LOS ANGELES: US food, snack and beverage giant PepsiCo Inc has received the first heavy-duty electric truck, dubbed the Semi, from Tesla Inc.
Tesla delivered its first Semi to PepsiCo during an event at its Nevada Gigafactory.
The delivery of 800-kilometre-range fully electric Semi truck comes five years after the launch of the truck’s prototype in 2017.
During Thursday night’s Semi delivery event at Tesla’s Sparks,Nevada, factory, chief executive Elon Musk, with Dan Priestly, the senior manager for Semi truck engineering, kicked off deliveries.
The event showcased at least five Tesla Semi electric trucks, of which three were white trucks, one with Pepsi and one with its snack foods unit Frito-Lays branding.
Tesla’s all-electric class 8 truck, Tesla Semi, was unveiled in 2017,with a plan to start production as soon as 2019. However, the plans got delayed for years due to various reasons.
In 2020, Musk had said that Tesla’s own battery cells, which were under development, would not reach high-volume production until 2022,and would eventually affect the Cybertruck, Semi, and Roadster programmes.
In April this year, the company said it plans to release the Tesla Semi EV in 2023, along with its long-awaited electric pick-up Cybertruck.
However, in August, Musk tweeted that Tesla 800-kilometre-range Semitruck will start shipping this year, while Cybertruck will start shipping next year.
In early October, Musk announced that the luxury electric vehiclemaker has started the production of Tesla Semi electric trucks, and the first delivery will be to food and beverages giant Pepsico starting December 1.
In 2017, Tesla had said the 300-mile range version of the Semi would cost $150,000, and the 500-mile version $180,000, but Tesla’s passenger electric vehicle prices have increased sharply since then.
Robyn Denholm, chair of Tesla, recently said the automaker might produce 100 Semis this year. Musk has said Tesla would aim to produce 50,000 of the trucks in 2024.
PepsiCo, which completed its first cargo run with the Tesla truck to deliver snacks for those attending the Nevada launch event, had ordered 100 trucks in 2017.
Brewer Anheuser-Busch, United Parcel Service Inc and Walmart Inc were among other companies that had reserved the Semi. Tesla did not provide details on orders or deliveries to customers, nor an estimate on what the total cost of ownership for future buyers would be compared to diesel alternatives.
