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Tesla Semis showcased at Frito-Lay plant in Modesto, CA Tesla Semis showcased at Frito-Lay plant in Modesto, CA

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Tesla Semi takes center stage in Frito Lay’s mutli-million dollar sustainability initiative

Credit: Frito-Lay

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As a part of Frito-Lay’s massive sustainability transformation initiative at its facility in Modesto, California, the Tesla Semi took center stage in the company’s efforts to make its operations eco-friendly.

Frito-Lay has been showcasing its latest fleet of all-electric Class 8 trucks since it took delivery of the first few of its Tesla Semis in December. Following the delivery, the food manufacturer and division of PepsiCo showcased the Tesla Semi at Modesto’s 2022 annual Celebration of Lights, and the truck has been spotted on the highway on quite a few occasions.

Frito-Lay is also showing its commitment to sustainability in its new transformation of the plant in Modesto. At 500,000 square feet and on 80 acres of land, the Frito-Lay facility in Modesto is one of its largest manufacturing sites in the U.S. It’s also the first to implement site-wide alternative fuel vehicles, on-site renewable energy generation, energy storage equipment, and employee EV charging stations.

The transformation of the Modesto site is near completion. Frito-Lay called it a template for and an aid to help accelerate the continued proliferation of large-scale commercialization of zero-energy and net-zero energy technologies at freight facilities and warehouses. CEO of PepsiCo Foods North America, Steven Williams, gave the following statement:

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“At Frito-Lay and PepsiCo, we are dedicated to operating within our planetary bounds and inspiring positive change. The transformation at Modesto is in direct support of our PepsiCo Positive (pep+) commitment to building a circular and inclusive value chain and achieving net zero emissions by 2040.”

“To date, the Frito-Lay Modesto transformation has resulted in a 91 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from direct fleet operations, or 5,250 metric tons of GHG emissions. If the standard 4-person compact SUV drives on average 15,000 miles per year with an average MPG of 25.5, this reduction is the equivalent of removing just over 1,000 standard compact SUVs from the road.”

Along with the Tesla Semi and four Tesla 750kW charging stations, Frito-Lay displayed the following at the showcase:

  • Three BYD 8Y electric yard tractors.
  • 1-megawatt solar carport with energy storage.
  • 12 Crown Li-ion forklifts.
  • 2.7 megawatt-hours of on-site battery storage.
  • 38 Volvo VNL compressed natural gas (CNG) tractors.
  • Six Peterbilt 220EV electric box trucks.
  • Seven dual-head employee electric vehicle charging stations.

Frito-Lay added that in 2021, the Modesto facility sourced 100% of its electricity from renewable sources, with on-site solar power providing up to 20% of its daily energy use. Frito-Lay has included a virtual tour of its Modesto facility, and you can watch that in the video below.

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Disclosure: Johnna is a $TSLA shareholder and believes in Tesla’s mission.  

Your feedback is welcome. If you have any comments or concerns or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter at @JohnnaCrider1.

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Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge writer covering Tesla, Elon Musk, EVs, and clean energy & supports Tesla's mission. Johnna also interviewed Elon Musk and you can listen here

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SpaceX weighs Nasdaq listing as company explores early index entry: report

The company is reportedly seeking early inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index.

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Credit: SpaceX/X

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is reportedly leaning toward listing its shares on the Nasdaq for a potential initial public offering (IPO) that could become the largest in history. 

As per a recent report, the company is reportedly seeking early inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 index. The update was reported by Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the publication, SpaceX is considering Nasdaq as the venue for its eventual IPO, though the New York Stock Exchange is also competing for the listing. Neither exchange has reportedly been informed of a final decision.

Reuters has previously reported that SpaceX could pursue an IPO as early as June, though the company’s plans could still change.

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One of the publication’s sources also suggested that SpaceX is targeting a valuation of about $1.75 trillion for its IPO. At that level, the company would rank among the largest publicly traded firms in the United States by market capitalization.

