The Cybertruck also slipped a lot, but Tesla’s real veterinary horse is the Tesla Semi, the truck, which for many years has been more of a strong promise than a real product, and now Pepsi is experiencing this firsthand. The tractor unit intended for long-distance goods transport was presented in 2017, and at that time it was initially communicated that serial production could start in 2019. With this, it was possible to slip until 2022, when Pepsi received the first copies. A total of 100 were ordered, and UPS ordered 125, Wal-Mart and FedEx not even that many, they are still waiting.
The situation is also strange because Tesla has already built a hundred of the trucks, but they kept them for themselves, they transport the battery packs from the Sparks, Nevada plant to Tesla’s other factory in Fremont, California.
Image: Pepsi
It is a mystery why they did not decide on the delivery of the fleet included in the multi-million dollar contract, which has been delayed since 2019. In 2022, the head of the company, Elon Musk, spoke even more optimistically, according to his promise at the time, the goal would have been to produce 50,000 Semis by 2024. And the previous customers are starting to back out of the contracts and are instead ordering the competitors’ available, also electric models (BYD, Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Nikola).
Tesla Semi
The Class 8, 36-tonne Tesla Semi can have a range of 480 and 800 kilometers, according to Tesla’s claims, the Semi can accelerate to a speed of around 100 km/h in 20 seconds even when fully loaded, and then maintain this speed even on hills.
