Tesla Is Ready to Launch Its EV Semi Truck—and the Stock Is Rising

Coming into Friday trading, Tesla stock was down 23% year to date, and up 8% over the past 12 months. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)

Key Points

• Tesla shares were up in early trading following the announcement of a European launch event for its electric semi truck.
• The vehicle will be unveiled in mid-September at the IAA Transportation truck show in Germany.
• The announcement follows a 500-truck order from Swedish logistics firm Einride earlier in the week.

Tesla stock rose early Friday, trying to close out a solid week on a high note. An electric vehicle is helping, which is a surprise for the EV maker these days.

Shares were up 1% at $348.47 in early trading, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively.

The move comes as Tesla announced a launch event for its all-electric semi truck for Europe. The vehicle will be unveiled at the IAA Transportation truck show in Germany, which starts in mid-September.

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The launch follows a 500-truck order from Swedish logistics firm Einride earlier this week.

Tesla introduced its Semi Truck in 2017, with production at a Nevada plant starting in 2026. Eventually, Tesla hopes to make 50,000 a year.

At roughly $300,000 each, 50,000 units might generate annual sales of about $15 billion. Tesla is expected to generate 2026 revenue of $106 billion, according to FactSet.

A Tesla electric semi can cost twice as much as a traditional truck running diesel fuel, but Tesla estimates fuel savings (electricity is cheaper than diesel) will make up the difference in a few years of operations. What’s more, some places, such as California, have significant incentives to purchase electric trucks, which can drive down the cost of acquiring an electric semi.

EV cost details and new vehicles haven’t been top of mind for investors lately. They are more concerned with AI. Tesla is using AI to train robo-taxis to drive themselves and robots to complete labor-saving tasks.

Tesla launched a robo-taxi service in Austin, Texas, in June 2025. Investors are waiting for that business to scale up and start contributing significantly to Tesla’s bottom line.

The company also recently stopped producing the Model S and X luxury EVs, choosing to rip up that capacity in Fremont, California, and turn it into robot-building capacity. Mass production of humanoid robots hasn’t started yet.

Waiting for AI is a big reason Tesla stock was down 23% for the year coming into Friday. Shares were roughly flat since the robo-taxi service launch in Austin. They were up about 1% for the week, however, with investors encouraged by some robo-taxi news. Tesla recently teased a launch event for its purpose-built robo-taxi, Cybercab. Introducing that vehicle could signal that Tesla is ready to expand service more rapidly.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@barrons.com.

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