Tesla Semi's partner PepsiCo says the electric truck helps save drivers

PepsiCo, Tesla's first customer for the Tesla Semi electric truck, has given an update on how the delivery of the electric truck is going and is going “smoother than expected”.

It also helps in keeping drivers.

Truck driving is a tough, thankless job that pays well, but like many tough jobs, there have been serious labor issues for some time now.

Can electric trucks help?

This is a bit controversial as most truck drivers are petrol heads who are not your typical electric car buyers. It's hard to imagine a lot of truckers being excited about driving an electric truck, but that's exactly what PepsiCo is saying.

Yesterday, we reported on Dan Priestley, Tesla's head of Tesla Semi, giving an update on the program at the IAA in Europe.

At the same conference today, Priestley sat down with Dejan Antunović, head of electronics at PepsiCo for a “study” of the company's beverage and snack distribution for Tesla Semi trucks:

With the “case study”, they didn't go too deep into the details, but they pushed the message that the deployment was going well.

Antunović stressed that the program is going “smoother than expected” and especially for drivers who give positive feedback. The manager even said that the electric truck helps save the drivers.

First, Antunović explained what the company's truck needs are and how Tesla Semi electric trucks are used in that fleet.

PepsiCo uses the Tesla Semi in three of its fleets:

1. Pepsi Beverages Local Delivery Fleet – These trucks operate in cities, usually covering about 150 kilometers (93 miles) or less each day.
2. Pepsi Beverages Transport Fleet – These regional ships always travel a distance of 800 kilometers (497 miles).
3. Frito-Lay Fleet – These trucks carry small loads on regional roads.

Currently, PepsiCo's Tesla Semi trucks are based in three depots in California: Modesto, Sacramento, and Fresno. The Modesto depot operates 15 Tesla Semis, all of which are used for long-haul regional routes. In Sacramento, there are 21 Tesla Semis, 18 assigned to local routes and 3 routes to interstate highways. The Fresno depot owns 50 Tesla Semis, 45 of which operate local routes, while 5 operate long-haul regional routes.

Those are 89 Tesla Semi trucks.

PepsiCo is believed to be a good partner to test electric truck shipments because of their needs both short and long and their light food loads and heavy brewage loads.

Without going into details about costs, PepsiCo appears to support Tesla's claims that the Tesla Semi can replace a diesel truck per capita in terms of capacity and cost.

Acquisition costs are expected to be high. However, Tesla says it focuses on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), which benefits EVs due to fuel economy.

During the speech, Priestley said that efficiency has a significant impact on the Tesla Semi's TCO as the more efficient Tesla makes the truck, the greater the difference in fuel economy.

Yesterday, Tesla said the electric truck achieves 1.6 kWh per mile, which is better than initially expected. Previously, third-party tests proved that PepsiCo's Tesla Semi had the ability to travel 1,700 kilometers (1,000 miles) in one day.