000-240,000 annual Class 8 truck orders.
