Since Tesla ceremoniously delivered the first Tesla Semi trucks to customer Pepsi on December 1, 2022, there hasn't been any real feedback from Tesla, nor from Pepsi, on how the Tesla Semi is performing in everyday use. Now Pepsi has released a fascinating video produced by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) showing how the company is using the Tesla trucks. The first semi trucks went to the Sacramento plant, which is fully electrified and powered by solar electricity.
Run On Less - Electric DEPOT - Pepsi Beverages from NACFE on Vimeo.
Pepsi explained that most of its 21 Tesla semi-trucks are used for deliveries within a 100-mile (about 160 km) radius with multiple stops and are in use for up to 12 hours a day. Dejan Antunovic, electrification program manager at Pepsi, said three of the Tesla semi-trucks will be used for long-haul shipments with distances between 250 and 450 miles (about 402 and 724 km). To support this, Tesla has installed 750 kW megachargers at the Pepsi facilities. These allow charging to 80% capacity in less than 45 minutes.However, Pepsi noted the difficulty of installing this much charging power in one facility and said that lessons learned from this project will inform the design of future electrified depots.
Antunovic said the company pushed the trucks to their limits and was impressed. He said the Tesla Semi's regenerative braking was particularly beneficial. For example, on the way to Donner Pass in Nevada, the Tesla Semi was able to go energy neutral by recovering braking energy. He also noted that they can achieve an average efficiency of 1.7 kWh per mile (equivalent to 105.4 kWh per 100 kilometers) with the Tesla Semi. Incredible, considering that Sacramento's electric rate is $0.14 per kWh - that would represent a 23 percent reduction in fuel costs over the most efficient diesel trucks. One can imagine how those savings quickly add up for a large fleet of trucks.
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