PepsiCo‘s top supply chain executive has confirmed that the soft drink company aims to deploy 100 Tesla Semi trucks in 2023, according to Reuters.
Notably, the Tesla Semi trucks will be used by PepsiCo for deliveries and short-distance routes, including those to Walmart and Kroger.
Plans
As per Pepsi Vice President Mike O’Connell’s interview with Reuters, the company intends to acquire the electric trucks “outright” and renovate its factories to construct Tesla Megacharger stalls. That said, the company’s sites in Modesto and Sacramento will each receive four 750-kilowatt Megachargers.
Remarkably, this EV charging infrastructure project will be supported by a California state grant worth $15.4 million and a federal subsidy per vehicle of $40,000.
“It’s a great starting point to electrify. Like any early technology, the incentives help us build out the program, There’s lots of development.”
Vice President Mike O’Connell
Deployment strategy
Furthermore, PepsiCo intends to distribute the trucks between the Frito-Lay and soda divisions. As of now, the company has disclosed that it would dispatch 36 Tesla Semi trucks to Frito-Lay, with 15 of them going to Modesto and 21 going to Sacramento.
O’Connell estimates that Pepsi can go 425 miles using Frito-Lay products and will undertake shorter journeys using loads of 100 miles of soda. As per O’Connel, this trip would decrease Tesla Semi’s battery by about 20%, but it will only take 35-45 minutes to recharge. Meanwhile, the Tesla Semi trucks are estimated to go only 100 miles for heavier soda loads.
“Dragging a trailer full of chips around is not the most intense, tough ask. I still believe that Tesla has an awful lot to prove to the broader commercial vehicle marketplace.”
Oliver Dixon, Guidehouse’s senior analyst
Notably, PepsiCo has placed a second order for 300-mile Tesla Semis in addition to the 500-mile models initially ordered. The company will gradually update its fleet once the 300-mile versions are received.
However, PepsiCo has yet to determine where the rest of the Tesla Semis would be deployed. Meanwhile, it is confirmed that Pepsi will begin rolling out Tesla Semis to its plants in the Central US when the rollout in California is finished, followed by the East Coast.
Price
Unfortunately, PepsiCo refused to disclose the cost of the Tesla Semi trucks. However, Plante Moran’s Mark Barrott estimated that the 500-mile range Tesla Semi’s price might be higher than its counterparts’ $230,000 to $240,000 pricing. He explained that the Semi offers twice the size of the battery pack at 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) than most of its counterparts.
It would be exciting to see how the Tesla Semi might revolutionize cargo haulage. Tesla Semi offers a wide range of innovative technology that could greatly increase Tesla’s profitability.
