VIDEO: Detailed Tesla Semi Factory tour with a closer look at the production, 4680 battery cells, powder-coated body panels and other highlights

EVwire brief: Tesla has given Top Gear Tech an extensive look inside its Tesla Semi factory in Nevada, revealing the production line for the finished truck and several unusual decisions Tesla made to build the Tesla Semi more efficiently. Dan Priestley walks us through the reasoning behind it.

Here’s Top Gear Tech’s video. You can also find all the highlights from us in the article below:

The video showed several parts of the Semi factory that have not been featured before, like:

Among the most interesting details from the tour revealed that the production Semi is powder-coated rather than painted. This means Tesla doesn't have a conventional paint shop at the Semi factory.

Dan Priestley explained that Tesla already has experience with powder coating through products such as the Megapack.

Apart from the positive environmental impact, using powder coating requires less capital and floor space than a traditional liquid-paint operation, while still giving the Tesla Semi a smooth, painted finish.

The Tesla Semi truck launches in only white paint powder, but brands can later get their own colors.

The unusual approach continues throughout the production line.

Tesla designed the Semi and its factory together, allowing the manufacturing process to influence the truck's design.

One example shown by Top Gear Tech is a machine that installs all 10 wheel lug nuts at once, while the rear of the cab remains open late in assembly so large components can be installed from behind.

Tesla is also holding the large rear of the Semi open until very late in the process so it could add the seat, instrument panel and other components through the rear of the vehicle.

Workers in the cab can also just walk in and work on anything easier: a 6-foot-6 adult can stand up straight in the cabin without hitting their head. Here’s the Tesla Semi dashboard before it goes inside the cabin:

Here's a closer look at the 4680 battery cells of the Tesla Semi.

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

This is the housing for the Tesla Semi battery pack modules:

Standard Range Semi has 2 of these modules, Long Range has 3, hence the larger length of the Long Range Semi (and likely why it isn't coming to Europe yet).

We also got a closer look inside the Tesla Semi seat from Top Gear’s video:

Heating and cooling inside the seat helps reduce the need for in-cabin heating/cooling (more efficiency), and apparently the seatbelt has a light infrared coating so truckers would actually plug in.

The production Semi itself has also received several efficiency-focused updates. The Tesla Semi is 3% more aerodynamic than the prototype, while its drag coefficient is lower than a Bugatti Chiron without a trailer.

Here is a look at the top of the Semi cab design, which they are changing based on needs. Tesla seems to have a few different versions + even European Semi has a slightly different version due to marker lights on top and a different aero profile due to the trailers being different in Europe.

Here’s a still showing the Semi cab being moved around by one of the assembly line robots:

Tesla has also added a small air vent to the front bumper to improve airflow around the wheels and split the bumper into three sections, making individual repairs easier.

The Standard Range Semi uses a 548 kWh battery, while the Long Range version adds a third battery pack. The truck's three-motor system uses two motors for higher-demand situations and another optimized for efficient cruising.

The factory was built specifically for the Semi and covers 1.7 million square feet (157,935 square meters). At full production, the facility is designed to produce up to 1,000 trucks per week. Here you can see the battery just as it was married with the chassis.

The thinking behind the factory ultimately comes back to the economics of running the truck. Priestley told Top Gear that, using example California electricity and diesel prices, the Semi could cost about $0.34 per mile to operate on electricity compared with roughly $1 per mile for a diesel truck.

Priestley said fleet operators will ultimately make the decision based on those operating numbers.

If you’d like to share the learnings in this article, you can share our whole thread on X: If you prefer, you can find the details on our thread on X:

Context:

The Semi has taken a long route to series production. Tesla unveiled it in 2017, initially targeting production in 2019, before delays and the COVID-era supply-chain disruption pushed the program back. Tesla began building a small pilot fleet in 2022, and the production version now incorporates changes based on approximately 17 million miles (27.4 million km) of testing.

The factory tour also comes as Tesla prepares to expand the Semi internationally. The company has announced plans for European deliveries in 2027, while fleet commitments in the U.S. are growing. IMC Logistics recently announced plans to deploy 50 Tesla Semis in California, and Forum Mobility has contracted fleet offtake for more than 330 Tesla Semis at its FM Santa Fe charging site.

Source: Top Gear Tech, with additional highlights from Jaan Juurikas and Sawyer Merritt and on X

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