Nasdaq has proposed a rule change that could accelerate the inclusion of newly listed megacap companies into the Nasdaq-100 index.

Under the proposed “Fast Entry” rule, a newly listed company could qualify for the index in less than a month if its market capitalization ranks among the top 40 companies already included in the Nasdaq-100.

If SpaceX is successful in achieving its target valuation of $1.75 trillion, it would become the sixth-largest company by market value in the United States, at least based on recent share prices. 

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Newly listed companies typically have to wait up to a year before becoming eligible for major indexes such as the Nasdaq-100 or S&P 500.

Inclusion in a major index can significantly broaden a company’s shareholder base because many institutional investors purchase shares through index-tracking funds.

According to Reuters, Nasdaq’s proposed fast-track rule is partly intended to attract highly valued private companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic to list on the exchange.

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The Boring Company’s Prufrock-2 emerges after completing new Vegas Loop tunnel

The new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.

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Credit: The Boring Company/X

The Boring Company announced that its Prufrock-2 tunnel boring machine (TBM) has completed another Vegas Loop tunnel in Las Vegas. The company shared the update in a post on social media platform X.

According to The Boring Company’s post, the new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.

The new tunnel marks the fourth tunnel constructed near Westgate Las Vegas as the Vegas Loop network continues expanding across the city.

The Boring Company also noted that the new tunnel surpassed its previous internal record of 2.26 miles for a single Vegas Loop segment.

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Construction of the tunnel involved moving roughly 68,000 cubic yards of dirt. The excavation process also used about 4.8 miles of continuous conveyor belt, powered by six motors totaling 825 horsepower.

The Boring Company’s Prufrock-series all-electric tunnel boring machines are designed to support the rapid expansion of company’s underground transportation projects, including the growing Vegas Loop network. Prufrock machines are designed for reusability, thanks in no small part to their capability to be deployed and retrieved easily through their “porposing” feature.

The Vegas Loop, specifically the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) Loop segment, has already been used during major events. Most recently, the LVCC Loop supported the 2026 CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction trade show, which was held from March 3-7, 2026. 

As per The Boring Company, the LVCC Loop transported roughly 82,000 passengers across the convention center campus during the event’s duration. 

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CONEXPO-CON/AGG is one of the largest construction trade shows in North America, drawing more than 140,000 construction professionals from 128 countries this year.

The LVCC Loop forms the initial segment of the broader Vegas Loop network, which remains under active development as The Boring Company continues building new tunnels throughout the city.

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Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas

Images and video of the Cybercab fleet were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.

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Credit: Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer/X

Tesla appears to be assembling a growing number of Cybercabs at Gigafactory Texas as preparations continue for the vehicle’s mass production. Recent footage shared online has shown over 30 Cybercabs being transported by trucks or staged near testing areas at the facility.

The images and video were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.

Interestingly enough, Tegtmeyer noted that many of the Cybercabs being loaded onto transport trucks were still equipped with steering wheels. This suggests that the vehicles are likely testing units rather than the final driverless configuration expected for the company’s Robotaxi service.

The vehicles could potentially be headed to testing sites across the United States as Tesla prepares to expand its Robotaxi fleet.

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Additional footage captured at Gigafactory Texas also showed the Cybercab’s side and rear camera washer system operating as vehicles were being loaded onto transport trucks.

The growing number of Cybercabs at Giga Texas comes amidst the company’s announcement that the first production Cybercab has been produced at the facility. Full Cybercab production is expected to begin in April.

The vehicle is expected to play a central role in Tesla’s Robotaxi ambitions as the company looks to expand autonomous ride-hailing operations beyond its early deployments using Model Y vehicles.

Tesla has also linked Cybercab production to its proposed Unboxed manufacturing process, which assembles large vehicle modules separately before integrating them. The approach is intended to reduce production costs and accelerate output.

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Musk has also noted that the Cybercab’s ramp will likely begin slowly due to the number of new components and manufacturing steps involved. However, he stated that once the process matures, Cybercab production could scale quickly.

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