(Boursier.com) — The Managing Director of You’re here, Elon Musk, yesterday delivered the company’s first heavy-duty tractor-trailer to PepsiCo without offering an updated forecast for the truck’s prices, production plans or the amount of cargo it could haul. Musk, who appeared on stage at an event at Tesla’s Nevada factory, said the battery-powered truck will reduce highway emissions, outperform existing diesel models in power and safety, and would deliver fast charging technology that Tesla would also use on its Cybertruck.
“If you’re a trucker and want the most badass rig on the road, this is it,” Musk said. It had been five years since Tesla announced it was developing this all-electric truck. While industry experts remain skeptical that battery electric trucks can haul heavy loads hundreds of miles economically, Tesla’s tests seem to show otherwise. During the presentation, Musk’s first for Tesla since taking over Twitter, the electric vehicle maker did not give an indicative price for the ‘Semi’, nor provide details on the truck’s variants, deliveries to PepsiCo or other customers, Reuters finds. Tesla said it would start using the Semi to ship parts to its factory in Fremont, California.
In 2017, Tesla said the 300-mile range version of the Semi would cost $150,000 and the 500-mile version about $180,000, but prices for Tesla’s electric passenger vehicles have risen sharply since then, Reuters finds. Robyn Denholm, president of Tesla, recently said the automaker could produce 100 Semis this year. Musk said Tesla would aim to produce 50,000 trucks in 2024. PepsiCo, which made its first cargo delivery with the Tesla truck to deliver snacks to people attending the Nevada launch event, had ordered 100 trucks there five years ago.
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