eTruckwire newsletter #1: The electric truck industry roundup

I went a bit special with this one actually, designing the article display from the ground up:

eTruckwire, our new home for electric truck news, orders and data, now lives at its own address.

It pulls every EVwire story on electric trucks, heavy-duty fleets and heavy-duty charging into one feed, with several new articles from me and Simon daily, and has the big picture resources we build right next to them.

You know - sales numbers, fleet order trackers, commercial vehicle events… our usual added values.

Our Insiders heard about it first, now it’s time to get it out in the open. If you work anywhere near freight, bookmark it and visit daily. And if there's something you'd want tracked there, reply and tell me.

Oh, and no, it’s not always so Tesla Semi-focused on the site; it just happened with the Semi rollout event details last week.

A group of the world's largest shippers has made the largest electric truck order in US history, ordering 2,500 battery-electric Class 8 trucks in one go. (link)

This one was fun to write about — so happens that EVwire was the first media outlet to pick up the story, about an hour before anyone else caught on!

Tesla was picked as the only primary manufacturer, with Kenworth, RIDE, and Volvo named as secondary OEMs that carriers can pick instead.

The order runs through ZET SCALE, a new private-sector alliance jointly operated by Catalyst Mobility (the nonprofit formerly called CALSTART) and the Smart Freight Centre. Microsoft and PepsiCo are among the founding shippers, and the alliance’s ambition runs to 10,000 trucks and beyond.

CALSTART's own deployment data counted 2,509 heavy-duty zero-emission trucks put on US roads from 2017 through 2025. So this one order is roughly the size of everything heavy-duty that landed in the previous eight years put together.

ZET Financial is issuing the purchase order for all 2,500 trucks. They then reach fleets through its fair market value lease, ZET Lease, which is structured so the operator doesn't hold the residual-value risk when the term ends.

Not knowing what a five-year-old electric truck will be worth at the back end has kept plenty of carriers parked on the sidelines… hope this will change it.

There’s no known split of that 2,500 between Tesla and the other three for now (so take it with a grain of salt if you see anyone report a Tesla-specific number; some didn’t even bother and already dropped the news as if all 2,500 were Teslas).

For scale on the Tesla side, the previous record holder for the largest order was Einride, which ordered 500 Semis in August. Its CEO has since said about 75 of them will land this year and the other 425 by the end of 2027.

Tesla has opened its first factory built specifically for the Tesla Semi, and says high-volume production of the truck is now underway. Our full roundup of what we learned is here: (link).

Can’t fit it all in here, but below is your quick need-to-know:

The 1.8-million-sqft Tesla Semi factory is built next to Giga Nevada, designed to produce 1,000 Tesla Semis per week, 50k per year when fully ramped up.

The Standard Range, Long Range, and European-spec Semis (more on how they differ in the next section) will all be built on the same production line.

The factory uses the highest-weight-capacity EMS conveyance system in vehicle manufacturing, capable of moving 39 fully assembled frames-in-white.

There is no paint shop. It’s the first factory to powder-coat the Class 8 tractor instead.

“This is the first time we've done a powder-coated surface, so you can get a Semi in any color you want, as long as it's white. For now.” — Lars Moravy, VP for Vehicle Engineering at Tesla. Lars was the one with Dan Priestley, head of Semi, on the stage.

Semi Factory has one of Tesla's most automated battery lines, using Tesla’s own 4680 cells for a lighter pack with fewer kWh and the same range as the 2170s.

The white belt you see is a cooling belt that feeds through the middle to keep the temperature suitable:

“It is more efficient. It is more reliable, more manufacturable, and ultimately set up to deliver the lowest total cost of ownership.” — Dan Priestley, Tesla Semi Program Lead at Tesla

Tesla is producing stampings, batteries, drive axles, high-voltage distribution units, cooling modules and seats in-house.

Tesla said the earlier pilot fleet, consisting of just under 200 vehicles, has accumulated 17.5M miles (28.1M km) while hauling freight in snow, rain, desert conditions and mountain routes.

In the pilots, Tesla confirmed that at a fully loaded 82,000 lbs (37.2 tonnes), it demonstrated more than a 500-mile range, and at half-loaded trucks of 60,000 lbs (27.2 tonnes), it can do ~600 miles. Now I can’t help but wonder what just the tractor could do…

The production Semi swaps the old carbon-fiber-sleeved rotor for a steel-caged one and uses a bar-wound stator shared with the Cybertruck, taking about 80 kg (176 lbs) off the drive axle. Our deeper look at the drivetrain with more images: (link)

The first trucks needed three different oils (motor, gearbox and hub). Now the hub runs with none, and the motor and gearbox share one oil rated for 250k+ miles (400k+ km).

