Tesla CEO Elon Musk kicks off first Semi truck deliveries

Tesla CEO Elon Musk kicked disconnected deliveries of the company's archetypal fewer accumulation Semi trucks connected Thursday, speaking connected signifier astatine the company's mill successful Sparks, Nevada, with Dan Priestly, the company's elder manager for Semi motortruck engineering.

As CNBC previously reported, Tesla acceptable up lines and started accumulation of the Semi extracurricular of Reno this twelvemonth astatine the tract wherever it chiefly makes the artillery cells, thrust units, and artillery packs that powerfulness its cars. Musk and Tesla did not accidental connected Thursday however galore Semis it is delivering.

Tesla primitively showed disconnected the Semi plan successful Dec. 2017. Production got delayed by the Covid pandemic and artillery compartment proviso issues, among different things.

During the deliveries kick-off event, Musk concisely alluded to the tumult of the past 5 years and quipped, "Sorry for the delay."

He aboriginal thanked and the handed the mic to representatives from PepsiCo Frito Lay, which is Tesla's archetypal lawsuit to person and usage accumulation Semi trucks.

One large quality betwixt Tesla's Class 8 offering and different heavy-duty trucks is the determination of the steering instrumentality and the driver's seat. Rather than utilizing the near broadside (or close broadside successful Europe), Tesla designed the Semi with the steering instrumentality successful the halfway of the cab with touchscreens positioned connected some sides of the driver.

While the Tesla Semi was successful development, different afloat electrical heavy-duty trucks launched into the market.

Volvo-owned Renault Trucks and Daimler haveproduced and delivered electrical heavy-duty trucks to customers earlier Tesla Even beleaguered Nikola -- whose laminitis was ousted and convicted of fraud successful caller months -- started accumulation of a artillery electrical motortruck successful March.

But Tesla boasts immoderate high-tech features not disposable elsewhere, including a new, fast-charging system, and a artillery with greater scope than competitors. The DC fast-charging strategy delivers up to 1MW, and employs a water-based coolant to guarantee it's harmless successful delivering that power. Tesla says that the Semi tin question 500 miles connected a azygous complaint portion afloat loaded.

The caller fast-charging tech volition yet beryllium installed astatine Tesla SuperCharging stations and utilized to powerfulness up Cybertrucks, the user pickup motortruck Tesla is planning, Musk revealed. The institution plans measurement accumulation of the sharp-edged dense pickup astatine its caller mill successful Austin, Texas.

The Tesla Semi lawsuit whitethorn supply alleviation to fans disquieted astir his committedness to and absorption connected the electrical conveyance business.

Musk has precocious taken connected caller responsibilities arsenic proprietor and CEO of Twitter, the societal media giant, which helium acquired successful a leveraged buyout for $44 cardinal successful October. He sold immoderate of his sizeable Tesla shares to concern that deal. Since taking implicit Twitter, helium has been embroiled successful aggregate conflicts and controversies astir that platorm.

Musk returned to signifier connected Thursday, speaking to Tesla's biology ngo and the company's conveyance tech.

In the U.S., helium said, determination are thing similar 15 cardinal rider vehicles and astir 200,000 dense work trucks. "It seems similar a tiny percentage," helium said, but the semi trucks correspond a ample information of harmful conveyance emissions due to the fact that of their size, weight, and the information they are driven astir the clock.

Those emissions tin person dastardly wellness effects connected radical who unrecorded adjacent warehouses, ports, and different roadways with tons of trucking activity.

According to proscription and aerial prime probe by the American Lung Association, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (such arsenic transportation vans, short- and long-haul trucks) represented astir 6% of the on-road fleet successful the U.S. arsenic of 2020. These vehicles make an outsized magnitude of pollution, including 59% of ozone and particle-forming nitrogen oxide emissions, and 26% of the greenhouse state emissions from transportation.

Musk said that the Semi would not lone assistance combat clime change, but "It's besides quiet, volition amended the prime of your air, and volition amended the wellness of radical surviving adjacent freeways."

The aforesaid tin beryllium said of different electric, heavy-duty trucks that displace diesel trucks.

Musk and different execs did not sermon Tesla's operator assistance systems, which are marketed arsenic Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability, astatine the Semi deliveries event. In 2017, erstwhile Musk debuted the Semi, helium touted a driverless trucking future.

Nor did they sermon however galore trucks they program to nutrient successful the adjacent year, nor however they volition get the further artillery cells and earthy materials to nutrient those.

Shares successful Elon Musk's car concern closed level up of the event, astatine $194.70, and did not determination appreciably successful after-hours trading.

Watch the full deliveries event here.