Although passenger vehicles are Tesla’s bread and butter, the popular EV manufacturer has also produced electric semitrucks, with the most notable fleet constructed for PepsiCo’s California plant in Sacramento.
Now, the North American Council for Freight Efficiency has toured the Pepsi facility and published a video with information about how the soda and snack food company utilizes its fleet of 21 electric semis.
According to Pepsi’s director of transformation and strategy, Amanda DeVoe, it is most cost-effective to operate vehicles for approximately 12 hours per day on routes that are predominantly less than 100 miles.
However, three of the trucks are designated for “long-haul routes” ranging from 250 to 450 miles. Using Tesla Megachargers located along the routes, the vehicles can reportedly charge from 5% to 95% in only 20 to 30 minutes.
Notably, Tesla’s “regenerative braking” technology enables the vehicles to traverse “hellish routes” such as the Donner Pass.
Dejan Antunovi, the manager of Pepsi’s electrification program, stated in a video that the state of charge on the return journey from Sacramento to Nevada can actually be restored to its original level due to regenerative braking. It extends our reach in a manner that is invaluable.
Even though medium- and heavy-duty trucks account for only 4% of vehicles in the United States, they consume 25% of total highway petroleum and produce nearly 30% of highway carbon emissions, according to the Department of Energy. In 2027, stricter standards for truck emissions that contribute to pollution will go into effect, which could force companies to switch to electric vehicles like this Tesla fleet.
The commenters on the Inside EVs article reporting the news appeared impressed by the performance of Pepsi’s trucks and optimistic about the future of electric vehicles.
“It is interesting to have data. Honestly, all of this is filtered by the corporations, so it is essential to keep that in mind,” wrote one commenter. In light of this, it affirms what I said: it’s working, and the technology will evolve quickly enough to be viable for virtually all deliveries in the medium term.
Summary
It appears that Tesla is currently winning the EV race with the Tesla Semi quicker than any other competitor. For a longer-term view of the Tesla Semi’s performance and reliability, however, we require additional data.
