Tesla Semi partner PepsiCo says electric truck helps with driver retention

PepsiCo, Tesla’s first customer for the Tesla Semi electric truck, gave an update on how its deployment of the electric truck is going and it is going “smoother than expected”.

It even helps with driver retention.

Truck driving is a difficult, thankless job that pays well, but like many other difficult jobs, it has had serious staffing issues for a long time now.

Could electric trucks help?

This is a bit counter-intuitive as many truck drivers are petrolheads who are not your typical electric vehicle buyers. It’s hard to imagine a bunch of truckers excited to drive an electric truck, but that’s exactly what PepsiCo claims.

Yesterday, we reported on Dan Priestley, Tesla’ head of Tesla Semi, giving an update on the program at IAA in Europe.

At the same conference today, Priestley sat down with Dejan Antunović, PepsiCo’s head of electriciation for a “case study” of the brevage and snack company’s deployment of Tesla Semi trucks:

For a “case study”, they didn’t dive too deep into details, but they did push the message that the deployment is going great.

Antunović insisted that the program is going “smoother than expected” and especially with the drivers who are giving positive feedback. The manager went as far as saying that the electric truck helps with driver retention.

First off, Antunović explained what are the company’s trucking needs and how Tesla Semi electric trucks are used in that fleet.

PepsiCo is using the Tesla Semi across three of its fleets:

1. Pepsi Beverages Local Delivery Fleet – These trucks operate within cities, typically covering about 150 km (93 miles) or less each day.
2. Pepsi Beverages Transport Fleet – This regional fleet consistently travels up to 800 km (497 miles).
3. Frito-Lay Fleet – These trucks handle lighter loads over regional routes.

Currently, PepsiCo’s Tesla Semi trucks are based at three depots in California: Modesto, Sacramento, and Fresno. The Modesto depot operates 15 Tesla Semis, all used for regional long-haul routes. In Sacramento, there are 21 Tesla Semis, with 18 assigned to local routes and 3 to regional long-haul routes. The Fresno depot manages 50 Tesla Semis, 45 of which run local routes, while 5 handle regional long-haul routes.

That’s 89 Tesla Semi trucks.

PepsiCo is believed to be a good test partner for electric truck deployment due to their needs for both short and long haul as well as their lighter snack loads and heavier brevage loads.

Without going into the details about cost, PepsiCo appears to back Tesla’s claims that Tesla Semi can replace a diesel truck one-for-one in term of capacity and cost.

The purchase cost is expected to be much more expensive. However, Tesla says that its focus is on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), which benefits EVs thanks to fuel savings.

During the talk, Priestley said that efficiency has the biggest impact on Tesla Semi’s TCO as the more efficient Tesla makes the truck, the bigger the difference in fuel savings.

Yesterday, Tesla claimed that the electric truck is achieving an impressive 1.6 kWh per mile, which is better than originally expected. Previously, third-party testing proved that PepsiCo’s Tesla Semi had the capacity to travel 1,700 km (1,000 miles) in a single day.