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Tesla Semi secures one of its biggest orders to date from US-Canada logistics company

[Credit: Emile Bouret/Instagram]

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Tesla recently received reservations for 150 Semi trucks from Pride Group Enterprise (PGE), which operates businesses in equipment, rental, leasing, logistics, and sales. While the firm has placed reservations for 150 trucks for now, PGE has also made room to increase its order to 500 Tesla Semis in the future. The EV automaker has already received the deposits for the first 150 Semis ordered by the trucking company.

According to a press release, the company has dedicated significant resources to the research of electric trucks over the past few years. It looked into the technology, infrastructure, and capital requirements that are necessary for a network to succeed. It seems that PGE concluded Tesla offered the best Class 8 all-electric truck on the market, based on its recent Semi reservations. However, PGE’s Vice President of Operations Aman Johal also stated that the company is looking forward to working with other OEMs producing Class 8 trucks in the future as well.

“With the addition of electric trucks to our portfolio of products, our service offering to our customers continues to evolve. Our reservation with Tesla is the first of many and we continue to work with all OEM partners and have more exciting projects in the works. We have put a lot of focus on growing from an equipment supplier to a complete one-stop-shop for the transportation industry. Some of the other offerings we’ve added include short-term rentals, full-service maintenance, in-house OEM warranty work and 3PL solution, to name a few,” he said.

The Tesla Semi visits Yandell Truckaway. (Photo: Arash Malek)

As noted by PGE, the 150 Tesla Semis will be distributed in locations that are particularly friendly to the electric vehicle movement. Johal also noted that the Class 8 battery-electric trucks will be a good way to gauge how the market accepts all-electric long-haul options.

“With support from one of our long-term financial partners, Hitachi Capital, we are very excited to bring this innovative product to our strong customer base, helping forge a new path in clean transportation. We believe that electrification is the way of the future as we work together across multiple industries to reduce our carbon footprint. As well, we have the option to increase our order as we gauge customer acceptance of this new technology,” he said.

Johal further emphasized that electric trucks will likely provide benefits, especially in areas where diesel-powered long-haulers are challenged such as maintenance and downtime. Granted, trucks like the Semi will have their challenges too, but the PGE executive noted that the company is already laying the groundwork for its electric truck deployment. This includes the buildout of charging infrastructure, parking lots, and full maintenance at its locations.

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(Credit: Tesla)

“Pride Group Enterprises’ vision is to invest in facilities that will support charging, full-service maintenance and a consistent supply of electric trucks on North American highways. We have first-hand knowledge of the transportation industry across multiple verticals and we (PGE) strongly believe that electric truck technology will overcome many challenges facing traditional diesel technology such as the related maintenance and associated downtime,” he stated.

PGE is one of many prominent companies that has made reservations for the Tesla Semi. PepsiCo, Walmart, and UPS are among others have invested in Semi trucks as well. PepsiCo was one of the first companies to make a significant reservation of 100 Semis to Tesla. In September 2020, Walmart Canada announced it would be tripling its Tesla Semi orders to 130.

Energy analysts Wood Mackenzie predicted the Class 8 EV truck segment could grow to over 54,000 units in the United States by 2025, an estimate that may prove conservative once vehicles like the Semi begin customer deliveries. The US electric truck industry’s growth depends on the policy and financial support receives in the next few years. According to Wood Mackenzie’s analysis, there were only 2,000 heavy-duty electric trucks deployed in the US last year. But as more companies like PGE pay more attention to local energy transition goals and become more environmentally conscious, the segment will see growth.

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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California proposal to allow self-driving tests for heavy-duty trucks

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A new proposal in the state of California would allow initial testing of self-driving heavy-duty trucks, as Tesla and others aim to bring their driverless technologies to market with Class 8 trucks and other large vehicles.

On Friday, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) said that it’s proposing self-driving vehicle tests be allowed on public roads for heavy-duty trucks and other large vehicles, as detailed in a report from Reuters. The news comes as heavy-duty vehicles about 10,001 pounds are currently unable to utilize public self-driving tests in California, as well as others such as Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas.

The proposal would restrict autonomous testing for semi-trucks and other oversized vehicles to specified, pre-selected routes that would be pre-determined to be legal for size, weight, and loading requirements. It would also ban testing these vehicles on city streets, with selected routes primarily including major highways.

The state would also prohibit testing of specific heavy-duty vehicles until further notice under the proposal, including household movers, commercial vehicles used to transport passengers, oversize loads, bulk liquids, or hazardous materials.

READ MORE ON SELF-DRIVING FOR HEAVY-DUTY TRUCKS:

The DMV plans to hold a public hearing on the proposal on June 10, after which point it would be allowed to move forward with the agency.

California has been preparing regulations for autonomous trucking since at least last August, when the state submitted an initial draft for such a legal framework.

The state is also evaluating whether light-duty vehicle testing requirements should be updated. Currently, the state requires a permit to test self-driving vehicles utilizing a safety driver, before applying for subsequent phases of driverless testing and deployment permits.

