Tesla Confirms September 24 Opening for Nevada Semi Factory, Overturning Bill Gates's Skepticism

Scheduled for September 24, the event is ceremonial in nature, held after production has already started, and targets an annual capacity of 50,000 units. The investment is part of a 3.6 billion dollar plan announced in 2023.

Tesla has built up real-world operating experience through its pilot operation with PepsiCo. Afterward, hundreds of test vehicles were deployed on real routes, accumulating more than 13.5 million miles of driving data. This data played an important role in improving the Semi's design and easing battery supply constraints.

The 2026 Tesla Semi's standard range model can travel about 523 km at a gross weight of roughly 37 tons, while the long-range model can travel about 800 km under the same conditions. The truck body weighs about 10.4 tons. It can charge to 60% in 30 minutes with up to 1.2 MW charging, and its V2L function can output up to 25 kW of power to external devices, giving it higher performance and efficiency than diesel trucks.

The factory's biggest strength lies in its vertically integrated production method. Most processes, from body stamping to powertrain and battery pack assembly, are handled in one place and are closely linked to battery cell production at the adjacent Gigafactory Nevada. Using a skateboard-style underbody and a cabin that attaches to it, the goal is to complete one Semi every 7 to 8 minutes.

This is the largest single order to date, with delivery and deployment planned over two years starting in September. The trucks are planned for cargo transport for major customers such as Amazon.

Dan Prestelli, head of the Semi program, said production is currently in the ramp-up phase, with a target of thousands of units by year-end. Initially, the focus will be on stabilizing processes and securing quality. Industry experts expect Tesla Semi production to reach between 5,000 and 15,000 units in 2026, and market reaction is expected to be positive as the maintenance cost savings compared with diesel trucks are verified.

The Semi's entry into mass production is especially significant because it is a vehicle that Bill Gates, a longtime rival of Elon Musk, predicted could never be completed.

Projects such as the Cybercab, Semi, Optimus V3, and Robotaxi are progressing as planned. In addition, Tesla is strengthening its overall production capacity, with a battery cathode plant in Texas now operating and Megapack 3 production ramping up.

Transport Minister Robert Crombach confirmed the discussions, saying the goal is to support mobility for transport-disadvantaged groups such as students and the elderly and to address driver shortages. Integration with the existing Loop Bus system is also under review.

The Arzfeld municipality in the Eifel region and Tesla Automation plan to launch an FSD shuttle service using the Model Y starting December 2024. It would be the first case in Europe of passenger transport with Tesla FSD. Students and the elderly will be transported free of charge over a route of about 40 km. For now, operations are running with safety personnel on board.

In Germany, FSD software has not yet received official approval, and no legal framework for driverless operation has been established. Discussions between the state government and companies are at an early stage, but legal approval procedures are essential for commercializing the technology.

Vehicles move on their own from the production line to the parking area, and FSD is applied to internal factory logistics and final shipment to improve efficiency.

This makes the gap between the speed of regulation and the speed of technological development more visible. The reality that technology already proven in limited environments is blocked on general roads shows that legal and institutional barriers are higher than technical maturity.

Tesla does not politically distribute mobility but pursues a strategy of technologically expanding its limits. Autonomous shuttle testing in Brandenburg villages can be interpreted as part of this effort to expand mobility technologically.

The system is scheduled for orbital launch in the fourth quarter of 2027, next year, with full-scale expansion planned from 2028.

The Starmind satellite is designed based on Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL 72 system. The NVL 72 integrates 72 Rubin graphics processing units (GPUs) and 36 Vera central processing units (CPUs) into a single rack-scale system. This plan is an attempt to realize data-center-class high-performance computing in orbit.

Building data centers on the ground faces many constraints in securing power supply and cooling sites. In orbit, by contrast, solar power provides virtually unlimited electricity, and efficient heat dissipation is possible by using the low temperatures of space. These advantages are a key motivation for extending AI infrastructure into space.

To achieve this, it is applying a design that is lighter and denser than traditional racks to maximize launch efficiency. Such large-scale satellite deployment is an important factor that raises the practicality of building AI infrastructure in orbit.