In 2017, when CEO Elon Musk first announced plans for the all-electric Tesla Semi, the first scheduled commercial deliveries were targeted for 2019.
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| The development of hydrogen fueling stations presents a classic “chicken and egg” scenario. |
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Well here we are in Q2 2021, and no Tesla Semis yet, but the company said this week that could change by the end of the year.
This week, in its Q1 2021 Shareholder Deck, the company said that the Tesla Semi is now set to begin deliveries later this year.
In January, Musk said that the Tesla Semi was ready for production, but that the company was having difficulties manufacturing enough 4680 battery cells to power the rigs.
“We simply don’t have enough cells for it,” Musk said.
While production of the batteries may still be an issue, Tesla’s shareholder report says that concerns surrounding the battery for the Model Y car have been resolved, and that Tesla Semi trucks will see deliveries in 2021 to some companies that have pre-ordered them.
Earlier this year, PepsiCo announced that it would receive 15 Semis from Tesla, making it one of the first companies to accept delivery of the all-electric 18-wheeler. PepsiCo said that it expected to take delivery by the end of 2021. That now seems in synch with Tesla’s plans.
However, Musk predicts that large scale production of the 4680 batteries will take another 12 to 18 months, meaning large scale production of the Tesla Semi will likely take even longer.
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 Meanwhile, self-driving truck company TuSimple said last week that it plans to test its autonomous trucks without backup drivers on public roads in Arizona later this year.
TuSimple CEO Cheng Lu said the company is planning to conduct driverless pilot program in the fourth quarter on a 100-mile run between Tucson and Phoenix.
The company has a fleet of 50 trucks it has been testing in the US Southwest and about 20 more in China, running with two people in the cab in those tests.
Lu said the autonomous test program would move actual shipper freight, and that the company was working closely with Arizona DOT officials to coordinate the pilot.
Finally, as a first step in potential mutual development of a hydrogen station network for fuel-celled powered heavy duty trucks, truck-maker Nikola and TravelCenters of America (TA) announce last week that they will collaborate to install public hydrogen fueling stations for heavy-duty trucks at two existing TA sites, one around Los Angeles and another north through California’s Central Valley. The stations are expected to open in Q1 of 2023.
Nikola has in the past talked about network of as many as 700 hydrogen stations in the US and Canada to support its Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell-based electric trucks, scheduled for production in 2023.
The development of hydrogen fueling stations presents a classic “chicken and egg” scenario, with stations needed to give potential fuel cell truck buyers confidence they will be able to conveniently fill up with a hydrogen charge, but companies reluctant to add stations without a significant number of fuel cell truck customers to provide a return on their investment.
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