EVwire brief: Tesla Semi lead Dan Priestley delivered a keynote on the European version of the Semi at IAA Transportation 2026 in Hannover, giving the commercial-vehicle industry a closer look at Tesla’s plans for bringing the electric truck to Europe.
EVwire’s Jaan was there and recorded the full presentation at the IAA Transportation 2026. Here’s the complete keynote:
Thinking of getting an EV, selling yours, or need EV accessories and adapters?
Check out our fresh EVwire EV Deals page for the discounts we've gathered.
Priestley's presentation focused heavily on the Semi's real-world experience and Tesla's charging plans for Europe. One slide showed more than 19 million km (11.8 million miles) driven by customers, alongside 98% uptime year to date. Pilot runs of the Semi have accumulated about 400,000 km (249,000 miles) as well.
Image: EVwire.com
Charging was another major part of the presentation. Tesla showed plans for a European Megacharging network with more than 100 stalls, capable of charging at up to 1.2 MW. Priestley also discussed the Basecharger as a lower-power option for longer depot stops.
“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.”
Image: EVwire.com
Priestley closed his presentation by noting that Tesla is ready to meet orders for the Semi, as the vehicle’s dedicated factory near Giga Nevada is already building trucks. He noted that the facility has a designed capacity of 1,000 Semi trucks per week, or 50,000 per year.
By the way, it sure looks to us like you are an EV geek like ourselves.
Which means you belong with us: join 14,400+ reading our newsletters: subscribe
Context:
The European Semi made its public debut at IAA with several changes from the North American truck. Tesla replaced the traditional side mirrors with camera-based systems, separated the front headlights, moved the upper cab lights and added an emergency escape ladder.
The European Standard Range Semi's cab remains the same length and width as the US version. Tesla has also adjusted the upper section of the cab for European trailer heights while retaining its aerodynamic design.
The truck uses an MCS charging system, with Tesla's European Megacharger capable of up to 1.2 MW. Tesla has also introduced its Semi Charging for Business program in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and the UK. European deliveries are still scheduled to begin in 2027.
Source: Jaan of EVwire.com on X
DON'T FORGET to subscribe: join 14,400+ EV geeks getting news like this before anyone else.
