The major automotive company Tesla on Thursday delivered its first electric Semi trucks to Pepsico at an event held in the company's Gigafactory in Nevada.
Though the concept of the Semis was put forward in 2017, the delay in production, which was supposed to begin in 2019, due to various reasons including the pandemic slowed down the entire process.
According to reports, the prices of the Semis start at $1,50,000 and have already received orders from Walmart and FedEx.
During the event, Tesla CEO Elon Musk drove one of three Tesla Semis, one was painted white, while the others were painted with a Pepsi logo, and Frito-Lay colours.
Tesla Semi is powered by four independent motors on the rear axles, can accelerate 0-60 mph in 20 seconds, and has a battery range of up to 500 miles, reported The Verge.
The best driver experience: max road visibility, space to stand up, 2x 15-inch touch screens, wireless phone charging & more pic.twitter.com/ktrh602Krd
— Tesla (@Tesla) December 2, 2022
While speaking at the event, Musk highlighted the need to reduce carbon emissions produced by shipments as well.
"It looks sick," Telsa CEO Elon Musk said at the event. "You want to drive that. I mean, that thing looks like it came from the future," Musk later referred to the Semi as "a beast," reported The Verge.
The reports also said that the Semis has traction control in order to prevent jackknifing and regenerative braking. Increased battery efficiency and automatic clutch provide smooth highway driving.
"It's a step-change in technology in so many ways," Musk said.
Tesla is portraying the Semi as the future of trucking.
Musk also said that Tesla has developed a new liquid-cooled charging connector capable of delivering 1 megawatt of direct current power. "Its going to be used for Cybertruck, too," Musk was quoted by The Verge.
At an event in November of 2017 unveiling the Tesla Semi, Musk said production would begin in 2019 and the trucks would be able to follow each other autonomously in a convoy, reported PTI.
Musk said the truck has a range per charge of 500 miles (800 kilometers) when pulling an 82,000-pound (37,000-kilo) load. The company plans to ramp up Semi production to make 50,000 trucks in 2024 in North America, reported PTI.
Reports also said that major equipment manufacturers like Daimler, Volvo, Peterbilt, and BYD have been working on their own electric long-hauliers.
-With agency inputs
