Pepsico explains how it uses Tesla Semi electric trucks in glimpse of the future of trucking

electrek.com ^ | 4th August 2023 | Fred Lambert

[Cronos]

Pepsico explained how it uses its fleet of Tesla Semi electric trucks in a fascinating video that gives us a glimpse at the future of trucking.

Tesla has only delivered a limited number of its electric semitrucks, and most of them are believed to be in operation in Pepsico’s fleet – primarily in its Sacramento facility, which has been completely electrified and is solar-powered. .

Pepsico explained that it uses most of its 21 Tesla Semi electric trucks for deliveries within 100 miles with several stops. They operate for up to 12 hours a day.

Dejan Antunovic, electrification program manager at Pepsico, explained that three of the Tesla Semi trucks are dedicated to long-haul trucking, with routes that vary between 250 to 450 miles.

To support that, Tesla has been installing 750 kW Megachargers at Pepsico facilities. They enable charging to 80% capacity in less than 45 minutes. ...

Antunovic says that the company has been pushing the trucks to their limits, and they have been impressed. They find Tesla Semi’s regenerative braking to be particularly beneficial. As an example, he explained that, on the way down Donner Pass when going to Nevada, the Tesla Semi was able to be energy neutral by recuperating energy from braking.

The program manager noted that they have been able to achieve an efficiency of 1.7 kWh per mile on average with Tesla Semi. Pepsico specifically mentioned that this level of efficiency was achieved “over the last few months,” meaning that it has been improving.

That’s incredible, considering a rate of $0.14 per kWh, the off-peak rate in Sacramento – this would result in a 23% fuel cost reduction over the most efficient diesel trucks. You can imagine how those savings could add up pretty quickly on a large fleet of trucks.

[Cronos]

23% fuel cost reduction over the most efficient diesel trucks

[Cronos]

Dejan Antunovi, Pepsi's electrification program manager, noted three of the 21 Tesla Semi trucks used at the Sacramento facility are "dedicated to the long-haul" routes, which range from 250 miles to 450 miles. Obviously, Tesla's Megachargers have been a huge help with that, helping minimize downtime. The Semi is said to go from 5-10% to 95% state of charge in 20 to 30 minutes of charging.

Antunovi said the Semi's technology, particularly regenerative braking, has also been a great help for Pepsi, especially on the challenging routes that include the Donner Pass.

"Going across Donner Pass and back from [Sacramento] to Nevada, we're able to, on the trip back, actually zero out, in terms of state of charge improving due to regenerative braking… It extends range for us in a way that is invaluable," Antunovi said.

[marktwain]

would result in a 23% fuel cost reduction over the most efficient diesel trucks.

It is an important data point. But the most important data is the life-cycle cost per mile.

It may be more, or less than a diesel truck.

[1Old Pro]

It is an important data point. But the most important data is the life-cycle cost per mile. It may be more, or less than a diesel truck.

If it is more, it will be another price increase for consumers as taxpayers pay for all of these new regulations. That's why a car costs $50,000 and up now and not $25k

[butlerweave]

It’s just a Fad or maybe a Scam in the World Domination plans ,LOL

[Cronos]

I haven’t seen the definitive numbers yet and we need to see the pricing for the Tesla truck, but right now it looks like the Tesla semi is slightly more expensive than a diesel.

As the volumes increase, this would drop below diesel. I don’t think it would be (by 2030) such a drastic difference in cost to change, but a good alternative.

[marktwain]

It would make sense there would be situations where different technologies would have competitive advantages.

[Gen.Blather]

Electric trucks make no sense unless you factor in incentives. If you buy a vehicle over one hundred thousand dollars you get to right off eighty percent of the cost against profit in the first year. Say you made $100k profit. Even though you haven’t actually paid for the vehicle yet, you only pay taxes on $20k. There are a dozen or so videos explaining this. I chose this one at random. The thing to note here is this is a tax dodge, not the signal that electric vehicles are here to stay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzziJLLJDKE

[Tell It Right]

My notes from the numbers in the article:

21 trucks. In Sacramento.

Routes vary 250 miles to 450 miles per day. I'll assume the average (350 miles per day)

1.7kWh per mile (note it's a heavy truck so it's one mile needs more than one kWh, not miles per kWh like an EV car).

That's 595kWh charging daily per truck (350 miles X 1.7kWh). Times 21 trucks = 12,495kWh per day.

And the article says it's solar powered, to which I call a giant BS. Are we really supposed to believe they have enough solar to generate 12 MWh daily? With Sacramento averaging 5.7 daily peak solar hours, that means they need a solar array of 2,100 kW just for an average day. Did they set up 700 solar panels? Do they have 12 MWh of battery storage to hold the solar power until the trucks come in for charging?

