Tesla semi production starts pepsi first electric trucks
Tesla Semi is finally entering production, after years of delay. The news was announced by Elon Musk himself, mentioning that Pepsi will be the first Tesla semi-customer.
According to Musk’s tweet, Tesla started manufacturing its first ever all-electric semi-truck, 5 years after its reveal and 3 years later than the initially announced debut date. This announcement also comes as a surprise due to prior estimates stating that the truck’s production won’t start before 2023. Musk changed all that last August when he announced that the first deliveries will take place before the year’s end, and now confirming again the production start.
The production of the Tesla semi is currently taking place in a new production line built specifically for the electric truck near Tesla’s Gigafactory in Nevada. News about the new production line was already widespread months before this announcement. At the moment, Tesla expects a production rate of 5 units a week, a slow rate you may say, however, the EV giant plans to transfer the manufacturing operations to Gigafactory Texas, to have a much higher production capacity.
From Pepsi’s perspective, it must be refreshing to hear that the company will soon start receiving its long-awaited EV trucks; now the company will be able to take larger steps toward decarbonization.
In 2017 the company placed a huge order of 100 electric trucks, to renovate its transportation fleet and make it much cleaner. The first 15 units of the 100 were intended for Frito-Lay Modesto, California where PepsiCo wants to build a zero-emission facility, despite the delivery delays; Pepsi did its part by building adequate infrastructure at the site, including a Megacharger station.
For the beverage company, it’s not only about the environment; Tesla’s semi-truck is set to change the industrial transportation scene forever with its remarkably low maintenance cost; with a 500-mile range on a single charge, and less than 2 kWh per mile. At $0.20 per kWh, that’s a $0.40 cost of operation per mile. A long way from the $0.80 per mile required to operate a diesel truck.
Changing from diesel to electricity won’t change the fact that trucks are the most exposed vehicles to wear and tear. Daily use and long-distance travel will certainly take their toll on the truck, rapidly undermining its performance and resale value.
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