Tesla has expanded its Tesla Semi sales and business development team by hiring two senior executives from the electric trucking sector, a move that signals preparations for broader commercial deployment as the company advances construction of a high-volume production line at Gigafactory Nevada.
The Tesla Semi, originally unveiled in 2017 and initially slated for production in 2019, has experienced repeated delays. Tesla introduced what it called the “production version” of the Semi in late 2022 and delivered a limited number of vehicles, but the programme has remained in low-volume pilot production at its Nevada facility. A new high-capacity production line is now under construction adjacent to Gigafactory Nevada, with Tesla guiding a start of official volume production in 2026.
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Dan Priestley, manager of the Tesla Semi programme, said during Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call that construction and preparation were progressing as planned. “The factory is going on schedule. We’ve completed the building and are installing the equipment now. We’ve got our fleet of validation trucks driving on the road. We’ll have larger builds towards the end of this year, and then our first online builds in the first part of next year, ramping into the Q2 timing, with real volume coming the back half of the year,” he said.
Against that backdrop, Tesla has recruited Jason Gies to its business development team for the Semi programme. Gies most recently served as head of North America operations at Windrose Technology, one of Tesla Semi’s key competitors in the electric trucking segment. He previously held senior roles at Navistar (International Trucks) and ABB E-mobility, giving him experience across both conventional heavy-duty trucks and electric charging infrastructure.
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Mac Burns has also joined Tesla’s Semi business development team. He previously worked as a director at Lightning eMotors, a company focused on electrifying commercial vehicles, and earlier served as regional sales director at electric bus maker Proterra. Burns also had a brief stint at electric truck manufacturer Xos Trucks.
Source: Electrek