Tesla Semi Wins Top Gear’s 2027 Tech Award

Top Gear says the electric truck shows what Tesla can do at its best, while Supercar of the Year went to the Corvette ZR1X rather than the new Roadster.

Nehal Malik

October 29, 2026

The Tesla Semi has picked up some recognition from Top Gear. The electric truck won the TG Tech Award in Top Gear’s U.S. Car Awards 2027, with the publication praising it as an example of Tesla at its best.

“One thing is for sure: this is the version of Tesla we want to see. The version focused on making important vehicles that serve normal people brilliantly. Amid all the recent noise it’s become all too easy to forget what this company is capable of at its brilliant best. The Semi is a potent reminder,” Top Gear wrote.

A Refreshed Semi Built at Scale

The award comes as the Semi moves past its pilot phase. Tesla unveiled its refreshed Semi last fall in Standard Range and Long Range versions, featuring a Model Y-style light bar, up to 500 miles of range, and 1.2 MW peak charging.

Tesla Semi: Standard Range vs. Long Range

The first units rolled off Tesla’s new Nevada production lines earlier this spring. Tesla then inaugurated the 1.8 million-square-foot factory with a full event in September, where it showed a Semi charging from 0-60% in just 30 minutes on a Megacharger. The plant can build up to 50,000 trucks a year at scale, with every variant made on the same line, including the European version that starts deliveries in 2027.

The award also lands just days after an older Semi caught fire on a California highway without any collision. That truck was Tesla’s original Semi design, which has been running with fleets like PepsiCo since late 2022, and the cause hasn’t been confirmed.

No Supercar Award for the Roadster

Tesla’s new Roadster didn’t take home Top Gear’s Supercar of the Year award, which went to the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X instead.

That isn’t much of a surprise. As impressive as the Roadster’s reveal event was, with a sub-1-second 0-60 mph run and gravity-defying stunts, Tesla has only unveiled it so far. Production isn’t expected to start until 2028.

With the Semi now in high-volume production, it’ll be a while before the Roadster gets its turn, but it could easily be in the running for Supercar of the Year once it’s out on the road in a couple of years.