Tesla Semi Truck Delivered to PepsiCo After 3-Year Delay, Elon Musk Silent on Pricing, Availability

Tesla Semi is capable of charging at 1 megawatt and has liquid-cooling technology in the charging cable in an updated version of Tesla's Supercharger.

Tesla Semi Truck Delivered to PepsiCo After 3-Year Delay, Elon Musk Silent on Pricing, Availability

Photo Credit: Twitter/ Tesla

Tesla had initially set a production target for 2019 for the Semi

Highlights
  • Tesla will begin using the Semi to ship parts to its plant in Fremont
  • Tesla did not announce pricing for the Semi at the Thursday event
  • PepsiCo had ordered 100 trucks in 2017
Advertisement

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk delivered the company's first heavy-duty Semi on Thursday to PepsiCo without offering updated forecasts for the cargo-hauling truck's pricing or production plans.

Musk, who appeared onstage at an event at Tesla's Nevada plant, said the battery-powered, long-haul truck would reduce highway emissions, outperform existing diesel models on power and safety and spin-off a fast-charging technology Tesla would use in its upcoming Cybertruck pickup.

"If you're a trucker and you want the most badass rig on the road, this is it," Musk said, noting that it was five years since Tesla had announced it was developing the all-electric truck. Still, industry experts remain skeptical that battery electric trucks can take the strain of hauling hefty loads for hundreds of miles economically.

Tesla did not announce pricing for the Semi at the Thursday event, provide details on variants of the truck it had initially projected or supply a forecast for deliveries to PepsiCo or other customers. Tesla said it would begin using the Semi to ship parts to its plant in Fremont, California.

In 2017, Tesla had said the 300 mile range version of the Semi would cost $150,000 (roughly Rs. 1,21,76,500), and the 500 mile version $180,000 (roughly Rs. 1,4,611,200), but Tesla's passenger electric vehicle prices have increased sharply since then.

PepsiCo, which completed its first cargo run with the truck, had ordered 100 trucks in 2017.

Brewer Anheuser-Busch, United Parcel Service Inc and Walmart were among other companies that had reserved the Semi.

Musk said the Semi has been doing test runs between Tesla's Sparks, Nevada factory and its plant in Fremont, California. Tesla said it had completed a 500 mile drive on a single charge with a Semi weighing in at 81,000 pounds in total, without giving a breakdown of cargo weights.

'Not impressive'

Some observers voiced doubts about the presentation, which ended without Musk taking questions.

"Not very impressive - moving a cargo of chips (average weight per pack 52 grams) cannot in any way be said to be definitive proof of concept," said Oliver Dixon, senior analyst at consultancy Guidehouse.

Tesla had initially set a production target for 2019 for the Semi, which was first unveiled in 2017

The Semi is capable of charging at 1 megawatt and has liquid-cooling technology in the charging cable in an updated version of Tesla's Supercharger that will be made available to the Cybertruck, Musk said.

The Cybertruck is scheduled to go into production in 2023.

Tesla said other, future vehicles would use the powertrain technology developed for the Semi without providing details.

Musk said the Semi has three times the power of any diesel-powered truck and uses regenerative braking to improve efficiency.

In a slide displayed as part of Musk's presentation, Tesla showed an image of a future "robotaxi" in development with a mock-up of the future car covered under a tarp.

© Thomson Reuters 2022


Are the gaming-centric Asus ROG Phone 6 and 6 Pro worth the price jump? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Tesla Semi, Tesla, Cybertruck
BTC, ETH Prices Fall, Overall Crypto Market Valuation Drops by 1.4 Percent Amid Crypto Winter
FTX Collapse: US Authorities Reportedly Approach Investors for Information on FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »