Latest news with #Megachargers
Business Insider
30-04-2025
- Automotive
- Business Insider
Tesla adds over 1,000 workers to jump-start Semi truck production
Tesla is dramatically accelerating its Semi truck ambitions, hiring more than 1,000 new factory workers in Nevada as the company races to fulfill years of production promises for its electric big rig, according to three people familiar with the matter. The carmaker has brought the new workers into the Giga Sparks factory for training and tours over the past few months. Until recently, the company had fewer than 100 factory workers assigned to the truck, including at its pilot line in California, two people said. The increase in hiring coincides with Tesla opening an extension at the Nevada Gigafactory purely for Semi production. On its website, Tesla lists more than 80 manufacturing roles for the development of the Semi, from test and service technician roles to engineering and quality assurance positions. A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. The company released a video update on Monday saying that it had finished building the factory and was beginning to set up production lines. Elon Musk first unveiled the Tesla Semi in 2017 and estimated that the truck would go into mass production in 2019. Tesla delivered its first Semi in December 2022 to PepsiCo, which placed an order for 100 trucks back in 2017. Musk said at the time that production would reach 50,000 units in 2024. UPS, Walmart, and Costco have also placed orders for the truck. More recently, in 2023, Tesla announced it would build a designated Semi truck factory in Nevada. The company said during its recent earnings call on April 22 that it would begin production in the facility by the end of the year, with mass production set to kick off in 2026. The facility has been delayed several times. Musk has repeatedly cited battery supply-chain constraints as an issue. The massive EV battery for the Tesla Semi is made up of tens of thousands of individual battery cells. The truck represents a mammoth effort for Tesla. The Semi has a range of up to 500 miles without a charge, which is nearly double the range of other electric semitrucks on the market and in development. Musk has said the truck will one day be able to operate as an autonomous vehicle. Tesla has said it can reach 70% of its full range in about 30 minutes at one of Tesla's Megachargers, a high-powered EV charger designed to replace a truck stop by providing a rapid turnaround charge for electric semitrucks.
Business Insider
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- Business Insider
Tesla adds over a thousand workers to jumpstart Semi truck production
Tesla is dramatically accelerating its Semi truck ambitions, hiring more than a thousand new factory workers in Nevada as the company races to fulfill years of production promises for its electric big rig, according to three people familiar with the matter. The carmaker has brought the new workers into the Giga Sparks factory for training and tours over the past few months. Until recently, the company had fewer than a hundred factory workers assigned to the truck, including at its pilot line in California, two people said. The increase in hiring coincides with Tesla opening an extension at the Nevada Gigafactory purely for Semi production. On its website, Tesla lists more than 80 manufacturing roles for the development of the Semi, from test and service technician roles to engineering and quality assurance positions. A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment. The company released a video update on Monday saying that it had finished building the factory and was beginning to set up production lines. Elon Musk first unveiled the Tesla Semi in 2017 and estimated that the truck would go into mass production in 2019. Tesla delivered its first Semi in December 2022 to PepsiCo, which placed an order for 100 trucks back in 2017. Musk said at the time that production would reach 50,000 units in 2024. UPS, Walmart, and Costco have also placed orders for the truck. More recently, in 2023, Tesla announced it would build a designated Semi truck factory in Nevada. The company said during its recent earnings call on April 22 that it would begin production in the facility by the end of the year, with mass production set to kick off in 2026. The facility has been delayed several times. Musk has repeatedly cited battery supply chain constraints as an issue. The massive EV battery for the Tesla Semi is made up of tens of thousands of individual battery cells. The truck represents a mammoth effort for Tesla. The Semi has a range of up to 500 miles without a charge, which is nearly double the range of other electric semitrucks on the market and in development. Musk has said the truck will one day be able to operate as an autonomous vehicle. Tesla has said it can reach 70% of its full range in about 30 minutes at one of Tesla's Megachargers, a high-powered EV charger designed to replace a truck stop by providing a rapid turnaround charge for electric semitrucks.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla Semi deliveries delayed again
