The days of having a Tesla 18-wheeler are close. PepsiCo, the maker of Lays, Cheetos, many sodas and more, expects their first electric, battery-powered trucks by the end of the year. Tesla is known for missed deadlines and has also avoided commenting on the specifics of PepsiCo’s pre-order. Although the end of the year is the predicted date, Elon Musk hopes to have deliverables to PepsiCo before then.
PepsiCo CEO, Ramon Laguarta, said that this is in efforts to reduce emissions that are tied to transportation. The planet is already in a vulnerable state, and trucks are a large part of our transportation. Specifically for PepsiCo, transportation is about 10% of their overall gas emissions, so having multiple kinds of solutions is important. PepsiCo purchases their first electric trucks from Tesla and will be getting their deliverables, as said by Elon Musk, by Q4 of this year. They have preordered 100 Tesla Semis.
Each semi can cost anywhere between $150,000 and $180,000 with the promise of saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in fueling costs. Since PepsiCo made their pre-order, it has also attracted Walmart, FedEx, and Anheuser-Busch to do the same.
