Tesla Inc. he says his production plan for his new semi-heavy electric truck is still running low because the special battery cells the big platform needs are scarce.
Silicon Valley vehicle maker said this week that it plans to deliver “our first Tesla Semi later this year.” Increasing production to achieve this goal will test Tesla’s TSLA,
ability to scale and deliver on promises to fleet owners in an industry more focused on cost and performance than the typical Tesla buyer.
“Scale production is very tough,” chief executive Elon Musk said in a earnings call Wednesday. “So a big part of the reason, the main reason we haven’t accelerated new products, is, for example, Tesla Semi, is that we just don’t have enough cells for that.”
Unveiled in 2017, the Semi was initially promised to be in the hands of customers in 2019. Its arrival has been delayed two years ago, delays that Musk has repeatedly attributed to battery supply restrictions.
Musk said Tesla is “extremely” confident in its ability to produce long-range trucks with batteries. The company has said the Semi will have a range of up to 500 miles and would use about five times more battery cells than Tesla cars.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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