To apply for driverless testing permits, manufacturers are required to conduct testing for a minimum of 50,000 miles, while heavy-duty manufacturers would be required to complete at least 500,000 autonomous testing miles under the proposal. Of them, up to 40,000 of the miles are allowed to be completed outside of California.

The news also follows the Trump administration’s aims to accelerate self-driving deployment this week through the expansion of exemptions for certain reporting requirements.

Although Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) is not currently available for the company’s electric Semi, it’s expected to become available at some point in the future. Tesla has also been spotted testing its FSD on the Semi in and around Giga Nevada, ahead of the company’s plans to launch the software on the Class 8 truck.

Tesla is currently aiming to ramp up production of the Semi, and it’s constructing an expansion to its Gigafactory in Nevada to eventually scale up to volume production.

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Tesla reservation emails hint at imminent launch in India

Tesla appears to be nearing the launch of vehicle sales in India, as hinted at in a recent correspondence with early reservation holders.

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A report this week says that Tesla has sent out a new batch of emails to some of its earliest reservation holders in India, suggesting that the company’s highly anticipated launch of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country could be imminent.

As seen in emails viewed by Bloomberg in a Friday report, Tesla has begun refunding early reservation holders in India, indicating that the U.S. automaker seems to be nearing its official debut in the country. Some Model 3 reservation holders in India initially paid deposits to purchase a Tesla as early as 2016, and they come due to the company having refreshed the vehicle’s design last year.

“We would like to return your reservation fee for the time being,” Tesla writes in the email. “When we finalize our offerings in India, we will reach out in the market again. We hope to see you back with us once we are ready to launch and deliver in your country.”

The launch is thought to be highly consequential for Tesla, as India is the world’s third-largest auto market, and thousands of people in the nation are employed by vehicle and component manufacturing facilities. However, years of talks between Tesla and the government about launching sales and potentially a factory there have hit a standstill multiple times, largely due to disagreements over the country’s high import duties.

READ MORE ON TESLA INDIA: India to hold EV import policy workshop in bid to attract Tesla, other EV makers: report

While many are speculating as to when exactly Tesla could launch vehicle sales in India, several other indicators have also suggested that the maker is getting close to doing so.

Last weekend, a Tesla Model Y with a privacy wrap was seen being tested in India, marking the second such sighting to take place in the past few weeks. The company also officially began the certification and homologation processes for the new versions of both the Model Y and Model 3 in India last month, and it has been hiring and picked out two sites for initial stores in the country, the first in Mumbai and a second in New Delhi.

A Bloomberg report in February also claimed that Tesla was aiming to sell vehicles in India around the third quarter of the year, though models being sold in the country had not yet been revealed at the time.

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These Tesla Superchargers are free today for Earth Week

Canada and other countries are missing on the free Earth Week Supercharging map, while the U.S. state of California gets the promo at two sites.

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Tesla has made several of its Supercharging stations free in markets around the world over the weekend, in order to commemorate Earth Day, which took place earlier this week.

On Friday, Tesla posted on its charging account on X that it would be offering free Supercharging across 30 select stations on Saturday in celebration of Earth Day and Week. The chargers are set to be free during daytime work hours, and they’re scattered in locations across Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Tesla also says it may have employees handing out “goodies” at some of the sites, though the company didn’t disclose what they would be.

“Closing out Earth Week with free charging at the following Superchargers on April 26th,” Tesla writes. “You might even catch some Tesla employees with goodies!”

In the U.S., the Supercharger stations offering free charging include two located in California, along with one each in Florida, Arizona, Illinois, and New Jersey. The company is also offering free Supercharging in Nuevo León, Mexico, in the city of Monterrey.

You can see the full list of free Supercharger locations below, along with the times the offer is still available on Saturday.

READ MORE ON TESLA SUPERCHARGERS: Tesla’s Hollywood Diner is finally getting close to opening

Tesla Superchargers offering free charging on Saturday, April 26

Europe (9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.)

North America (9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.)

Asia-Pacific

Tesla’s Superchargers in North America opening to non-Tesla EVs

Along with allowing Tesla’s vehicles to charge at Supercharger stations, the company has slowly been rolling out access to other, non-Tesla electric vehicle (EV) brands in North America over the past several months. For example, Superchargers opened to Kia’s EVs in North America on Thursday, increasing the company’s chargers to the over 40,000 DC fast-charging stations and doubling the number of stations owners of the car brand can use.

Other brands with access to Tesla’s Superchargers include Kia parent company Hyundai, Ford, GM, Genesis, Lucid, Mercedes, Nissan, Polestar, Rivian, and Volvo, and Volkswagen and subsidiary Audi are the next brands in line to gain access.

Tesla also runs three-month Supercharger voting periods for owners to cast votes on where they’d like to see new Superchargers built, and the company recently opened its voting round for the second quarter along with revealing the winning locations from Q1.

Tesla Superchargers were over 10 times as reliable as these rivals

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