Tesla has some pretty well-known customers lined up to take delivery of its first commercial vehicle.
PepsiCo announced Tuesday that it has preordered 100 Tesla Semi trucks, bringing the automaker’s total number of reservations to 267 units, according to Reuters. The order from Pepsi is Tesla’s largest yet.
The beverage and snack corporation reportedly joins a growing list of companies, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sysco Corp, that have placed a deposit on Tesla’s electric truck. It’s unclear how much organizations have paid to reserve the Semis, as Tesla’s mandatory deposit has risen to $20,000 from $5,000 since the truck’s unveiling.
With a current fleet of 10,000 tractor trailers, Pepsi will use the Semis to supplement trucks with internal combustion engines, rather than replace them. The EVs will be part of Pepsi’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent across its entire supply chain by 2030.
Tesla claims the Semi, expected to go into production by 2019, will have a range of 500 miles per charge. As a result, Pepsi is deciding how to best utilize its fleet of Teslas, suggesting it may reserve them for transporting snacks from one facility to another, or for deliveries to nearby retailers.
