Tesla Semi production aims for 100 units in 2022

The next year is set to be a busy time for Tesla, with the Semi launching in December and the Cybertruck coming in 2023. Ahead of the first Semi deliveries next month, Tesla’s head of the board of directors says the company is aiming for higher production targets than previously planned — an important milestone on the way to volume production.

Tesla is looking to produce around 100 Semis this year, according to statements made by board chair Robyn Denholm during a recent testimony, and as detailed in a report from electrek. The statement was made during Denholm’s testimony over Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s compensation package, while making a point about the automaker’s ambitious operational plans.

Tesla “might produce 100 semitrailer trucks this year, years behind schedule,” Ms. Denholm said during the remote testimony. The figure is higher than most onlookers have anticipated, though Tesla has been producing the Semi since October and the company is looking forward to lofty production goals in the years to come.

The news also comes ahead of Tesla’s official delivery event for the electric Semi on December 1. The automaker is delivering the first fleet of Semis to PepsiCo’s Modesto, California and the event will be held at its Gigafactory Nevada. The production of the Semi was originally slated for 2019, but the project has been delayed multiple times in the process.

Tesla produces the Semi at its Giga Nevada, and the automaker previously stated it expects to be able to produce five of the electric truck per week at the plant. This equates to around 250 Semis annually, though Tesla also plans to move volume production of the Semi to Gigafactory Texas down the road.

Last month, Tesla also disclosed that it’s targeting 50,000 Semis per year in 2024, showing major production ramp-up plans — and probably boding well for the electric Semi’s 2023 deliveries.

It’s not clear how many of the Semis are being delivered to PepsiCo in December, though PepsiCo previously posted on its website that it would receive 15 Semis by the end of the year. It’s also unclear if Tesla has other delivery plans lined up for the end of the year, but electrek’s Fred Lambert says he’ll be “pleasantly surprised” if Tesla delivers more than 40 by then.

Tesla’s market share for electric vehicles remains dominant in most places throughout the world, even as competition increases substantially. The addition of the Semi represents yet another niche market in which the automaker can maintain a grasp on market share — and it comes in the midst of a world that needs emission-reducing automobiles more than ever.

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