ONTARIO, California, March 9, 2026, 09:19 PDT
Tesla’s first Megacharger location serving Semi customers in Southern California is now live, the company’s Tesla Semi account posted on Sunday. The new site in Ontario marks the most visible charging buildout for the long-delayed truck program so far.
This shift comes at a critical juncture for Tesla, with the company under pressure to prove it can expand outside its mainstay EVs as demand softens. Back in January, Tesla reported a roughly 3% drop in 2025 revenue—marking its first year-over-year decline. On top of that, its current Semi webpage indicates deliveries are now penciled in for 2026, pointing to a wider launch that’s still some way off.
Tesla’s Megacharger isn’t designed for regular cars—it’s built for big rigs, pushing out megawatt-level charging. The company claims the Semi can handle up to 1.2 megawatts, picking up as much as 60% of its range in a 30-minute stop. Long-range versions? Roughly 500 miles between charges.
Located at 4265 E Guasti Road in Ontario, east of Los Angeles, the site sits in one of Southern California’s freight corridors. According to trade publications, the charger right now shows a 750-kilowatt rating—short of Tesla’s touted 1.2-megawatt maximum.
Infrastructure remains the big hurdle. “It’s a system,” PepsiCo Chief Sustainability Officer Jim Andrew told Reuters last year—vehicles, service, and the right amount of power all need to align before fleets can make the leap to electrification at scale. Reuters
Pilot announced back in January that it’s aiming to break ground on Tesla Semi charging sites at some of its travel centers across California, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas in the first half of 2026. Each site is expected to feature four to eight stalls, all running on Tesla’s V4 cabinet setup and capable of delivering up to 1.2 megawatts per stall, according to Pilot.
While Tesla faced setbacks, competitors pressed ahead. By 2024, Daimler Truck’s Freightliner eCascadia had found a place in over 55 fleets, Reuters reported. Volvo, on its end, rolled out the FH Electric truck with a range reaching up to 600 km (373 miles). Daimler Truck also kicked off a semi-public charging network in Germany.
Still, one location doesn’t make a network. Tesla hasn’t disclosed how many customer Semis are actually running routes, and with the Ontario charger showing a 750-kW output, the rollout could be piecemeal—well below the Semi’s full spec for now.
Tesla delivered the first batch of Semi trucks to PepsiCo at the tail end of 2022. But by April 2024, Reuters found PepsiCo was operating just 36 out of the 100 Semis it had ordered, as other customers shifted to competing electric trucks during the wait. The year before, Reuters also noted that Tesla was bringing on over 1,000 new hires in Nevada to boost production of the Semi.
The Ontario debut marks a modest but tangible move in Tesla’s long-promised program—finally being put into action after years of talk. Up next: wider customer deliveries expected in 2026, plus charging stations slated for rollout in several U.S. states.
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