Tesla has officially delivered its Tesla Semi electric trucks to a rare new customer, who confirmed the truck’s efficiency.

Tesla Semi can be a difficult vehicle program to follow.

The truck was first unveiled in 2017 and it was supposed to go into production in 2020. It was delayed several times and Tesla ended up unveiling the production version of its Tesla Semi class 8 electric truck and delivered the first units in December 2022.

However, Tesla only had small volume production of the truck and started construction on a bigger factory to produce the vehicle in higher volume next to Gigafactory Nevada.

Therefore, for the last two years, Tesla has only been producing the truck for its own operations and its main customer-partner Pepsico.

Volume production and wider release to customers is expected to start next year.

That’s why it is pleasantly surprising to now hear that Tesla has delivered two new Tesla Semi trucks to a new customer: Saia.

Saia is a large LTL (less than truckload) trucking company operating in the US with a fleet of around 5,000 trucks.

The company announced in a press release today:

Saia Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA) announced that Saia LTL Freight has partnered with Tesla to introduce two of the company’s first Tesla Semi trucks to its fleet. As Saia celebrates its 100th anniversary, this collaboration signifies not just a milestone in the carrier’s history but also a bold commitment to the future, exploring the latest technology to better serve its customers.

Tesla’s head of the Tesla Semi program, Dan Priestley, confirmed that Saia has been operating the trucks for more than a month.

Saia Executive Vice President of Operations Patrick Sugar confirmed that in a test earlier this year they achieved an efficiency of 1.72 kWh per mile with the Tesla Semi:

“We were very impressed with the Tesla Semi as it demonstrated an ability to handle both local and longer haul applications while still delivering notable power and efficiency. During a demonstration earlier this year, we achieved 1.73 kWh per mile. Our drivers were equally impressed, noting the smooth acceleration, comfortable design, and its ability to maintain speeds on steep inclines, even while hauling heavy payloads. This feedback underscores the enormous potential of the Tesla Semi.”

Earlier this year, DHL also confirmed this with an efficiency of 1.72 kWh per mile in their own testing.

That was Tesla’s original goal for the truck, but the automaker also recently said that it now can do a little better with 1.6 kWh per mile.

Electrek’s Take

Since Elon killed the $25,000 Tesla, Tesla Semi has been the vehicle program at the automaker that I’ve been the most excited about.

I think Tesla’s expertise in producing electric vehicles profitably in high volumes should translate well to class 8 semi trucks where the efficiency will have an even greater impact than in the passenger car market per vehicle.

It took a while to get there, but it sounds like the battery tech is now capable of achieving the efficiency goals. Now, Tesla just needs to bring this to volume production profitably. Not an easy task, but Tesla has done it before.