Elon Musk announced during Tesla's Q2 earnings call that self-driving capability for the Semi truck is expected to start working around the end of this year or early next year.
Musk stated that the company's autonomy team is prioritizing higher-volume vehicles including the Model 3, Model Y and Cybercab. He described Semi development as taking a backseat for the next six months.
The timeline aligns with ongoing hardware validation, including recent sightings of Semi trucks equipped with sensor arrays in Sunnyvale and Fremont. Production Semi models feature ten integrated AI4 cameras.
Musk cited a serious shortage of truck drivers as a key reason for pursuing autonomy on the Semi. He noted that the system will support the truck's planned production scale-up.
The announcement came as Tesla dropped earlier language promising volume Semi production this year, citing constraints from 4680 battery cell output.
