August 18, 2026 9:07 AM, EDT
Tesla Semi reached its first major customer in 2022. (Einride)
Key Takeaways:
Einride will add 500 Tesla Semi trucks to its North American fleet over the next two years, marking the largest deployment of the electric trucks to date.The deal will triple Einride’s deployed fleet and expands Tesla’s push from pilot projects to commercial freight operations despite industrywide adoption challenges.Tesla is ramping Semi production in Nevada for 2026 while Einride plans phased deployment beginning next month for customers including Amazon.
Einride AB is adding 500 Tesla Inc. Semi heavy-duty trucks to its North American fleet in what the Swedish company said will be the biggest deployment of the vehicles to date.
The electric trucks will be put into operation gradually over the coming two years, starting next month, Einride said Aug. 18. They will serve customers including Amazon.com Inc. across freight corridors in the region.
The addition is set to triple the size of Einride’s deployed fleet and extend its network across North America. The Stockholm-based firm provides autonomous and electric mobility, software and charging solutions for logistics clients and has developed its own self-driving truck. It has previously used vehicles from brands such as Daimler Truck, Scania, MAN and BYD.
For Tesla’s Semi, the deal marks another step in the shift from limited trials to revenue-generating freight operations, testing whether the model can gain traction with commercial fleets.
High vehicle costs and limited charging infrastructure have slowed electric truck adoption more broadly. Germany’s Daimler Truck Holding AG, for example, has warned that weak demand could leave it well short of EU emissions targets despite heavy investment in zero-emission models.
The Semi itself has been a long time coming. Unveiled with fanfare in 2017 and initially slated for production in 2019, the truck didn’t reach its first major customer, PepsiCo Inc., until late 2022.
$ENRD H1 2026: Revenue $27M, up 26% YoY. 500 @Tesla Semis signed. Driverless hours up 64%. Targeting breakeven point in 2028. Full results at https://t.co/Iu1e5LkiYr pic.twitter.com/iGIYUWCAND
— Einride (@einrideofficial) August 18, 2026
After the years of delays, Tesla is now preparing to ramp up production of the Semi at its Nevada factory. Tesla said in its latest earnings update that Semi production remained on track for 2026, after saying in April that it expected to reach volume production this year.
Tesla plans to eventually develop its own automated-driving technology for the Semi, though Elon Musk said in July that the effort was “taking a bit of a back seat” because trucks are expected to remain a very small percentage of the company’s fleet this year. The CEO has long set ambitious targets for autonomous driving, including for Tesla’s ride share network, which has progressed more slowly than many investors had hoped.
An Einride driverless truck during the company’s IPO in New York, on June 10. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)
Einride, which has lost more than half of its market valuation since its June trading debut in New York, has also struggled to grow its business amid a slower-than-anticipated shift away from diesel trucks.
Amazon ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest logistics companies in North America and No. 1 on the TT Top 50 list of the largest global freight companies.
PepsiCo ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America.