The largest electric vehicle offering by Elon Musk, the Tesla Semi, will not be rolling on the road until 2021 as Tesla confirmed: "We are shifting our first Tesla Semi deliveries." The update from the automaker indicated that Semi's ETA had been pushed back two years from the original target date of 2019.
When the Tesla Semi was introduced in 2017, the company said commercial availability should commence in 2019. However, this timeline was revised, and Tesla later announced that low-volume production for the Semi could only start in the last months of 2020.
According to Engadget, no reasons were provided for the delay but it can be assumed that the coronavirus pandemic forced Tesla to make production adjustments. Like other businesses around the world, the COVID-19 spread led to the carmaker shutting down operations and production of all vehicles was halted.
For the most part, the global health crisis allowed only work-from-hope setup, which for Tesla resulted in limited capabilities and output.
It's possible too that the company is working on design changes before production is resumed. Per the same report, Musk has earlier hinted that the Semi's original range of 500 miles could be extended to 600 miles. If this is the goal for the needed delay then it will be a welcome upgrade for would-be buyers of the big rig EV.
The Tesla Semi's delayed arrival was reported as part of the company's quarterly earnings update, which showed that revenues and profits are heading north. However, delivery targets have been restricted by a host of reasons that possibly are the same culprit for the Semi's expected late road debut.
It would seem though that the Tesla Semi production was in full swing before the COVID-19 outbreak. Electrek said the testing phase for the hauling machine was completed during the winter and the plan was start production the soonest.
Likewise, it was understood that the production of the electric truck will be at the Nevada Gigafactory, and a building has been allocated for the exclusive use of the Semi's mass manufacturing activities. All things set, Tesla said thousands have placed their orders for the monster EV, who now will need to wait a bit longer before they can test the truck.
Tesla is expected to roll out first the long-range version of the Semi, which will retail starting at $180,000. The price tag seemed hefty but the company is still attracting buyers with the promised operation cost of only $1.26 per mile.
There will be a short-range version of the Tesla Semi but the specs on this variant remain unreleased. But its makers said the starting price will be around $150,000 or slightly affordable than the regular edition.
