On December 1, Tesla delivered its first official production version of the Semi to PepsiCo at its “Semi Delivery Event” in Nevada Gigafactory. The beverage manufacturer has placed a total order for 100 of the highly-awaited class 8 electric trucks, as per Engadget.
At least five Tesla Semis with PepsiCo and Frito-Lay branding were visible at the event. PepsiCo previously disclosed plans to employ at least 15 Tesla Semis to make its Frito-Lay facility in Modesto, California, an emissions-free facility.
Notably, the successful delivery transpired five years after CEO Elon Musk made the initial announcement of the electric tractor-trailer.
Tesla Semi
Pricing
In retrospect, the Tesla Semi was first unveiled in 2017. It was expected to sell for $150,000 and $180,000 for the 300- and 500-mile versions, correspondingly.
Tesla claims the Semi can function 20% more effectively for 2kWh per mile. It can also “save up to $250,000 over the million-mile life of the Semi.” These said, the high cost of the Semi could offset the $60k cost of a typical diesel cab.
Technical details
CEO Musk explained at the vehicle’s launch that each rig is “built like a bullet.” The Tesla Semi would have a huge 1MW battery pack installed. Since Semis can carry up to 80,000 pounds at a time, it is said to deliver a 20-second 0-60 time and a 30-minute spent-to-80% charge time.
“It can basically pull 82,000 pounds at cruise, and the only thing that’s doing it is a tiny little motor on one axle.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk
Furthermore, Enhanced Autopilot capabilities, jackknife-mitigation systems, blind-spot sensors, and data logging for fleet management are also installed on the Semis.
Delays
It is worth noting that the reservations for the Tesla Semi started in 2017. At the time, Musk expected that deliveries would start in 2019. However, Tesla had formally postponed that delivery date to 2021 in April 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic-related production setbacks and supply chain problems.
Only two months later, in May 2020, Musk issued an internal email to the entire company:
“It’s time to go all out and bring the Tesla Semi to volume production. It’s been in limited production so far, which has allowed us to improve many aspects of the design.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk
He reiterated in the same email that Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory would serve as the production site.
However, in July 2021, the delivery date was delayed again to 2022. The automaker reasoned that it is due to continuous processor constraints worldwide and its own pandemic-limited battery production capacity for the new 4680 type cells.
“We believe we remain on track to build our first Model Y vehicles in Berlin and Austin in 2021. The pace of the respective production ramps will be influenced by the successful introduction of many new product and manufacturing technologies, ongoing supply-chain-related challenges and regional permitting.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk during the company’s Q2 2021 investor call
Tesla resumed taking bookings with a $20,000 deposit starting in May of this year.
“To better focus on these factories, and due to the limited availability of battery cells and global supply chain challenges, we have shifted the launch of the Semi truck program to 2022.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk
The Semi Delivery Event demonstrated that Tesla had kept several prior 2017 promises. By utilizing the Semis to move items between Tesla plants and suppliers, the American automaker will be able to gather additional data to improve the Semi in the future.