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

For local use only.

[HamiltonJay]

“Pepsico explained that it uses most of its 21 Tesla Semi electric trucks for deliveries within 100 miles with several stops. They operate for up to 12 hours a day.”

Yes, I have no doubt in this use case, the trucks perform... Electric is a niche commuter market. If I had a fleet of vehicles I knew would only travel about 100 miles a day, I would look seriously into electric, if for no other reason than just to reduce another vendor account overhead... Already paying the electric company, why have a fuel vendor as well. If the math made sense, pull the trigger.

However, leave this use case, and electric falls apart quickly. If I need my vehicles running 24 hours a day or traveling greater distances, the model absolutely collapses and electric is an unviable option.

Electric is a niche use case solution... if your need fit within that use case, then it makes sense, but if they fall out of it, they are not viable.

Now, whether they actually DO any real good to save the planet, or are less of an environmental impact than ICE vehicles is a wholly different conversation.

Yes, less CO2 is created per mile driven for an electric vehicle, but that’s hardly the only variable one should use to determine environmental impact.

If you accept that CO2 is a problem, due to mans actions, and that’s an entirely different discussion as well.

[Fresh Wind]

23% fuel cost reduction over the most efficient diesel trucks

Most likely they are basing this claim on Biden era fuel prices which were deliberately forced up to promote electrification to combat the bogus "climate emergency".

[Bob434]

Will that cost though be offset by the massive prices of the trucks and replacement battery packs etc?

[hardspunned]

In my first 15 years with PepsiCo, I had a gas truck, then propane, then diesel, then gas again.

[Alberta's Child]

That’s not a valid comparison. The electricity prices are lower than the diesel costs because the price of the electricity listed in the article doesn’t include the cost PepsiCo had to pay to install all the charging hardware at its facilities to deliver the electricity to the trucks. The diesel fuel price, meanwhile, includes all the costs associated with building and operating the truck stop or commercial fueling facility where PepsiCo refuels its trucks.

[caddie]

They need to deliver Dr. Pepper with these trucks, because you can heat it up in a saucepan (at 10, 2, and 4) and make warm Dr. Pepper. It was a thing in the '50s.

Once one of these Tesla trucks ignites, the warm Dr. Pepper will flow.

[Alberta's Child]

Antunovi said the Semi's technology, particularly regenerative braking, has also been a great help for Pepsi, especially on the challenging routes that include the Donner Pass. "Going across Donner Pass and back from [Sacramento] to Nevada, we're able to, on the trip back, actually zero out, in terms of state of charge improving due to regenerative braking… It extends range for us in a way that is invaluable," Antunovi said.

It seems kind of ludicrous to make a statement like this. It's easy to "zero out" your energy usage when you're going downhill. If Fred Flintstone rolled his car down Donner Pass, he could make his way all the way to the bottom without expending a single calorie providing motive power to the car with his feet.

[CodeToad]

“would result in a 23% fuel cost reduction over the most efficient diesel trucks.”

The TCO of this program already has eaten any possible savings. That, and there are no means of an EV of any type having savings over petro fueled vehicles.

[TexasGator]

“The thing to note here is this is a tax dodge, “

Probably the one your neighbor is using for his gas-powered Suburban!

And it is rapidly going away.

[Alberta's Child]

I have worked with trucking firms that are testing battery technology in their fleets even now, and I can assure you that nobody has produced a battery-powered Class 8 tractor that provides a lower life-cycle cost than a conventional diesel tractor.

The only players in the trucking business who have been able to incorporate battery-powered vehicles into their fleets at a lower cost than diesel or gasoline counterparts are delivery services like FedEx, UPS, Amazon, etc. that use delivery vans instead of heavy trucks. An EV van now has a lower life-cycle cost than a comparable ICE vehicle ... but ONLY if the company managing the fleet is willing to accept a very important limitation of the EV: They have to assume that the EV vehicle has a residual value of $0 at the end of its life cycle in the fleet.

This is a critical concession, because conventional ICE trucks are sold to secondary and tertiary buyers after they are used by the large fleets that purchase them new. The EV vehicles can still function after its three-year or five-year cycle of use in the fleet is over, but EV technology is changing so rapidly that nobody in the trucking business is going to want an EV that is three or five years old.

This points to a major limitation on EVs that doesn't get a lot of attention right now. They function more like computers than heavy equipment over the course of their life cycles. This means they become functionally obsolete long before they physically break down. The end result is that like computers and other home/office electronics, the owners will reach a point where they can't even be given away even though they are still working fine.