- New job listings on Tesla.com show the company is looking for a process technician, process engineer and quality engineering manager for Semi truck work in Sparks, Nevada, where the automaker manufactures batteries for its EVs. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) already confirmed plans to build the Semi at its upcoming factory in Austin, so the new hires could be part of a pilot production line or other related processes. While a few Semi prototypes have been in operation for over a year, investors will dig for more details on Tesla's Q4 earnings call scheduled for Wednesday.
- Backdrop: Tesla first announced the Semi in November 2017, and said at the time that it would deliver the trucks to customers in about two years. A 300-mile range version of the Semi was unveiled for $150,000, while a 500-mile range version would go for $180,000. The trucks would accelerate from 0-60 mph in five seconds without cargo, or 0-60 in 20 seconds with an 80,000 pound load.
- Fast forward: Tesla announced Semi production delays during a Q3 earnings call in 2019, and again in April 2020. In June 2020, Elon Musk sent an email to employees calling for "volume production" of the Semi, but in the next quarter's financial filing, Tesla only mentioned its Semi initiative twice, outlining it was "in development." Later, at a European Conference on Batteries in November, Musk said Tesla was aiming for a Semi that could go even further on a single charge, saying, "you could take the range, for long-range trucking, easily up to 800 kilometers and we see a path over time to get to 1,000 kilometer range with a heavy duty truck."
- Tesla has already booked reservations for the trucks from companies like Anheuser-Busch, DHL Group, PepsiCo and Pride Group. Looking to lower costs, Walmart Canada in September more than tripled its reservations of Semi trucks to a total of 130.