PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta has announced his intention to start using Tesla Semi EVs for delivery purposes before the end of the year. He also said that the sales of the semis should begin in late 2021, rather than 2022 like Tesla said.
The automaker announced in mid-2021 that ongoing supply chain disruption forced it to postpone production until 2022. It has not yet commented on Laguarta’s words.
PepsiCo usually updates its vehicle fleet once every decade, and sees buying a Semi fleet as a means to minimize its harmful emissions. Transports account for around 10 percent of all emissions produced by the company. Later this year, PepsiCo awaits delivery of around 15 semi trucks to its California factory. In total, it expects to acquire around 100 such trucks.
Reports from last July indicated that the Semi assembly line in Gigafactory Nevada was undergoing its pre-launch maintenance and finish, so it seems realistic that production starts in several weeks.