Pepsi Buys 100 Tesla Trucks: Do They 'Have the Right One, Baby?'

by Matt Posky

Published: December 12th, 2017

pepsi buys 100 tesla trucks do they have the right one baby

PepsiCo nearly doubled the number of new electric big rigs Tesla will have to manufacture after reserving 100 units. Adding to the list of orders by more than a dozen companies, including other massive companies like Wal-Mart and Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi is helping Tesla make a case for EVs with a fixation on freight.

Last year, the food brand stated it wanted to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent by 2030. With a fleet of over 10,000 units, semi trucks might be a good place to seek improvements. Granted, depending upon how it’s generated, pulling energy from the grid isn’t a perfect solution. But, at that point, it’s someone else’s problem.

Like the rest of the companies reserving Tesla’s truck, this is something of a trial run. Reuters reported that PepsiCo intends to deploy the semis for shipments between manufacturing and distribution facilities and to retailers within the 500-mile range promised by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Presumably, if everything goes well, the company will order more. Mike O‘Connell, senior director of North American supply chain for PepsiCo subsidiary Frito-Lay, says he sees a wide range of applications for lighter loads (like chips) or shorter shipments of beverages.

However, Pepsi will have to wait before it can begin its field research and discover if Tesla’s truck was “ the right one, baby.” Musk doesn’t expect the electric rigs to enter into production until 2019.

O‘Connell didn’t specify how much PepsiCo paid to reserve the vehicles, when it placed its pre-orders, or whether it plans to lease the semis or purchase them. Tesla initially asked $5,000 per truck for pre-orders but Reuters claims the amount had risen to around $20,000 more recently.

[Image: Tesla Motors]

#CorporateEmissions #ElectricBigRig #ElectricTrucks #ElectricVehicles #EVs #GoingGreen #PepsiCo #TeslaMotors

Matt Posky

Consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulations. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, he has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed about the automotive sector by national broadcasts, participated in a few amateur rallying events, and driven more rental cars than anyone ever should. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and learned to drive by twelve. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer and motorcycles.

More by Matt Posky

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 24 comments

CKNSLS Sierra SLT on Dec 12, 2017

So-all these deposits for this "VAPOR-WARE" semi will help keep Tesla afloat a little while longer. What makes anybody think if they can't produce the Model 3 they will be able to produce a number of Semis? The pyramid continues... (queue SCE)

Like Reply
Tylanner on Dec 12, 2017

Trucking is cool again...

Like Reply

Recent Comments

IBx1 An acquisition only means one thing and that is ruin
Carson D I saw a man driving a black Eos with the top down yesterday. I recall thinking that I don't want to be the sort of person who judges a man for driving a car that might be fun while seeming overtly feminine, but my initial reaction was thinking that my neighbor who won an Eos in a golf tournament only to let it rot in his garage for over a decade before selling it to a woman who'd just wrecked one did the right thing.
Slavuta Model 3 cost $39K. The battery in is is about $13K. If you deduct cost of battery, the car costs $26K, which is normal for a car with the engine and transmission and all other modules. Its the fuel container here that makes it expensive. For model 3 - no. For Models S,X - may be. Can model 3 internals be used in a bigger car? Probably. What's stopping Tesla? Honda is already doing it. All their cars use same engine and probably transmission too - 1.5L T. Smart move. Buy Accord, pay thousands more than Civic and get same thing but the size.
MaintenanceCosts If the top works, it’s a minor miracle. If the top doesn’t work, this is nothing more than a GTI with a weaker structure and 600 pounds of permanent ballast.
SCE to AUX Anybody can make a cheap EV, but will it have the specs people want? Tesla is best positioned to do it, but achieving good specs could turn their profits negative.