Elon Musk doesn’t appear too excited about the Tesla Semi and the ten billion dollars a year the vehicle is expected to generate. Musk revealed his feelings about the all-electric semi-truck in the recently held 2024 earnings call. Retail investors asked, “What is Tesla Semi's mass production status, and how will it impact revenue?” In response, Musk elaborated on the importance of a fully self-driving semi-truck, especially emphasizing this need given the recent shortage of semi-truck drivers. However, after acknowledging that the Tesla Semi would be beneficial, Musk continued to say that the program is not that important in light of the other opportunities Tesla is pursuing. Musk, chuckling throughout his response, said… “I don't know. It's a several billion-dollar-a-year opportunity, which I don't know in this context. Does several billion dollars a year matter these days? [chuckling] I think it does. It’s not nothing. It's probably a 10 billion-year thing, a billion a month at some point, but you know all this will pale compared to Optimus. So yeah, the billion a month is a lot, but it's going to be like 1% of Optimus or something, you know.” Throughout his answer, Musk seemed amused by the notion of how insignificant a billion dollars a month is. That is certainly an interesting perspective. Does $10 billion a year matter? Most people would say yes; however, Musk seems to think that’s small potatoes for Tesla these days. Despite Musk’s reservations about the vehicle, Tesla appears to be making great strides toward mass production of the second-generation Tesla Semi. Tesla has been externally delivering semis since last year; however, these units are the first-generation semis with the last-generation 2170 cells. These semi-trucks are built in the pilot production line, and so far, Tesla has only delivered close to 100 units to paying customers. However, the second-generation semi-truck is the version that will enter mass production. Tesla expects to sell 50,000 2nd-gen semis per year. The second-generation Tesla Semi is slated to use Tesla’s latest-generation 4680 cells and the much more efficient structural battery pack architecture. During its latest earnings report and accompanying call, Tesla reiterated that production of the second-generation semi-truck will begin by the end of this year. Tesla adds that volume production will ramp up in early 2026. Tesla writes… “Semi Factory construction continued in Q4 and recently completed roof and wall enclosure of the main building area. First truck builds are scheduled to start by the end of 2025, with the ramp beginning in early 2026.” In addition to this statement, Tesla also included an updated picture of the Semi Factory showing the plant's construction progress. At least from the outside, the plant looks almost completed and this is despite only breaking ground less than a year ago. With the factory building done, Tesla likely has ample time for interior work, tooling, and the start of production, which is scheduled for the end of 2025. This update has been a long time coming. Tesla showed off the semi back in 2017, and the company said production would start in 2020. The Semi is currently five years behind schedule; however, with the factory construction proceeding at breakneck speed, the vehicle finally appears to be ready for prime time. Overall, it’s interesting that Musk doesn’t think $10 billion is a big deal these days. However, please let me know what you think in the comments. Share your ideas by clicking the “Add new comment” button below. Also, visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.