PepsiCo plans to deploy 100 Tesla Semi heavy-duty trucks across the United States in 2023, when it will start shipping to customers such as Walmart and Kroger, supply chain executives told Reuters on Friday local time.
PepsiCo Vice President Mike O’Connell said in an interview that the company is buying the big trucks “outright” and upgrading its factories, including installing four 750-kilowatt Tesla charging stations at its Modesto and Sacramento facilities, with a $15.4 million California state grant and $40,000 federal subsidy per vehicle.
“It’s a great starting point for electrification,” said O’Connell, who oversees the transportation team that oversees the company’s operations. “Like all early technology, these incentives have helped us build this project.”
PepsiCo ordered the Semi all-electric semi truck in 2017, and they were the first company to experiment with the Semi. In addition to Pepsi, UPS and food delivery company Sysco have also pre-ordered the truck, while retailer Walmart Inc. is already testing alternatives.
According to reports, PepsiCo is currently deploying 36 Tesla Smi electric trucks, including 15 in Modesto and 21 in Sacramento.
All PepsiCo Semis currently have a range of 500 miles (805 kilometers). O’Connell added that he didn’t know when Tesla would start deploying the 300-mile (480-kilometer) model. However, he said that when Tesla starts producing (such models), PepsiCo will “will rotate them” into its fleet.
Pepsi declined to share details about the car, and Tesla has remained mum on its pricing. Mark Barrott of consulting firm Plante Moran said rival cars cost between $230,000 and $240,000. The 500-mile-range Tesla Semi could be priced higher because its 1,000-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery pack is about twice the size of many competitors, he added.
“We’ve had those trucks drive a million miles over seven years,” O’Connell said. The operating costs pay off over time. They declined to disclose the exact weight of the Semi truck, another closely guarded secret from Tesla.
O’Connell said the next step for the company is to deploy the Semi in the central U.S. first, and then the East Coast. Tesla didn’t help pay for the trucks’ giant chargers, but provided design and engineering services for the facilities, which are complete with solar and battery storage systems, he said.
O’Connell said driving 425 miles (684 kilometers) with the Frito-Lay product would bring the Semi’s battery down to about 20 percent, and recharging takes about 35 to 45 minutes.
