Tesla Semi Megacharging will expand for PepsiCo. at its Fresno, California, bottling and distribution center.
Permits show PepsiCo. is planning to add eight Tesla Semi Megachargers at the facility to support the company’s use of the automaker’s all-electric Class 8 truck.
PepsiCo. is the parent company of Frito-Lay, which also took delivery of Semi units in December 2022 when Tesla finally started launching the truck for commercial use.
Tesla Semi units utilized by Frito-Lay have been, for the most part, handling distributions from the company’s facility in Modesto, California. Although, PepsiCo. said it would also utilize the trucks at the company’s beverages plant in Sacramento.
Semi units, along with Tesla Megachargers, have been utilized by Frito-Lay since last Summer as the companies worked together to perform early testing.
Teslarati showed some of the earliest images of Megachargers on-site at the Modesto plant last Summer, with four total charging piles available to drivers.
Tesla has been developing the Semi-specific Megacharger for several years, and patents for the technology were first submitted by the company in 2019. The Megacharger utilizes a cooling liquid to help control temperature and dissipate excessive heat.
PepsiCo. and Frito-Lay have expanded their sustainability initiatives to include nearly every facet of production and logistics, all the way to the time the product makes it to the consumer. Frito-Lay outlined its massive sustainability transformation initiative in January, and it goes far past Tesla. The company utilizes everything from BYD yard tractors to Peterbilt 220EV box trucks to energy storage techniques.
PepsiCo. told us it planned to take delivery of 15 Tesla Semis in 2023. However, it has an order for many more. In 2017, it placed an order for 100 Semis, transporting everything from Doritos to Moutain Dew between manufacturing facilities and distribution centers.
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