Tesla Opens New Semi Factory With 11 Customer-Branded Trucks Lined Up Outside

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by Isaac

10 hours ago

Silver Tesla Semi driving through the IAA Transportation indoor test area

Tesla is opening the doors on its dedicated Semi factory in Sparks, Nevada, and the parking lot already looks like a customer roster.

At least 11 new-generation Semis wearing fleet branding were staged around the plant ahead of Thursday night’s rollout event. PepsiCo and DHL are there, but so are names including US Foods, Einride, IMC Logistics, ABF Freight, WattEV and OK Produce.

That lineup gives Tesla something far more convincing than another production promise: trucks attached to companies that haul real freight.

Aerial video captured the branded Semis moving and parked around the new Sparks facility before the event.

Electrek counted at least 11 customer-branded trucks in the aerial footage. Eight were lined up beside the factory, while three more moved around the lot.

The outlet identified branding for PepsiCo, US Foods, IMC Logistics, Einride, LTS, OK Produce, ABF Freight, DHL and WattEV. Two other logos were too blurry to call with confidence, so the video hints at a broader customer announcement without proving which companies fill the final spots.

The report also puts hard numbers behind the product on display. Tesla’s Standard Range Semi is rated for 325 miles, the Long Range version targets 500 miles, and both use an 800-kW three-motor powertrain.

The factory is not a future rendering. Tesla produced the first truck from the new high-volume line in April, and Thursday’s inauguration is the public handoff from a line being commissioned to a program expected to supply fleets at scale.

Investing.com published wire reporting that the Sparks plant is designed for annual capacity of up to 50,000 Semis. That is a factory ceiling, not a claim that Tesla will immediately build 50,000 trucks a year.

The distinction is important after the Semi’s long road to volume production. Elon Musk unveiled the truck in 2017 with production originally expected in 2019, while limited customer deliveries began with PepsiCo in late 2022.

Demand is beginning to take a more concrete shape. The report says a shipper coalition backed by companies including Microsoft and PepsiCo selected Tesla as the primary manufacturer for a 2,500-truck electric Class 8 procurement, while Einride announced a separate 500-truck commitment last month.

Tesla’s Semi account published the official broadcast link for the 6 p.m. Pacific rollout from Nevada.

The customer logos are more than decoration because several of those fleets have already supplied operating evidence.

DHL says its 2024 trial put a Tesla Semi through 3,000 miles of normal operations from Livermore, California. One fully loaded run covered 390 miles at a gross combined weight of 75,000 pounds.

Across the trial, DHL measured average energy use of 1.72 kWh per mile. The truck spent more than half its operating time above 50 mph, giving the company a test that looked like freight work instead of a controlled demonstration.

DHL took delivery of its first Semi in December 2025. It says that truck now runs about 100 miles per day, generally charges once per week and can carry a fully loaded range of up to 500 miles, with more units planned as volume production ramps.

TeslaNorth reports that the dedicated plant covers about 1.7 million square feet and is built beside Gigafactory Nevada. Guests were invited for factory tours and production-truck ride-alongs as part of the inauguration.

The site also produces 4680 battery cells to feed the Semi line. Building cells beside final truck assembly gives Tesla direct control over battery supply as the factory tries to increase output.

Now Tesla has to turn rollout-night theater into a steady stream of trucks, chargers and service support. Fleet buyers will judge the Semi by uptime, payload, charging cost and the number of units Tesla can actually deliver.

For one night in Sparks, though, the program finally looks less like a delayed promise and more like a freight business arriving at the loading dock.

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