Tesla Inc. says its production plan for its new semi-heavy electric truck remains at a low speed because the special battery cells the large platform needs are in small quantities.
The Silicon Valley automaker said this week that it plans to deliver “our first Tesla Semi by the end of the year.” Increasing production to achieve this goal will test Tesla TSLA,
the ability to scale and meet commitments to fleet owners in an industry more focused on cost and performance than the typical Tesla buyer.
“Scaling up production is very difficult,” CEO Elon Musk said in a winning call on Wednesday. “So a big part of the reason – the main reason we haven’t accelerated new products is – like, for example, Tesla Semi – is that we just don’t have enough cells for that.”
Unveiled in 2017, Semi was initially promised to be in the hands of customers in 2019. Its arrival was pushed two years ago, delays that Musk has repeatedly attributed to battery power constraints.
Musk said Tesla is “extremely confident” in its ability to produce long-range battery-powered trucks. The company said the Semi will have a range of up to 500 miles and will use about five times more battery cells than Tesla cars.
An extended version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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