Tesla eyes European freight market with long-delayed Semi truck

Sept 11 (Reuters) - Tesla plans to bring its Semi electric truck to Europe, broadening its reach beyond North America as it seeks foothold in a heavy-duty market where rivals already sell battery-powered models.

The Elon Musk-led automaker will disclose European specifications and launch details at the IAA Transportation trade fair in Hanover, Germany, next week, it said in a post on X.

The European push comes nearly a decade after Tesla unveiled the Semi in 2017 and initially targeted production for 2019, a timeline that was repeatedly delayed as the company prioritized battery-cell supplies for its passenger vehicles.

Tesla began limited deliveries to customers including PepsiCo in the United States in late 2022.

In April, Tesla said the first Semi had rolled off a high-volume production line in Nevada. However, its July shareholder update only mentioned that production of Semi would begin in 2026 while removing an earlier forecast for volume production this year.

Tesla's German-language website lists a version of the truck with a range of up to 550 km (342 miles) at a gross combination weight of 40 tonnes and energy use of about 1 kilowatt-hour per kilometer.

The company said the truck weighs about 9,100 kilograms without a trailer or cargo and offers electric power take-off of up to 25 kW. It can recover about 60% of its range in 30 minutes using Tesla's Megacharger network, which it says can deliver up to 800 kilowatts.

Tesla also cited route-based charging scheduling and dedicated service centers as features intended to reduce downtime.

(Reporting by Prathik Jayaprakash and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)