PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said that Tesla is expected to deliver the Semi electric truck to it in the fourth quarter, despite this electric car manufacturer previously stated that delivery was delayed until next year.
Although Tesla has made progress in the small-batch production of electric trucks, the company recently confirmed that Semi’s customer deliveries have been delayed until next year. Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained the reason and said that this was due to the limited supply of batteries.
Now, as one of the largest buyers of Tesla electric trucks, PepsiCo expects Tesla to ship before the end of the year. La Guarda said the trucks are part of the company’s efforts to reduce transportation-related carbon emissions. He said: “Traffic emissions account for about 10% of our total greenhouse gas emissions, so reducing emissions is very important, and we are studying different solutions.”
Stay tuned with us via Telegram
La Guarda said that PepsiCo expects Tesla to deliver Semi in the fourth quarter: “We have already started buying electric trucks from Tesla. We don’t want to sell to anyone, but this is the brand we currently use. The first delivery was received in the fourth quarter of this year.”
Soon after the Tesla electric truck debuted at the end of 2017, PepsiCo announced that it had ordered 100 Semi. Initially, Tesla planned to start delivering trucks in 2020, but the deadline has been delayed several times.
In July of this year, Tesla said that due to limited battery supply and other supply chain challenges, the company has postponed the delivery date of Semi to 2022.
PepsiCo did not immediately respond to questions about how many Semi-trucks it will receive in 2021. But in March of this year, the company said that it plans to receive 15 electric trucks by the end of the year, but did not specify the manufacturer.
However, PepsiCo plans to use the 15 trucks ordered from Tesla for a project to transform its factory in Frito-Lay Modesto, California into a zero-emission facility.
The cost of Semi is between US$150,000 and US$180,000. Over time, it can save shippers hundreds of thousands of dollars in cost. This model also attracted orders from companies such as Wal-Mart, FedEx, and beer giant Anheuser-Busch. Last month, the car rental company Hertz stated that it would order 100,000 Tesla cars by the end of 2022.
