Just last week, Tesla was having issues with catering to the high demand for its vehicles towards the end of the quarter. It was facing some logistical problems in delivering 8,000 to 10,000 cars to North American buyers. As a result, they had to push dates, which Elon Musk apologized for. He also thanked the transportation companies they were partnered with for their support during these trying times.

The pandemic has made it difficult for Tesla to move cars through rail yards and coordinate with the transportation companies, as each has its own schedule. Moreover, there are also issues with capacity.

To resolve these issues, the company is using a prototype of the Tesla Semi to deliver the remaining vehicles.

Spotted the #Tesla semi on the road in Fremont today with a trailer full of Tesla cars. Very neat! pic.twitter.com/gZjHVZ5OXn

— Alex (@Westy543) June 26, 2020

The user who spotted the truck is Alex, who, according to Electrek, had seen it near the Fremont Factory when it was leaving carrying new vehicles. This is probably to relocate them to other Tesla factories so that they can be delivered to customers.

This is a strategic move on the part of the company. Apart from showing off the Semi in action, it would allow Tesla to reduce transportation costs and the charges for emissions. This may be one of the main reasons why the company has said that it wants to be the Semi’s first customer.

The company was planning on launching the company in 2019, but the deliveries have been set back several times. However, Elon Musk recently declared that Tesla would be mass-producing the Semi, to not lose out to the competition.

The news was first disclosed by Reuters and was later confirmed by a tweet posted by Musk.

For those who missed the leaked $TSLA email, here it is: pic.twitter.com/1KPV7Zzjv1

— James Stephenson (@ICannot_Enough) June 10, 2020

First revealed in 2017, the Semi is Tesla’s energy-efficient truck that comes in a sleek, next-generation design. According to the vehicles’ official website, it has the lowest cost of ownership, factoring in maintenance expenses and fuel costs.

However, it still hasn’t been launched in the market. The initial date was set towards the end of 2019, but it was later pushed up to 2020, then 2021.

The company was occupied with other projects (like the Cybertruck) but their focus seems to be back on the Semi. One of the main reasons is the increasing level of competition, with more battery electric vehicle (BEV) and full cell vehicle (FCV) companies saturating the market. Just one example is Nikola Motors, who recently announced the release of their BEV and FCV models.

The production of the batteries and powertrain will take place in the Tesla Gigafactory in Nevada. As Musk said in the tweet, “most of the other work” will likely be occurring in other states. Clearly, there’s much uncertainty around the details of the Semi’s production.

Trevor Milton, the CEO of Nikola Motors responded to Musk’s tweet saying that he ‘loves’ the competition but nevertheless taking a dig at the company.

I love the competition! Tesla’s call to mass produce a semi is a good thing to Nikola’s business model no matter what. I hear the their semi truck weighs 27,000 – 30,000 lbs for long range mile version. Our fuel cell should be 10,000 lbs less.

— Trevor Milton (@nikolatrevor) June 10, 2020

The following are the specifications of the model, taken straight from Tesla’s website:

• Acceleration 0-60 mph with 80k lb: 20 seconds
• Speed up a 5% Grade: 60 mph
• Mile Range: 300 or 500 miles
• Powertrain: 4 Independent Motors on Rear Axles
• Energy Consumption: Less than 2 kWh per mile
• Fuel Savings: $200,000+
• Expected Base Price:
  • 300 mile range: $150,000
  • 500 mile range: $180,000
• Base Reservation: $20,000
• Expected Founders Series Price: $200,000
• Founders Series Reservation: $200,000