EVwire brief: The Tesla Semi is heading to France for its first public showing in the country, with the electric truck set to appear at Connect Trucks 2026 in Deauville on November 3 and 4.
The appearance comes over a month after Tesla unveiled the European version of the Semi at IAA Transportation 2026 in Hanover, and ahead of the truck's European launch planned for 2027. Now in its fifth edition, Connect Trucks is a two-day congress for road transport and fleet management professionals, organized by French trade publication Décision Poids Lourd at the Hôtel du Golf Barrière.
Jean-William Dubal, Tesla's Business Development Manager for the Semi, confirmed the French premiere on LinkedIn:
"Keep your eyes open, we will be presenting the Semi in France for the first time at Connect Trucks 2026."
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The Tesla Semi Euro version will share the stage with a program built around the cost of electrifying fleets. Three roundtables will tackle who should pay to decarbonize road transport, how the extra costs should be split between carriers and shippers, what role electricity should play next to bio-CNG, B100 and HVO, and whether low-emission long-haul trucking is realistic by 2030.
Participants include carriers and shippers such as Transalliance, Leroy Merlin, La Poste, Lidl and Danone, along with French environment agency ADEME. Nine workshops will also dig into day-to-day fleet issues, with electrification topics covering depot charging, roaming, route planning and running mixed fleets.
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Context:
Tesla revealed the European version of the Semi at IAA Transportation in September, with camera side mirrors, no lightbar and a range of 550 km (342 miles) fully loaded, plus deliveries planned for 2027. The Euro-spec truck looks a lot like the North American Semi at first glance, but Tesla made a long list of changes to get it ready for European roads.
France has been on Tesla's Semi radar for a while now. The company hired a Business Development Manager for the Semi in France in August, and in September it launched Semi Charging for Business in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. This means that Deauville will give French fleet operators their first in-person look at a truck Tesla has been laying the groundwork to sell there.
Source: Auto Infos; Jean-William Dubal on LinkedIn
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