January 28, 2021 Tesla Semi on pace for 2021 debut The Tesla Semi is still on track for 2021 production despite the battery shortages the company is facing.Tesla's oft-delayed battery-electric autonomous Semi is still set for 2021 production, the company noted in its earnings release Wednesday, despite company founder and CEO Elon Musk noting that "it would not make sense for us to do the Semi right now" due to a shortage of battery cells. “The main reason we have not accelerated new products – like, for example, Tesla Semi – is that we simply don’t have enough cells for it,” he said. “If we were to make the Semi right now, and we could easily go into production with the Semi right now, but we would not have enough cells for it.”