Tesla is apparently short of its Semi truck deliveries to its key customer PepsiCo, as its rivals use competing electric trucks.
PepsiCo’s Semi orders
According to Reuters, the American multinational food giant initially paid Tesla for 100 units of Semi electric trucks in 2017.
PepsiCo aims to utilize the Tesla Semis to haul its Cheetos, Lays potato chips, and Pepsi soft drinks to its retailers.
However, PepsiCo and one of its executives with knowledge of the matter said that the company was only operating 36 Tesla Semi as of today. It indicates a notable shortage of 64 units of the Musk-led company’s promised 100 units.
Other waiting customers
Other would-be Tesla Semi customers are still reportedly waiting for the Musk-led company’s deliveries, including food distributor Sysco, UPS, Schneider National, and Walmart Canada.
Unfortunately for Tesla, these companies have started to seek other electric truck makers’ products to make up for the Tesla Semi’s shortage. As per the report, they are shifting to Daimler Truck’s electric truck models. These four companies have reportedly deployed dozens of eCascadia electric trucks on the road.
The Tesla Semi’s delivery struggle comes amid waning sales growth due to slower-than-expected demand. In effect, the company had to launch price cuts and compromise its margins.
Government incentives
The Biden Administration offers significant subsidies to companies with electric truck fleets to offset their purchases and encourage more businesses to adopt clean vehicles for hauling and deliveries.
For instance, PepsiCo gained more than $20 million in government subsidies to offset its expenditures in buying 32 of the 100 Tesla Semis it orders. It also secured federal incentives worth $40,000 per unit.
The shortage of Tesla Semi supply for PepsiCo’s electric truck fleet highlights the company’s challenges in its venture to become a major player in the electric truck segment.
In hindsight, Tesla had stated it would have started the production of the Semi by 2019. CEO Musk also announced targets in October 2022 to produce a total of 50,000 Semis in 2024. However, the Tesla boss announced at an energy conference in June last year that “there just weren’t enough batteries” to hit the Semi’s volume production.
The Tesla Semi delivery delay impedes PepsiCo’s goal to cut carbon emissions in its operations. Nonetheless, the 500-mile Semi electric truck remains more dominant than Daimler’s 230-mile eCascadia models. The challenge remains on how Tesla would kick off the Semi’s mass production to meet the large demand for the electric truck.
