Tesla Semi: "Chicago's first 50 Semis" en route — rare volume signal from official account
Tesla's official Semi account said Chicago's first 50 Semis are en route — a rare volume data point from a company that rarely discloses Semi output, and a step beyond the previous largest fleet, PepsiCo's 86 trucks.
Per Electrek, the official Tesla Semi account posted on Nov. 11: "Hello Windy City — Chicago's first 50 Semis en route for delivery." Tesla did not name the customer, but Electrek reports the order matches HMD Trucking, a family-run Chicago carrier founded in 1998 that runs 650+ diesel trucks.
HMD said it received its first truck on Nov. 2, the first Tesla Semi registered in Illinois. Early use is short-haul around Chicago, with HMD installing its own chargers. Measured efficiency averaged 1.74 kWh/mile versus Tesla's 1.7 claim, and the contract is about $15M, roughly $300,000 per truck.
The Sparks, Nevada plant is designed for 50,000 units a year and began volume production on Sept. 24; 50 trucks is about 0.1% of that capacity. Tesla does not disclose Semi production, deliveries or ramp timing.
Summaries are prepared by the Tesla Briefing editorial team and may not capture every nuance of the original reporting. You are solely responsible for your own investment decisions.