Tesla has delivered its first long-haul Semi truck to Pepsi at a company event in Nevada.
The battery-powered, long-haul lorry will reduce emissions, outperform existing diesel models on power and safety and spin-off a fast-charging technology Tesla would use in its upcoming Cybertruck pickup, Tesla’s chief Elon Musk has claimed, who did not share any details about vehicle's pricing, variants or production plans.
Tesla said it would begin using the Semi to ship parts to its plant in Fremont, California. In the past, Tesla has claimed the vehicle’s 300-mile-range variant would cost $150,000, and the 500-mile variant $180,000.
Experts still doubt that electric lorries can take the strain of hauling hefty loads for hundreds of miles economically, but Tesla states otherwise.
The electric Semi, first unveiled in 2017, has a maximum gross weigh to of 81,000 lbs (36.7 tons), can travel 500 miles (805 kilometres) on a single charge and sprint from zero to 60mph in 20 seconds even when fully loaded, said the world’s largest electric car manufacturer.
Owning the Semi would cost 20% less per mile compared to diesel trucks, according to Musk, and will have faster acceleration, better uphill performance and “thermonuclear explosion-proof glass”. The Semi has three times the power of any diesel-powered lorry and uses regenerative braking to improve efficiency, he said.
Pepsi, which completed its first cargo run with the Semi, had ordered 100 of them in 2017. Test runs took place between Tesla's Sparks, Nevada factory and its plant in Fremont.
The vehicle is capable of charging at 1 megawatt, enabling a 70% charge (equating to 350 miles) in 30 minutes, and has liquid-cooling technology in the charging cable. This will be delivered in an updated version of Tesla's Supercharger called the Megacharger that will be made available to the Cybertruck, to be produced in 2023.