Musk says Pepsi will receive Tesla’s first Semi trucks in December
Oct 6 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) will start production of semi-electric commercial trucks and PepsiCo Inc will receive the first deliveries on Dec. 1, the electric carmaker’s chief Elon Musk tweeted on Thursday.
When Musk unveiled the prototype of the futuristic battery-powered Semi in 201[ads1]7, he said the Class 8 truck would go into production by 2019.
However, the timeline has been pushed back several times due to parts shortages, and Musk said production would be delayed until next year. In August, he announced the planned production of the truck.
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In another tweet, Musk reiterated that the vehicle has a range of 805 km. It was not immediately clear how many semi-trucks the electric car maker plans to produce.
The truck is expected to cost $180,000, although it will qualify for a tax break of up to $40,000 under a U.S. subsidy program approved by the Senate.
Back in 2017, PepsiCo reserved 100 of Tesla’s semi-electric trucks as it sought to reduce fuel costs and fleet emissions.
In an interview with CNBC last year, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said that transportation accounted for 10% of the company’s gas emissions.
The maker of Mountain Dew soda and Doritos chips had previously said it aims to use the trucks to ship snacks and beverages between manufacturing and distribution centers as well as to retailers.
PepsiCo did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
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Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and David Sheperdson; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
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