Tesla CEO Elon Musk touted the performance of and demand for the Tesla Semi in the third-quarter earnings call recently, essentially saying that any trucking company that doesn't use it will regret it.
As reported by Teslarati, Musk said: "Fundamentally, if you've got a Semi, the fully considered cost per mile per ton of transport is better than a diesel truck. Any company that doesn't adopt an electric Semi will lose. It's not a subjective thing."
Pepsi has 36 Semis in its fleet. The trucks are generally used for regional long-haul routes and roughly use between 0.8 and 1 kilowatt-hours per kilometer, depending on the weight of the load.
According to PepsiCo electrification program manager Dejan Antunović, the drivers rave about the trucks, saying: "The feedback is usually the same: 'I don't want to go back to diesel. This is the future. This is now. This is what I want to drive.'"
And the drivers would know at this point. Tesla Semis have already covered 2.36 million miles for Pepsi so far.
Shipping giant DHL also got the chance to weigh in on the Tesla Semi, having recently received 10 Semis.
DHL put the Semis through a two-week trial period in which the trucks covered 3,000 miles, reached a range of 500 miles on a single charge with a fully loaded trailer, and consumed 1.72 kWh per mile.
"The result exceeded our expectations and even Tesla's own rating," DHL said.
According to Statista, the transportation sector in the U.S. accounted for 1.86 billion metric tons (2.05 billion tons) of heat-trapping pollution in 2023. Semi trucks are responsible for 20% of that despite only making up 1% of the vehicles on the road.
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Transitioning to a fleet of electric heavy-duty trucks would go a long way in curbing that planet-warming pollution, which leads to extreme weather and contributes to cardiovascular and respiratory issues.
Tesla Vice President of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy, echoed Musk's comments on X — formerly known as Twitter — in response to another post, saying: "Tesla Semi is coming in mass shortly and we made it so compelling, anyone who does not use it will be left behind!"
Jim Monkmeyer, president of transportation of DHL Supply Chain, seems to agree, saying after the two-week trial period: "The Tesla Semi has real potential to disrupt the market and accelerate the much-needed transition to zero-emissions long-haul transport."
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