“Occasionally, we get a little too far out there. And we ended up with three oils in the first round of the truck.” — Dan Priestley, Tesla Semi Program Lead at Tesla

Tesla Semi is the first Class 8 truck with electric steering. No hydraulics, no fluid lines, and Tesla says it's a head start on autonomy. This also started in Cybertruck. They say it gives the truck an “immensely quick response” and makes it the most precise steering system they’ve ever seen on a Class 8 truck.

Priestley says it turns almost as tight as a Model Y. For a deeper look from us, see this article: we even pulled the exact quotes via the event transcript (link)

The new “Megamanifold” heat pump runs cabin HVAC and every powertrain loop, warms the cab with waste heat from the motors and battery, and has no refrigerant lines running to the front. Deeper look from us: (link)

The cab got acoustic glass, a full roll-down window (instead of the old pop-out version), driver profiles tied to your phone, and a partly automated pre-trip inspection.

Tesla reported 98%+ uptime year to date, and charged a Semi live during the event at around 1.2 MW, still pulling that at least at a 27% state of charge.

Tesla says 30+ Megacharger stations are expected online in the US by year-end, with many more in the works. Not specified whether those were the public ones, though.

Customer deliveries have started with the event, with names like PepsiCo, US Foods, Einride, LTS, Nevoya, OK Produce, ABF Freight, DHL, WattEV, IMC Logistics and HMD getting the trucks with their branding featured on top (see the header of this newsletter).

Just recently, we also covered how Forum Mobility is breaking ground on four California depots with 30 MW of charging, backed by 330+ Tesla Semi reservations and with Tesla running public Megachargers at three of its sites: (link)

Now, before we take a closer look at the Euro Tesla Semi with me, I highly recommend watching this 51-minute Semi factory tour video from Kyle and Scot at Out of Spec for all the details: (video).
And then, pair it with their other video of Kyle actually driving the truck.

The Top Gear video from the Semi Factory from right before the launch is now deleted (don’t ask me why), but here are our highlights with screenshots; you’ll love these: (link)

I was at IAA Transportation 2026 in Hannover for the public debut of Tesla's Europe-spec Semi, and here's my full roundup with all the photos and videos: (link).

And here is a quicker summary of it all (with fewer visuals, so still recommending the article link there):

So, what happened? Tesla brought three European Semis to the show: two for test rides and one for its booth.

I was there two years ago to see the US-spec version shown in Europe. Nothing that much has moved locally since, until now, at least visibly… except some hiring and charging prep we’ve written about.

In reality, they had to change a few things to bring the Semi to the European market (including making it the Standard Range version only, for now).

Here’s what’s different for the European Tesla Semi:

Camera mirrors: instead of conventional external mirrors, the Euro-spec truck uses cameras mounted on either side of the cab, with their feeds displayed on screens inside. Tesla's team also told us the truck has 10 cameras around it, for a full 360-degree view with no blind spots.

Along with the camera mirrors, Tesla has also replaced the North American truck’s distinctive front light bar with a conventional headlight arrangement, similar to the Model Y Standard with its separated headlights, due to European regulations (*sad noises*):

Tesla also had to change the top part of the Semi cab a bit for the European market.

They added the 2 lights at the top due to regulations (US version has them at the top of the windshield). Dan told me they also changed the top slightly for better aero efficiency with Euro spec trailers:

And an emergency escape ladder inside the cab, in case the truck ends up on its side (also a regulation thing):

Tesla's own numbers for the Euro truck:

… which means we’ll see pilot fleets start running it earlyish in 2027, I’m sure, as soon as the production line in the US (same for Euro and US specs) churns some out.

Tesla didn’t bring the Long Range version to Europe, by the way, and every exec I asked about it didn’t want to give any clue about when it’s coming (or if at all).

For Europe’s existing chargers, Tesla also built a CCS-to-MCS adapter, rated at 1,000 V and 500 A:

I also ended up getting a ride in the Tesla Semi!

The driver was one of the Endurance Drivers in the US. He said that Tesla really listens to the feedback of drivers, like switching to roll-down windows and making the shades (above the windshield) two-piece & movable.

Below a certain low speed, the front under-license-plate camera feed pops up so you’d see there’s nothing in front of the truck.

Something else I noticed: the side mirror camera views don’t pop up near the pillars as other truck makers do; instead, they show on the innermost edge of the screens. That means your side mirrors are really well visible while looking straight ahead. It’s visible in this interior shot I took from the showroom Semi:

Now, I also want to address something interesting. The screen placements. I’ve seen a lot of commentary about how Tesla messes up here because drivers have to “reach” to push those buttons on the screens. Having sat there and played around with the seating position — absolutely not true.

