Tesla has been selected as the primary supplier for a record U.S. order of 2,500 electric Class 8 trucks. The order alone could nearly double the number of electric Class 8 trucks operating on U.S. roads.

Electrek, an electric-vehicle outlet, reported on Sept. 22 that a new shippers’ alliance, ZET SCALE, ordered 2,500 battery-electric Class 8 trucks in the United States. ZET SCALE aims to introduce more than 10,000 electric trucks over the long term.

Not all 2,500 trucks have been confirmed as Tesla Semis. ZET SCALE selected Tesla as the primary supplier and named Kenworth, Volvo and RIDE as secondary suppliers. Tesla described it through its own account as an "order for 2,500 Semis," but ZET SCALE announced 2,500 Class 8 electric trucks from multiple manufacturers, including Tesla. It did not disclose allocations by manufacturer.

ZET SCALE stands for “Zero-Emission Truck Shipper-Carrier Alliance for Electrification” and was jointly launched by Catalyst Mobility and Smart Freight Centre. It pools transport demand from large shippers so carriers can buy electric trucks in bulk and encourages price competition among manufacturers. Founding shippers include Microsoft and PepsiCo. Tesla was selected as the primary supplier through a competitive bidding process.

The trucks are to be deployed over the next several years across 10 major logistics hubs. The regions are Los Angeles, Stockton, Bakersfield, Seattle-Tacoma, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Chicago, Atlanta, and the Newark-New York area.

The financial structure is also a feature of the order. ZET Financial issues the purchase order for the 2,500 trucks and provides the vehicles to carriers through a "ZET Lease" programme. The programme is designed so carriers do not directly bear residual value risk for the electric trucks. It is structured to reduce the financial burden of adoption, given uncertainty over the used value of electric heavy-duty trucks.

Dan Priestley (댄 프리스틀리), head of Tesla's Semi programme, said ZET SCALE's goal is to scale up the operational advantages of electric trucks. Michael Berube (마이클 베루브), chief executive of Catalyst Mobility, said, "Even with good technology, a market may not form," stressing ZET SCALE's role in creating a market by aggregating large-scale demand.

The order also coincided with Tesla's ramp-up in Semi production. Tesla has built a dedicated Semi plant in Nevada, with a stated annual production capacity of 50,000 units. Electrek projected Tesla Semi deliveries in 2026 would remain at 5,000 to 15,000 units, and said the long-range model is listed at about $290,000, or about 390.1 million won.

A separate large order also followed. IMC Logistics, a major North American drayage carrier, said the same day it will add 50 Tesla Semis to its California fleet. It plans to deploy the standard-range model, capable of 325 miles, or about 520 km, for port-area hauling, and the long-range model, capable of 500 miles, or about 500 km, for transport between Southern California and inland warehouses.

IMC Logistics already operates 56 zero-emission vehicles, and the addition will nearly double the size of that fleet. It also operates hydrogen fuel cell trucks and renewable diesel trucks, structuring its fleet without relying on a single power source.

Jim Gillis (짐 길리스), IMC Logistics' Pacific region president, said it is taking an approach that uses multiple technologies together to make sustainability part of everyday drayage operations.

Port-area container transport is seen as well suited to electric trucks because routes are relatively fixed and vehicles can return to a base to recharge after deliveries. The 2,500-truck order and the separate 50-truck addition show Tesla's demand base expanding in the electric heavy-duty truck market, while also indicating the pace of future adoption could be influenced by production capacity and supply structures.

Tesla was selected as the primary OEM for the largest electric Class 8 order in the US by ZET SCALE, a new shippers’ alliance With 2,500 Semis on order, this will double the entire US electric Class 8 fleet We’re serious about scale, and ZET SCALE is too!… pic.twitter.com/IiTAdzgken