Tesla to deliver electric semi trucks before end of the year, says PepsiCo CEO, despite delays

PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta says that it is expecting Tesla Semi electric truck deliveries this quarter, despite Tesla saying that deliveries were delayed to next year.

While Tesla has been making progress toward bringing its electric semi truck to low-volume production in Nevada, the automaker recently confirmed that customer deliveries of the Tesla Semi are pushed to next year.

CEO Elon Musk said it was due to limited battery supply.

Now PepsiCo, who is one of the biggest buyers of Tesla Semi trucks, either didn’t get the message or knows something we don’t, because it apparently expects deliveries by the end of the year.

Laguarta said in a new interview on CNBC that the company is expecting Tesla Semi deliveries in Q4:

We are already starting to buy electric trucks from Tesla, we don’t want to promote anybody, but that’s the brand we are using so far, and we are getting our first deliveries this Q4.

After the launch of Tesla Semi in 2017, PepsiCo placed one of the biggest orders for Tesla Semi: 100 electric trucks to add to its fleet.

The company planned to use 15 of those trucks for a project to turn its Frito-Lay Modesto, California, site into a zero-emission facility.

Earlier this year, PepsiCo said that it expected to take deliveries of those 15 Tesla Semi trucks by the end of the year, but that was before Tesla announced another delay to the program.

Electrek’s Take

As we previously reported, Tesla has a facility next to Gigafactory Nevada for low-volume Tesla Semi production.

Earlier this summer, the automaker completed its drive axle production line, and it was in the process of debugging its low-volume general assembly line.

While Tesla recently said that the first Tesla Semi deliveries to customers are delayed until next year when it will have more battery cell supply, the automaker is expected to have more pre-production units built at that facility for testing and its internal logistics needs.

Now, it’s not clear if Tesla is also moving forward with a test program with PepsiCo at its Modesto facility, or if the CEO is misinformed.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.