Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has landed an order for 500 Semi electric trucks from Einride AB (NASDAQ:ENRD), in what the Swedish freight company calls the largest Tesla Semi deployment announced to date.
The deal comes just months after the first Semi rolled off Tesla’s new high-volume production line in Nevada, a milestone that arrived years behind schedule.
Einride announced the Tesla deal alongside its first-half results Tuesday, forecasting constant-currency revenue growth of 60% to 73% in the second half, accelerating from 26% in the first half.
Einride shares surged 18% in premarket trading Tuesday.
Tesla Semis Will Haul Freight for Amazon, Other Customers
Einride is a freight technology company that operates electric trucking networks for large shippers, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). The 500 Semis will roll out across California, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois and Georgia over 24 months, starting in September.
Einride will finance the trucks through third parties and run them on Saga AI, its platform for routing, charging and fleet optimization.
Dan Priestley, Tesla’s Semi program director, said electric trucks may offer lower costs per mile than diesel through fuel savings and reduced maintenance.
The Tesla Semis will be driver-operated, rather than autonomous.
One Order Is Twice Einride’s Current Electric Fleet
Einride operates roughly 250 deployed electric trucks today, so the Tesla order alone is double its existing fleet. The company expects the deployment to triple that fleet to about 750 vehicles.
Einride also said Tuesday it expects constant-currency revenue growth of 60% to 73% in the second half, accelerating from 26% in the first half. The company, which went public through a SPAC merger in June, had fallen more than 50% from its Nasdaq debut through Monday’s close.
Semi Finally Moves Past Years of Delays
Tesla unveiled the Semi in 2017 and initially promised production by 2019. Deliveries stayed minimal for years. PepsiCo, one of the first customers, had received only 36 of the 100 trucks it ordered as of April 2024, according to Reuters.
That changed on April 29, when the Nevada plant produced its first truck on the new line. Priestley has said the facility is designed for annual capacity of 50,000 trucks.
Against that ambition, 500 units amount to roughly 1% of annual capacity.
Kalshi gives the company a 40% chance of producing more than 1,000 Semis in any quarter before 2027, while the odds of topping 5,000 stand at just 10%.
For years, the question was whether Tesla could build the Semi at all. The next test is whether it can deliver trucks at scale.
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