PepsiCo Order 100 Tesla Electric Trucks

Beverage bottler PepsiCo. Inc. says it has reserved 100 of Tesla Inc.’s electric Semi heavy-duty trucks, which are slated to go into production two years from now.

The new order is Tesla’s largest to date and brings the total reservations for its $150,000 highway truck close to 300. The North American market for so-called Class 8 diesel rigs, with which the Semi will compete, is roughly 260,000 units per year.

PepsiCo operates a fleet of about 10,000 big rigs in North America. The company says it will use the Tesla trucks to help meet a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its trucks 20% by 2030.

The electric trucks will make relatively long hauls of products such as Frito-Lay snacks, or shorter runs for heavier loads of Pepsi or Mountain Dew soft drinks, according to the company. The base model Semi is expected to have a range when loaded of 300 miles. Tesla also plans a $180,000 model with a 500-mile range, about half that of a diesel rig.

When CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Semi last month, he said Tesla would warrant the truck’s lithium-ion battery for 1 million miles. He also claims a Semi would save its owner more than $200,000 in fuel costs over that length of service.