Battery supply is delaying the Tesla Semi, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Twitter.
“Demand is no problem, but near-term cell supply makes it hard to scale Semi,” he said. “This limitation will be less onerous next year.”
Musk was replying to a tweet sharing a report that MHX Leasing placed an order for 10 trucks.
Tesla will use its new homegrown, high-energy dense, 4680 cylindrical battery cells. The company has been developing the cells in a small factory in Fremont, Calif. In order to meet the demand for the cells in its cars, Tesla will need to speed production across its entire lineup.
When debuted in 2017, the truck was expected to go into production in 2019. Now, the first deliveries of the truck are expected later this year. Mass production is expected to be delayed until 2022.