Elon Musk is quite a salesperson, but on December 1, 2022, Tesla’s CEO will take on the role of sales and delivery when he hands over the first production in-person to Pepsi. It’s fitting that it will happen at a company that has used slogans like: The Choice of a New Generation, A Generation Ahead and Generation Next.
Tesla will use that day to mark the beginning of a significant ramp-up in the production of the highly anticipated heavy-load haulers. Musk brought investors up to speed on the Semis during the quarter three earnings call.
Tesla's Q3 Earnings Call
Tesla Semi Batteries
It’s been expected that the Semi would use the more advanced 4680 battery, but Musk shot that down, “Okay. The Semi doesn’t use 4680s,” he said when asked about deploying the batteries across the fleet. Instead, he said they are being used in Model Y as they continue to grow the production of the pack.
The company reported that manufacturing of the 4680 cells has tripled in the quarter and continues to snowball. Musk said, “production of 4680 ramp-up is growing exponentially. And yes, it’s going well. We’re just looking at this. It’s going to be a major pack in the future.” He later added, “we still feel confident that 4680 will be the most competitive battery cell in the world.”
It’s assumed the Semi uses the 2170 battery, but that doesn’t change the power and range that the company has been advertising, “very important, no sacrifice to cargo capacity, 500-mile range. Just to be clear, 500 miles with the cargo,” repeated Musk.
Future Production
The CEO also predicted the numbers when they increase production in the coming years. “And we’ll be ramping up Semi production through next year. As I think everyone knows at this point, it takes about a year to ramp up production. So, we expect to see significant — we’re tentatively aiming for 50,000 units in 2024 for Tesla Semi in North America.” He added that Tesla would expand beyond North America.
Since he was talking to investors, he pointed out the value of the Semis, “I don’t want to say the exact prices, but they’re much more than a passenger vehicle. So, with a few thousand heavy trucks of this nature, it would be worth several Model Ys.”
It’s been five years since Musk arrived at a Tesla event in a Semi to introduce the vehicle that will change the trucking industry. So here is a story to refresh your memory: Everything We Know About the Tesla Semi.
