Tesla Semi was supposed to go into production in 2019, then it was delayed until 2020 and then again until 2021 and later to early 2022. Now that deadline has come and gone, although low volume pre-production of the Semi was started last year, and now we’re expecting Tesla to keep its promise of finally launching its electric hauler in 2023; order books opened earlier this year and you can reserve a semi for $20,000.
The manufacturer is still testing the Semi until the official launch, and batches of trucks were supposed to be sent to companies in order for them to be tested as part of a larger fleet, but we couldn't find any confirmation to support this.
In the video recorded by a member of Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, which is the first Semi sighting for almost three months, the truck can be seen driving along highway 580W in California. Aside from the foliage in the back, there’s nothing remarkable about this Semi and it looks pretty much production ready.
However, Tesla is still working on and developing the Semi - it’s not fully ready for production, which is why the manufacturer has missed its debut deadline so many times. We don’t exactly know what took longer than initially expected for Tesla to figure out, but given that it’s a new type of vehicle it has no experience in building, we suspect the learning curve may have lengthened the development process.
But even though it might look like the finished article, it’s not going into full production for at least another six months, so there’s still time for changes and improvements to be made. Just look at how the Cybertruck evolved from one public appearance to the next.
For a second we thought it was hauling some kind of tree, shrub or bush in the back, but that’s an optical illusion - the vehicle just happens to pass in front of a tree at the perfect moment to create confusion. If you see comments where people are asking if this Semi was hauling tumbleweeds, now you know what they’re referring to.
