PepsiCo. confirmed Oct. 7 it is set to receive Tesla’s electric Semi truck Dec. 1 at two of its California facilities.
“We can confirm our first electric Tesla Semis Dec. 1, 2022, supporting our Frito-Lay plant in Modesto, CA, + our PepsiCo beverages plant in Sacramento,” the company said in a statement Oct. 7. “We’re looking forward to this next step in our #PepsiCoPositive journey + will provide more details once we have taken delivery.”
On Oct. 6, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted the Semi had officially started production and would be delivered to PepsiCo. on Dec. 1.
PepsiCo. first preordered the Tesla Semi in late 2017 after the vehicle was unveiled. It has been expecting delivery for several years, but supply chain shortages and battery constraints delayed the initial production of the vehicle. Musk said in an email to employees in 2020 it was time to ramp up “volume production” of the Semi, but COVID-19 derailed those plans as the response to the virus shut down commerce and delayed projects across the sector.
Tesla announced earlier this year it would delay the release of new products in 2022, but the company has been able to defy many of the issues that have plagued others. Tesla pushed production of the Cybertruck to early 2023 and essentially slashed any possibility of a new production project beginning. The company’s ability to launch production of the Semi when it was planning on delaying new projects until 2023 is impressive, and could ultimately be a sign of good things to come.
Frito Lay, a PepsiCo. brand, operates the Modesto, CA, plant, and has been preparing for the arrival of the Semi for some time. The company has been installing Megachargers at the site and testing the Semi when it is available.
Abby Andrews