Tesla on Thursday announced that the electric vehicle maker was beginning deliveries of its Semi trucks to customers this week.
Executives at Tesla’s plant in Sparks, Nevada, made the announcement that the first customers will take delivery of the electric big rigs about nine years after CEO Elon Musk first announced the company’s plans to develop the long-haul freight trucks.
The Semi aims to open a new market for Tesla, which has long been known for its EV sedans and SUVs, by creating an electric option for commercial freight haulers.
The announcement comes at a time when diesel prices have surged to record highs, raising costs on firms in the trucking industry.
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Tesla didn’t disclose its plans for production volumes of the Semi or its pricing at a webcast event held late Thursday at the plant, though it reiterated plans to build 50,000 Semis a year at the Nevada facility.
Elon Musk wasn’t in attendance at the event but said in a recorded video message that, “I’d recommend placing more orders if you haven’t already, but the waiting list is already pretty significant.
Several companies that have purchased the Semi – including PepsiCo, DHL and U.S. Foods – were in attendance at the Tesla event and were invited on stage, while trucks with their logos were shown outside.
The long-range variant of the Semi has a range of 500 miles with a single charge, as Tesla director of Semi truck engineering Dan Priestly said, those are “500 real-world miles. Our customers have validated it.” The standard version of the Semi has a shorter range of 325 miles on a single charge.
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Tesla and Musk first unveiled the Semi in 2017 and planned to start production in 2019, though it faced delays due to supply chain disruptions.
The first Semi was delivered to U.S. customers, including PepsiCo, in late 2022 – though those trucks were made on Tesla’s lower-volume pilot production lines.
The EV maker’s first truck rolled off the high-volume production line in April. While volume production was expected to start this year, Tesla has since adjusted that guidance to not explicitly state that it will reach high-volume production this year.
TESLA’S ELECTRIC SEMI-TRUCK TAKES ON DIESEL BIG RIG
Ticker Security Last Change Change % TSLA TESLA INC. 372.11 -5.83 -1.54%
Despite delays, competition and shifts in EV policy in the U.S., Tesla received a new order for 2,500 Semis from a coalition of major cargo-owning shipping companies – including Microsoft and PepsiCo, according to the nonprofit Catalyst Mobility. The group noted that figure is nearly double the existing fleet of electric Class 8 trucks.
Additionally, Swedish freight technology company Einride announced a deal last week to add 500 Semi trucks to its fleet.
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Costco on Thursday said it received $184 million in tariff refunds in the company’s fourth quarter, the majority of which was reinvested into lower pricing for members shopping at the retail giant’s warehouses.
The big box retailer said the lower pricing from tariff refunds was applied to a range of everyday items, including food and beverages, as well as other product categories.
Costco CEO Ron Vachris said on the company’s earnings call that the company “received some initial tariff refunds in the fourth quarter, and we reinvested some of these dollars to give value back to our members.
“This was predominantly through price reductions on a number of items in the second half of the quarter, including everyday items in produce, meat and beverages and some nonfood items such as home furnishings and hardware.”
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Costco CFO Gary Millerchip added that the company views the pricing reinvestments as “very much a giving value back to our members for the tariff refunds that we received.
“Our goal was to make sure that we spread those as we could to items that would have the most impact for members. … Quite a few everyday items were impacted.
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“We did also invest some dollars into a number of nonfood areas where tariffs would have had an impact on those items, in particular, when the IEEPA tariffs were originally introduced,” he added.
HOW SHOULD BUSINESSES APPROACH TARIFF REFUNDS?
Millerchip said Costco received $184 million in tariff refunds in the company’s fourth quarter, which consisted of $174 million in refunds and $10 million in interest.
He added that amount represents a little over one-third of the total tariff refunds that Costco expects to receive, adding the company had already received a similar amount of refunds in the first quarter.
“We intend to continue reinvesting the majority of the dollars we receive in increased member values. As tariff refunds and tariff refund reinvestments are nonrecurring items that will continue to impact our financial results in fiscal year 2027, we plan to provide a similar level of information about the net impact on future quarterly earnings calls,” Millerchip said.
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Ticker Security Last Change Change % COST COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP. 922.76 +26.29 +2.93%
Vachris was asked about the impact of tariffs on Costco’s offerings last year since the company had to remove a number of items from stores and replace them with other SKUs.
He said it “really was most impactful in the first, second quarter, died off a little bit in the third quarter that we got back to a little bit more normalcy.”

He puts the a– in “assistant.”
Online hornballs have been lusting over Meta’s new Muse assistant after the tech firm’s AI wizards gave it a NSFW makeover.
Dubbed Jolly, the avatar is the default mascot for Meta’s new Muse AI assistant, which carries out tasks on the user’s behalf from sending emails to booking travel.
The idea was to put an adorable face to the dystopian-sounding tech, distinguishing it from the more impersonal-seeming counterparts at Anthropic and other AI firms.
By using the newly-released Muse Charm, users can carry the roly-poly secretary — which evokes a cross between a Labubu and a Squeezy dumpling toy — wherever they go.
One can think of Jolly like a high-tech Tamagatchi but with one major caveat: It has noticeably more junk in the trunk.
At least that’s the iteration created by Alexandr Wang, head of Meta’s Superintelligence Labs, who rolled out a series of risqué, AI-generated memes in which it boasted substantial digital assets, Futurism reported.
Apparently, sex sells even when it comes to cutesy AI assistants.
In one snippet, Jolly is seen winking over its shoulder while aiming its digital derriere at the viewer. Another depicts the voluptuous virtual character in bed with two men in an apparent parody of the iconic three-way smooch scene in “Challengers” featuring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.
Wang also superimposed a cheeky pic of the too-hot bot over a still of singer Adam Levine’s notorious sexts in which he wrote, “holy f–k” and “that body of yours is absurd.”
“Some of y’all way too thirsty for muse,” Wang wrote, as if he wasn’t to blame for sexualizing the avatar.
The campaign seemed to do the trick with throngs of lecherous viewers fawning over the Muse mascot’s caboose.
“Muse is a thirst trap,” said one online ogler, while another wrote, “Muse OnlyFans around the corner I fear.”
“I’m basically logging into X every day to see the thicc muse posts,” gushed a third.
“I seriously can’t wait to get my hands on this,” declared one gawker.
Some even created other salacious memes of the well-endowed assistant, including a spoof of the infamous meme where a man ogles a woman while his girlfriend shoots him a death glare.
While Jolly’s randy glow-up might seem like a stretch, Meta released a new feature that allowed users to customize their Muse mascot’s appearance and even change its voice.
After this latest campaign, it wouldn’t be surprising if some attempted to max out its sex appeal.

