Tesla Set To Finally Deliver Long-Delayed EV Trucks To Pepsi

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Thursday that production of its Semi truck has begun and deliveries to one customer, Pepsi, will occur in December, Matt McFarland and Chris Isidore reported for CNN Business.

Photo Insert: Production delays are common at Tesla.

Pepsi said in a statement Friday that the trucks will support its Frito-Lay plant in Modesto California, and its Pepsi beverage plant in Sacramento. Neither Musk nor Pepsi said how many trucks would be delivered.

“We are looking forward to this next step in our PepsiCo Positive journey and will provide more details once we have taken delivery,” PepsiCo spokesperson Andrea Foote said, referring to the company’s sustainability efforts.

Tesla first announced the Semi in November 2017 and production was said to begin in 2019. Companies like Walmart, FedEx, Anheuser-Busch, City Furniture, and J.B. Hunt Transport Services have claimed they have made reservations.

Production delays are common at Tesla. Its Cybertruck production was announced to begin in 2021 but has been pushed back to next year, and the second generation of Tesla Roadster, which was originally announced at the same event as the Semi, was supposed to go into production in 2020 but has been pushed back to 2023 at the earliest.

Musk reiterated Thursday that the Semi will have a range of 500 miles. Electric trucks are well-suited for some routes, but their heavyweight compared to diesel and fuel cell trucks can force businesses to scale back heavy loads.

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