Mercedes says Tesla's 500 mile Semi defies the laws of physics

When you think of a semi truck, you likely envision a big rig that relies on diesel to haul its load around the country - trucking conjures up more Burt Reynolds than big tech. While semi trucks have been a part of our transportation landscape for most of a century, Tesla’s Semi program is looking to change more than the fuel source for these vehicles.

After years of work, Tesla’s all-electric semi truck has completed its first 500-mile journey on a single charge. Let’s take a closer look at this inaugural trip and the implications of this innovation.

In late November 2022, Elon Musk announced that Tesla’s Semi program completed a 500-mile test drive with a total weight of 81,000 pounds.

The successful test run is a major milestone for the future of trucking. It’s a significant breakthrough because competitors like Mercedes, Volvo and Nikola haven’t achieved long-range test runs on this scale.

Tesla first announced its intentions to build an all-electric Tesla Semi in 2017. At the time, the company set a target release date of 2019. However, bringing this concept to life took longer than expected.

After many setbacks in the Tesla Semi program, this long-distance test run objective was finally achieved. It’s an impressive feat that could have some major impacts. Although it took longer than expected, six years is just not that long to launch a vehicle as innovative and unique as this.