Tesla Semi has been one of the least EVs from the company and very little is known about the operations of the landmark product nearly 8 months after its official customer delivery event.
That customer, Pepsico, has now shared some rare insights into how it uses these large electric class 8 rigs in its operations, in a 12 minute video was put together by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE).
Some of the key items shared by the Pepsico team included:
- Tesla Semi fleet being operated by Pepsico now sits at 21 trucks
- Three Semis have dedicated long-haul routes that can be between 400 – 720 kilometres
- On some routes, regeneration helped deliver zero consumption of the battery.
- The Semis have delivered an efficiency of under 1.7kWh a mile, or 1.1kWh per kilometre.
- Most of the Semi fleet is used to deliver goods to routes within 100 miles distance
- The Pepsico Sacramento facility has four 750 kW DC chargers
- Each Semi is able to charge from 10% to 90% in 20-30 minutes
- Supply to Tesla Semi chargers is metered separately to the facility and has its own dedicated grid connection of 3MW
Amanda Devoe, who is the Transformation and Strategy Director at Pepsico fleet shared the role the battery electric vehicles (BEV) fleet is having on the company’s operations and sustainability goals:
“Battery electric vehicles are essential for us and it’s really grounded in our duty cycle i.e. how we use our assets because a good majority of our business is anchored in going to market. We feel that the battery electric vehicle is the most advantageous in our decarbonisation strategy.”
This is a great initiative by NACFE to highlight the technological shift in cleaner heavy haulage vehicles at Pepsico in the US.
According to NACFE website, the organisation is involved in research and development activities around efficient technologies within the freight industry in the US. A lot of the focus on the video was on the power distribution and grid management for the truck charging.
“This is a very big deal,” said Charles Burton, the head of fleet operations in the western region for Pepsico Beverages. “This is going tor revolutionise how trucking industry goes to market in the future.”
Drivers were also very happy with it, saying it gave them better visibility, more comfort and was less tiring.
“I’m not a tech person, I was afraid of the iPhone when it came out,” said Casey Thijon, one female driver. “If you can use a smart phone, you can drive this. The turning circle is awesome, it’s better than my car. They’re quieter, they’re smoother, they look nicer.”
On the back of this video being shared on X, Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, commended the relationship Tesla has had with Pepsico:
It’s been great working with @PepsiCo
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 4, 2023
In recent months, very little has been showcased about the next generation of Class 8 trucking by either Tesla or Pepsico.
Back in April, a rare glimpse inside the Tesla Semi was provided by a Reddit user who captured the inside of a truck that was parked in his street. It really showcased what the future of trucking could look like as it had a very driver-focused spacious cabin.
Now the video by NACFE has provided us with greater insights. It really showcases how these trucks are being put to use in the real world, helping reduce the impact on the environment and driving forward the future of heavy transportation.
Full video from NACFE on Vimeo.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.