Tesla selected as lead supplier for 2,500 electric trucks

Tesla was selected as the lead supplier in a 2,500-truck battery-electric Class 8 commercial vehicle order. Organizers Catalyst Mobility, a clean transportation nonprofit formerly known as CALSTART, and the Smart Freight Centre announced the deal on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, calling it the largest electric truck order in the U.S. to date.

The vehicles are ordered through ZET SCALE, an alliance formed by the two nonprofits with founding shippers including Microsoft and PepsiCo. The alliance aims to reach 10,000 trucks or more. Bids were evaluated on price, range, charging capability and production capacity. Kenworth, RIDE and Volvo were selected as secondary manufacturers.

Tesla plans to open its dedicated Semi factory in Sparks, Nevada, on Sept. 24, 2026, with an annual design capacity of 50,000 trucks. Catalyst did not specify how many of the 2,500 units will be Tesla Semis.

ZET Financial is issuing the purchase order and will lease the trucks to carriers through a fair-market-value structure to remove residual-value risk. The initial rollout will focus on 10 freight hubs, including Los Angeles, Stockton and Bakersfield in California, Seattle-Tacoma, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, the Chicago area, Atlanta, and the Newark-New York City area.

According to the International Council on Clean Transportation, only 875 zero-emission heavy trucks were sold in the U.S. in 2025, representing 0.3% of the market. ICCT data also showed the median price of a U.S. battery-electric Class 8 tractor reached $411,200 between model years 2020 and 2025, compared with $172,500 for a median diesel equivalent in 2022 dollars.