Swedish freight technology company Einride is making one of the largest bets yet on electric heavy trucking, striking an agreement to add 500 Tesla Semis to its fleet and offer them as a service to shippers including Amazon. The vehicles will be introduced in phases over the next two years, beginning in September, and will operate across key U.S. freight corridors.

The move positions Einride as a major early customer for Tesla’s long-delayed electric big rig, which was first unveiled as a concept in 2017. After years of setbacks tied to the pandemic and battery supply constraints, Tesla only recently began building the Semi on a high-volume line at its Nevada factory. The company has acknowledged that true mass production still hinges on ramping output of its 4680 battery cells.

Einride plans to integrate every Tesla Semi into its Saga AI platform, a software suite that orchestrates routing, charging, and utilization across the company’s electric and autonomous fleets. By treating the trucks as part of a managed service rather than assets that customers must buy and operate themselves, Einride aims to lower the barrier to adopting zero-emission freight.

Chief executive Roozbeh Charli described the Tesla deal as evidence that Einride can now execute at the scale demanded by global shippers. The 500-truck order will roughly triple the company’s existing fleet of about 200 heavy-duty electric trucks, which already serve brands such as Heineken and PepsiCo. Einride is using third-party financing to fund the purchase, preserving capital while rapidly expanding capacity.

The new Semis will be deployed across North America, extending Einride’s electric freight network through high-volume lanes in California, Georgia, New Jersey, and Texas. The company says the added capacity could help convert roughly $800 million in potential long-term annual recurring revenue under existing business plans with shippers into realized revenue.

Einride has spent a decade building a vertically integrated model that combines its own electric trucks, autonomous cabless “pods,” charging infrastructure, and the Saga AI control layer. Recent moves include a deal with Amazon to supply 75 heavy-duty electric trucks and charging at multiple U.S. sites, as well as the acquisition of charging specialist Flipturn to tighten control over energy management.

If Tesla can deliver the Semis on schedule, the partnership could become a pivotal test of whether large-scale electric trucking can compete with diesel on cost, reliability, and operational complexity across some of the world’s busiest freight routes.