Led by entrepreneurial icon Elon Musk, Tesla appears poised to launch a major initiative into the EV semi-truck landscape that has other manufacturers ramping up their efforts.
PepsiCo pre-ordered 100 Tesla “Founder Series” trucks with the expectation the beverage giant would add 15 EVs to its fleet of more than 36,000 commercial motor vehicles by year’s end.
“Transportation is about 10 percent of our overall gas emissions, so it’s important. And we’re working on different solutions,” PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta reportedly said. “We replace our fleet regularly, every ten years more or less…and we’re already starting to buy electric trucks actually from Tesla.”
Supply chain disruptions delayed the production of the necessary 4680 battery cells, pushing mass production into 2022. But setbacks have not tamped down interest in companies pre-ordering Tesla EV rigs. Karat Packaging, a specialty distributor and manufacturer of environmentally friendly products, recently announced it pre-ordered 10 semis.
“We are excited to incorporate alternative-fuel trucks into our fleet. This purchase represents our commitment to continue investing in environmentally friendly solutions,” Karat CEO Alan Yu reportedly said.
Tesla enjoys a high media profile that continues to garner splashy headlines when it advances products. The news focus on working with Tesla has competitors scrambling to produce heavy-duty commercial vehicles before Musk secures a majority of the market share.
Mack recently launched an EV version of its popular diesel-fueled LR model. The EV version sports a copper-colored Bulldog hood ornament to denote the electric drivetrain. The organization is also offering perks such as the Mack Ultra Service Agreement. The package reportedly includes maintenance, towing, repairs, and a battery warranty designed to attract fleets and owner-operators to the latest Mack brand.
American electric truck startup Nikola recently delivered its first vehicles to Total Transportation Services that typically works out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The Tre BEV model reportedly enjoys a 350-mile range, delivers upwards of 645 horsepower, and has a top-end speed of 75 mph. Nikola indicates the EV can charge up from 10 to 80 percent in two hours. With Tesla showing signs it will surge in the semi landscape after selling more than 53 percent of electric passenger vehicles in the U.S., Nikola has quickly made in-roads.
Nikola recently announce that Heniff Transportation Systems plans to acquire 10 Nikola Tre BEV trucks by the end of the 2022 second quarter and is mulling another 90 if delivery and the EVs run smoothly. Volvo and Daimler rank among the earliest producers of EV semis and box trucks. Although the car and truck makers have steadily secured orders, Tesla continues to fascinate the general public. Although Tesla dominates the U.S electric car market, Elon Musk can expect fierce competition in the commercial motor vehicle manufacturing sector.
Sources: bizjournals.com, cnbc.com
Still mixed signals on all this. Many problems with ‘the numbers’. 10%to80% charge up in 2 hrs. That’s way less than the half hour charge time tesla said when musk rolled his e-trucks out in grand fashion a couple of years ago. 2 hrs! That’s brutal!. 350 mile range? That’s no good. Inner city local dispatch,maybe. That’s about it. The biggest issue,one tesla and others are steering very clear of,the weight of these things. What about gvw? The battery packs in these things are extreme. Back down payload or disregard gvw regs and demo the public roadways.