Elon Musk announced via his Twitter account that production of semi-electric trucks has begun with deliveries to the first customers set to begin in December.
Pepsi will be the first customer of the long-awaited electric truck. The Tesla Semi, an all-electric class 8 truck, was launched in 2017. At the time, the electric truck was introduced to production in 2019.
As with the Cybertruck electric pickup truck, production of the Semi was delayed for years, until in August Elon Musk said the electric truck would begin shipping later this year.
Finally on Thursday, Musk said electric trucks had begun production with Pepsi as the first customer.
Following the launch of the Tesla Semi in 2017, PepsiCo placed one of the largest orders for a Tesla Semi: 100 electric trucks to add to its fleet.
The company plans to use the 15 trucks for a project to convert the Frito-Lay Modesto, California, site into a zero-emissions facility.
The Tesla Semi is said to have a range of 500 miles (805 km) on a single charge and is planned for production in Nevada near Tesla’s Giga Plant.
The truck is expected to cost $180,000, although it would qualify for a tax break of up to $40,000 under a U.S. subsidized program approved by the Senate.
Excited to announce start of production of Tesla Semi Truck with deliveries to @Pepsi on Dec 1st! pic.twitter.com/gq0l73iGRW
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 6, 2022
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