Tesla Receives Order for 2,500 Electric Trucks Valued at €634 Million
Road freight transport in the United States is undergoing a transition toward electrification, marking a significant evolution in the sector. Tesla has been selected as the primary supplier for the largest order of Class 8 electric trucks ever placed in the country: 2,500 trucks to be acquired through a new alliance of carriers and shippers known as ZET SCALE. On its own, this order would nearly double the number of Class 8 electric trucks currently on U.S. roads, and the alliance states that its long-term goal exceeds 10,000 units.
ZET SCALE—an acronym for Zero-Emission Carrier and Shipper Alliance Leading Electrification—was launched by Catalyst Mobility (the logistics sector non-profit formerly known as CALSTART) in collaboration with the Smart Freight Centre. The strategy is straightforward: aggregate transport demand from major shippers so that carriers can purchase electric trucks in large volumes and compel manufacturers to compete on price.
Microsoft and PepsiCo Among Founding Companies.
Microsoft and PepsiCo are among the alliance's founding members. Tesla secured the role of primary manufacturer through a competitive request-for-proposals process, while Kenworth, Volvo, and RIDE have been designated as secondary suppliers. The exact breakdown of the planned 2,500 trucks has not yet been determined. Tesla has stated it has received orders for 2,500 Semi units; however, the alliance's total figure encompasses 2,500 Class 8 trucks involving Tesla as the lead supplier alongside three other manufacturers, indicating that Tesla is not the sole provider.
These trucks will be deployed at ten freight transport hubs across various U.S. cities over the coming years: Los Angeles, Stockton, Bakersfield, Seattle/Tacoma, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Chicago, Atlanta, and the Newark/New York area. Meanwhile, in Europe, Tesla has released official performance and range specifications: 800 kW charging capability, a range of 550 kilometers, and a payload capacity of up to 26.6 tonnes. The region is set to see these vehicles arrive next year.
An order five times larger than the previous record.
This agreement, however, far exceeds the largest Tesla Semi order placed to date. Notably, just a month ago, Einride’s order for 500 trucks held the record for the largest volume recorded so far; the ZET SCALE order is five times that size. The timing is no coincidence; it aligns with the opening of Tesla’s new Semi truck factory in Nevada, which has a nominal production capacity of 50,000 trucks per year. Nevertheless, analysts estimate that Tesla will deliver between 5,000 and 15,000 Semi units in 2026, with an estimated cost of $290,000 per long-range truck. In other words, the current constraint lies not in demand, but in production capacity itself.
On the same day, another order—smaller in scale but equally significant—was received: IMC Logistics, one of North America’s leading port container transport operators, announced the addition of 50 Tesla Semis to its California fleet. Order deliveries will be carried out using standard-range trucks—with a 325-mile range—for port transport, and long-range trucks—with a 500-mile range—for routes between Southern California and inland warehouses. The contract will yield significant benefits for Tesla. Based on an order of 2,500 vehicles at a unit price of $290,000 (excluding discounts), the total bill would amount to €634 million.