You see, these two screens are at an angle towards the driver (see it panning out on the right side vs left of each), and everything you’d actually need to touch is on those outer edges of the screens. That is, in my opinion, designed extremely mindfully.

The camera feeds take up the innermost parts of the screens, and the outer edges, closer to your hand, are where all the touchscreen toggles are.

You can see more of the left-side screen menus from one of my videos:

My coverage from the European side ended up being so extensive that the official Tesla Semi account on X ended up resharing four of my posts from the IAA to their feed, including these UI ones, helping some of these really go semi-viral 😂

Also, here’s a big shoutout to our friends at the Tesla Semi and Charging teams at the event, I was really happy to finally shake all your hands after covering the two niches so deeply over the years. To all of you reading that has been connected to the Semi program — congrats on the two Semi launches!

I also filmed Dan Priestley’s full keynote on the Euro Semi: (link). Best part here was the Megacharging plan for Europe:

“These are not single stations with single stalls. This represents more than 100 MCS-equipped charging stalls in our initial rollout starting next year, each of which is capable of 1.2 megawatts.”
— Dan Priestley, Semi Program Lead at Tesla

I also found that one of the pamphlets from Tesla has the same pins and says these MCS sites "open at the end of 2026 through 2028." This means they weren’t just “random pins”.

And the first known European order came right at the show: Swiss logistics firm Käppeli turned its 2019 Tesla Semi pre-order into a firm purchase order.

Meanwhile, we also just saw some moves from Canada, too:

🇨🇦 R.R. Plett Trucking is preparing to install Canada’s first Tesla Megachargers, with two 1.2 MW sites planned for Langley and Kamloops, British Columbia. (link)

Its 12 Tesla Semis ordered are also expected in June 2027. The carrier already runs eight Volvo VNR Electrics out of the Port of Vancouver, and COO Trevor Plett explained what MCS changes for them:

“You can cut charging time from three hours down to 30 minutes with the MCS, which will help us double shift those trucks. Right now, we’re running 6am to 5pm, six days a week. But then we have to let those trucks charge in the evening, so we’re not able to double shift the current electric trucks.”
— Trevor Plett, Chief Operating Officer, R.R. Plett Trucking

BYD has unveiled the ETT 44, a new battery-electric tractor for European heavy-duty transport, and it brings BYD’s 1.5 MW Flash Charging to commercial vehicles. (link)

It’s a sleeper cab, too.
BYD expects the charging tech on European roads from the end of 2026, with AFIR compliance targeted for Q4 2027.

I also checked out the ETT 44 and the Flash Charging station for myself at the IAA. One thing that surprised me was how easy to handle they have made the otherwise heavy megacharging cable: they suspend it from the dispenser so it is really easy to move around.

A note from my visit to the IAA in Hannover on the Chinese electric trucks in general:

…they’re here.

I counted 9 different electric heavy-duty trucks that are entering the European market from China, from Foton to DeepWay, from Sany (which literally had a slogan ‘Europe, we’re here to stay’) to Sinotruk.

It’s the same thing all over again that I saw with the passenger vehicles at IAA Mobility, which is one of, if not the, largest car shows in Europe also happening every 2 years: the Chinese booths and exhibitions went from that small cubicle hidden among the German giants to something that directly rivals them.

This year’s IAA Transportation heavy-duty commercial side did that same transformation in the last two years. Two years ago, it was not at all like this.

Remember how I started writing about the Chinese EVs taking over the world in these newsletters all those years ago? I had plenty of people writing me that this was absolute nonsense talk back then… just because you couldn’t see it yet. It was the earliest of days.

Now everyone knows how the world has changed, and that will also actually help these e-trucks get a foothold.

Anyway, I’m in the process of adding all those incoming e-trucks, along with their specs, as a separate live comparison resource on our eTruckwire site.

That said, European truckmakers were out in full force, of course, too, with Daimler Trucks and Volvo and all the industry going all out.

What I’m betting on is healthy competition. If the European legislation doesn’t come in to try and throw barriers in front of the combo of Tesla Semi & Chinese e-trucks, then the “legacy truck” has their work cut out for them.

Because all in all, this is the picture that we need to be changing here in Europe:

And when it comes to trucking, as we also already see happening in China (28.9% e-truck share in 2025), the transition, for TCO and a few other reasons, could be a lot quicker than with passenger cars.

We have actually published quite a lot of e-trucking industry articles lately, which you’ll find on our fresh eTruckwire site, but I can’t fit them in this email, so I’ll keep the best ones for our next newsletter.

🔌 PS! Consider becoming an EVwire Insider member to get special reports and early access.