The long-awaited heavy-duty Tesla Semi trucks were delivered to PepsiCo on Thursday. At the “Semi Delivery Event” at Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory in the US, Tesla handed over the first production version of the Semi to Pepsi. In December 2017 when Semi was first revealed, Pepsi ordered 100 trucks when the auto-maker, but due to delays, it can only receive the first production units now.
At the event at Tesla’s Nevada plant, company CEO Elon Musk said the battery-powered, long-haul truck would reduce highway emissions, outperform current diesel models on power and safety, and spin off a fast-charging technology Tesla would use in its upcoming Cybertruck pickup. “If you’re a trucker and you want the most badass rig on the road, this is it,” Musk said.
At the event, one can see at least five Semis with PepsiCo and Frito-Lay branding. Pepsi previously shared plans to use at least 15 of the Tesla Semis to turn its Modesto, California Frito-Lay site into a zero-emissions facility.
Talking about the truck, Semi has a 1MW (Megawatt-hour) battery pack. The vehicle is capable of reaching 0 to 60 in 20 seconds, while fully loaded. They can tow up to 80,000 pounds (approx. 36,250 Kg) and can recharge batteries up to 80% in just 30 minutes. The Semi comes with two model-3 displays for the driver and enhanced features like Autopilot, Jackknife mitigation, blind-spot sensors, and support data logs for fleet management.
When the Semi was launched in 2017, Tesla took orders and estimated the shipping in 2019. At launch, the Semi had a retail price of $150,000 for the 300-mile (approx. 480 Km) version and $180,000 for the 500-mile (approx. 800 Km) version. Tesla said its vehicles could operate 20 percent more efficiently and save up to $250,000 over a million miles, compared to diesel trucks. However, due to delays, some because of the pandemic and supply chain problems, the shipment got postponed to 2021. In July 2021, the date was pushed back extending the shipping to 2022.