Crocs is suing Five Below over a $7 pair of clogs, alleging the discount retailer copied elements of its footwear and infringed patents covering the charms used to decorate the shoes.
Crocs and its subsidiary, Jibbitz, filed the lawsuit Sept. 18 in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, where Crocs is based. The companies accuse Five Below of infringing trademarks and patents through its Juniors Charm Clog and related accessories, according to court documents.
At the center of the case are Five Below’s clogs, which Crocs says copy distinctive elements of its Classic Clog. The company alleges the shoes feature similarities including the arrangement of holes, trapezoid-shaped openings and a textured band. Crocs says those similarities could lead consumers to believe the Five Below shoes are affiliated with Crocs.
The lawsuit also takes aim at the charms sold with Five Below’s clogs. Jibbitz says the retailer’s charms infringe three patents covering systems for attaching decorative charms to footwear and other wearable products. Crocs also says Five Below’s Novelty Shoe Purse copies elements of the Classic Clog and a Crocs bag charm.
Crocs warned Five Below about the products
Crocs says it sent Five Below a demand letter March 4 detailing its intellectual property concerns. According to the lawsuit, Five Below acknowledged receiving the letter but continued selling the disputed products.
The legal complaint says Five Below was attempting to benefit from Crocs’ investment in its brand by selling similar-looking footwear at a lower price.
Five Below lists its Juniors Charm Clog for $7, according to its website, which currently shows all the variations out of stock online. Crocs’ Kids Classic Clog sells for $39.99, according to its website, while the company’s adult clogs generally cost between $50 and $65.
What Crocs wants from Five Below
Crocs and Jibbitz are asking for a jury trial and unspecified damages, including alleged lost profits. They also want a permanent injunction preventing Five Below from selling products that infringe their intellectual property.
The companies are seeking attorneys’ fees and the destruction of inventory they say infringes their rights, according to the lawsuit.
USA TODAY reached out to attorneys representing Crocs and Five Below for additional comment.
Five Below continues to expand
The lawsuit comes as Five Below continues to expand its retail footprint. The Philadelphia-based chain, which operates more than 2,000 stores in 46 states, is known for selling a range of products at $5 or less, but some items are priced beyond $5 dollars.
The company had opened 101 new stores as of August, while net sales increased more than 27% from the same period a year earlier, according to its latest earnings report.
Crocs, meanwhile, says it sells about 150 million pairs of shoes annually, according to Investopedia, and generates more than $4 billion in annual sales, according to a February 2025 press release.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT

Oil changes are getting more expensive, as the price of motor oil rises this year. But some drivers could feel the pinch more than others.
Tess Warner, who drives a Volkswagen, is dealing with the double burden of expensive diesel fuel and now rising synthetic oil costs.
“The last time I filled it up when it was about on empty, it was almost 80 bucks,” she said. “Everything’s going up, man.”
WATCH as customers and a shop explain how soaring oil prices are impacting drivers:
Motor oil shortage: Which oils are now hard to find
Some retailers, including Costco, are limiting how much motor oil customers can buy due to supply disruptions since the start of the Iran war.
Which vehicles are impacted?
The shortage primarily affects low-viscosity synthetic oils like 0W-8 and 0W-16, which are used in newer hybrid and fuel-efficient engines.
While all vehicles need oil, some are more dependent on specific synthetic blends and strict change schedules.
“If you’ve got a high-performance car or maybe a very demanding heavy-duty truck, those kinds of things, the oil is that much more critical to the engine’s long life and durability,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.
Robert Paffe, service manager at Dubwerx in Cincinnati, said synthetic oil prices have climbed sharply, 20% to 30% higher compared to June.
Paffe said some brands of synthetic blends required for the imported cars his shop services are completely unavailable, “We were told flat out ‘no’ that you can’t buy any,” he said.
Paffe said his shop has been able to find alternative brands for now. The shop placed a large order in June to secure supply through the end of the year.
“Probably around Christmas time we’ll start running into needing to get another order in,” he said — adding that the next order, “without a doubt is going to see an increase.”
What drivers can do now
Brauer offered some reassurance, noting that modern oil is more durable than it used to be and does not need to be changed every three months.
“If you’ve had your oil change recently, you’re in good shape,” he said.
For drivers approaching an oil change, Brauer said there is no need to stockpile, but if you know your car is due for an oil change in the next few months, he suggests planning ahead.
“Go out and secure the oil for the car, and then you’ve got it when that time comes,” he suggested.
Paffe said he expects shortages to persist as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East continue to affect oil refineries.
“Unfortunately, with one of the larger facilities being damaged overseas, that’s what’s causing the shortage with everybody,” he said.
If you know your vehicle requires synthetic oil, budget for higher oil change prices in the months ahead, so you are prepared and you don’t waste your money.
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