Tesla confirmed a new batch of Semi deliveries, with its official Semi account saying “Chicago’s first 50 Semis” are on their way, Electrek reported on Nov. 11. Tesla does not disclose Semi deliveries in its quarterly passenger-vehicle counts, the site noted, making the post a rare public figure.
Tesla did not name the customer. Electrek reported that the only 50-truck Semi order tied to Chicago belongs to HMD Trucking, a family-owned carrier founded in Chicago in 1998 that runs more than 650 trucks, almost all diesel, and ordered 50 Semis after Tesla’s September production event. HMD took its first truck on Nov. 2 and says it is the first Tesla Semi registered in Illinois, Electrek reported. COO Michael Mahler said Tesla “has been transparent with us regarding the capabilities of Semi every step of the way.” The company ran a Semi for more than 4,000 miles over the summer and averaged 1.74 kWh per mile, compared with Tesla’s 1.7 kWh-per-mile claim. The first trucks will mostly handle local runs around Chicago, and HMD is installing its own chargers there because Tesla’s Megacharger network is still concentrated along the I-5 and I-10 corridors in the West, Electrek reported. Owner Henry Malukas told MotorTrend the deal is worth about $15 million, or roughly $300,000 per truck, which Electrek said is in line with the about $290,000 Long Range pricing it reported when the first truck came off the high-volume line, and well above the $180,000 Tesla advertised in 2017. Malukas also said “we don’t have real numbers yet” on savings.
Electrek said Tesla launched volume production at its Sparks, Nevada, factory on Sept. 24 and claims the 1.8 million-square-foot plant is built for 50,000 trucks a year, without a public ramp schedule. An earlier Tesla quarterly update, already reported separately, listed 25,000 trucks a year of installed Semi capacity; this story does not reconcile those two capacity figures. Electrek also cited other order-book markers, including Einride’s order for 500 Semis in August, WattEV’s 370, IMC Logistics’ 50 for California, and ZET SCALE naming Tesla as main supplier for 2,500 trucks, and said Tesla quotes more than 98% Semi fleet uptime without saying how large that fleet is.