The long-awaited debut of the Tesla Semi is running late, according to Electrek, which obtained a letter from Ryder to California's Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC). The letter is part of a 28-month contract extension request with MSRC, which awarded Ryder funding to deploy Tesla Semis and Megachargers to two California facilities. According to the letter, 'This extension is needed due to delays in Tesla product design, vehicle production and dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics. These delays have caused us to reevaluate the current Ryder fleet in the area.' Additionally, Ryder reduced its commitment from deploying 42 Tesla Semis to 18. For EV infrastructure, work will resume in Q3 2025 for site inspections, with groundbreaking targeted for Q2 2026. One of the reasons for the infrastructure delay was Tesla's requirement for 600kW chargers instead of the originally engineered 750kW units. Clean Trucking reports the Tesla Semi was originally priced back in 2017 at $150,000 for the 300-mile range version and $180,000 for 500-mile range. The delay comes against the backdrop of Tesla's continuing to build out its Gigafactory Nevada for the Semi expansion, slated to start production sometime in 2025. Trever Milton, founder of Nikola who was recently pardoned after being convicted of securities fraud, is looking to reunite with his former company by buying some of its assets from its bankruptcy. Tech Crunch reports that according to court filings and a person familiar with the matter, Milton placed a bid but got a 'frosty reception.' The filings, reported by the Phoenix Business Journal, showed Nikola stopped Milton from personally inspecting Nikola assets at its Coolidge, Arizona, facility earlier in the month. According to a filing on April 4, a Nevada entity known as ISSO LLC submitted a bid for Nikola assets on March 21. Tech Crunch adds, 'As part of the bid process, Nikola agreed to let ISSO inspect the factory. But the company refused to allow video or pictures to be taken and prohibited a specific ISSO representative from entering the factory.' The name of the representative was redacted from the filing, but other documents in the past submitted by ISSO LLC in state filings had Milton's father, Lance Milton, and one of Milton's lawyers, Troy Wallin, listed. The bankruptcy auction was held on Monday but at the time of writing it is unknown if ISSO LLC was successful in securing any assets. EV startup Canoo is again in the news, but this time it's over who gets the recently bankrupt company's assets. Canoo filed for bankruptcy in January after unsuccessful attempts to get financing from the U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Program Office. By March, Tech Crunch wrote that according to court filings, an entity controlled by Canoo CEO Anthony Aquila offered to purchase 'substantially all' of the assets for $4 million in cash, also wiping away the over $11 million debt Canoo owed to Aquila via a financial firm he ran that lent the startup money during the final months of its operation. By the end of March, EV medium-duty truck maker Harbinger filed an objection to the sale of Canoo's assets to Aquila and accused Canoo of hiding assets including ones from Arrival, another bankrupt EV company that Canoo had purchased in March 2024. Tech Crunch reported, 'The objection is the latest twist in the rocky relationship between Harbinger and Canoo. Harbinger was created by a handful of former Canoo employees in 2021. Canoo sued Harbinger in late 2022, alleging that those employees absconded with trade secrets.' By Thursday, the judge overseeing Canoo's bankruptcy case approved the sale of Canoo's assets to Aquila for around $4 million in cash. The judge cited his belief that the process was fair, as no one but Aquila had made a bid. With the purchase approved, the pending lawsuit takes another twist. The trade secret case with Harbinger was still active at the time of Canoo's bankruptcy, with Aquila gaining an interest in any settlement if Harbinger is required to pay Canoo. Compounding the confusion, Tech Crunch adds, 'One particular clause of the purchase agreement states that Aquila and the trustee have effective approval over any settlement in the Harbinger case. Harbinger argues this could violate the Department of Justice's handbook for Chapter 7 trustees.' A recent report by NGO Energy Vision found that renewable natural gas is the most suitable replacement for diesel trucks. Commercial Carrier Journal reported that the study looked at non-fossil fuel alternatives including battery electric, renewable diesel from vegetable oils and animal fats, and compressed natural gas trucks running renewable natural gas from organic waste. Of those options, the RNG made with organic waste was the winner. Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group Inc. announced Friday it had reached an agreement to acquire select facilities and assets in Arizona that previously belonged to Nikola Corp. The deal does not include acquisition of Nikola's business, customer base or technology related to Nikola's hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks. Lucid also plans to offer employment to over 300 former Nikola employees in roles across Lucid's Arizona facilities. Lucid takes over Nikola's former Coolidge, Arizona, manufacturing facility as well as its Phoenix facility, which was Nikola's headquarters and product development center. The post Tesla Semi deliveries delayed again appeared first on FreightWaves.
