What you need to know:
- Uber Freight partners with Tesla to launch the first Dedicated EV Fleet Accelerator, aiming to accelerate electric semi-truck adoption in the freight industry.
- The program provides subsidized Tesla Semi trucks and guaranteed freight through Uber Freight, helping fleets reduce electric truck upfront costs and improve revenue predictability.
- A two-month Tesla Semi pilot program covered over 12,000 miles, showing strong EV energy efficiency and supporting a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) compared to diesel.
- With backing from PepsiCo, DHL, and a Tesla Semi Gigafactory launching in 2026, the push for long-haul electric trucking is gaining serious industry momentum.
Uber Freight is partnering with Tesla and its upcoming Semi to launch the first Dedicated EV Fleet Accelerator program, Uber announced today.
Could this groundbreaking program be the missing piece to help bring battery-electric Class 8 commercial trucking into the mainstream? It might sound ambitious, but remember—few believed a young Elon Musk in 2008 as Tesla CEO would transform the global passenger vehicle industry in under a decade.
This new partnership "is designed to make electric freight more affordable and accessible by addressing key adoption barriers."
Uber Freight will work with fleet partners to navigate the many EV adoption challenges. Though electric Class 8 trucks offers benefits to the total cost of ownership, high upfront costs remain the main barrier. Compared to traditional diesel Class 8 rigs, electric semis can cost nearly twice as much, instantly making them unaffordable for many fleets. However, growing numbers of fleets have shown interest in making the switch to electrification but they must have affordable, growth-friendly paths to do so.
How the program works
Uber Freight's Dedicated EV Fleet Accelerator Program offers fleets subsidized access to electrification, backed by reliable demand. It tackles key EV adoption challenges: upfront cost, predictability, and ROI. Here's how it works:
- Subsidized Price: Fleets purchasing Tesla Semis through this program will receive a subsidy on the purchase price.
- Predictable Growth: Fleets will integrate their Tesla Semis into Uber Freight’s dedicated solutions for shippers for a pre-determined period. This creates an opportunity for carriers to forecast revenue with confidence, while shippers gain consistent access to reliable, zero-emission capacity.
- Optimize Utilization: Uber Freight taps into its extensive freight network to match carriers with consistent, high-quality freight from our strong shipper base—helping ensure the addition of these Tesla Semis stay fully utilized and carriers see dedicated, real, measurable returns from the start.
Tesla will work directly with fleets to get a better understanding of their tech specs based on their operations. With discounted pricing, savings from eliminating diesel fuel and combustion engine maintenance begin immediately, the companies claim. Like passenger EVs, electrified semis simply have fewer moving parts, making them cheaper to maintain in the long-run as well.
Uber Freight
As a recap, the Tesla Semi has up to 500 miles of range, 1.2 MW fast charging, and 45,000–47,000 lbs. payload capacity—all with a projected lower TCO than diesel.
[Related: Tesla Semi program manager gives most detailed update on its BEV to date]
Uber pilot programs
Uber Freight launched a two-month pilot program with a "select group of carriers," who all used Tesla Semis (obviously), in order to gather essential insight from the field.
All told, more than 394 driving time hours were put in, covering 12,377 miles. The results were impressive: an average energy consumption of 1.72 kWh per mile and 60 hours of total charge time.
PepsiCo and DHL
PepsiCo and DHL have already partnered with Tesla to run their own Semi pilot programs. Both companies reported solid results, with DHL declaring the Semi being "ready for prime time."
Tesla Semi manufacturing is due to take place at a dedicated Nevada Gigafactory, which is due to begin Semi series production in 2026 after years of delays.
[Related: Tesla Semi production could be delayed by Trump's tariffs]
Since the Tesla Semi's 2017 introduction, legacy OEMs such as Freightliner, Kenworth, Peterbilt, and Volvo have all launched their own battery-electric Class 8 semis. Despite this, long-haul battery-electric trucking has not spread nationwide.
Uber Freight and Tesla aim to change that.
