FedEx reserves 20 Tesla electric Semi trucks
It'll be used in the FedEx Freight department.
FedEx is the latest company to invest in Tesla's Semi electric trucks. It recently ordered 20 of the vehicles to be deployed in its FedEx Freight department. Still, that doesn't compare to UPS, which reserved 125 of them, making it the largest Tesla Semi truck order to-date.
Other companies have reserved the Tesla trucks too. PepsiCo ordered 100, Anheuser-Busch ordered 40, Walmart ordered 15, DHL ordered 10 and Loblaws, a Canadian grocery chain, has ordered 15. Those represent only a very small percentage of the companies' overall fleet, but it shows that they're at least willing to try them out.
"FedEx has a long history of innovation and incorporating sustainability efforts throughout its global network," said FedEx Freight president and CEO Mike Ducker in a statement. "Our investment in these trucks is part of our commitment to improving road safety while also reducing our environmental impact."
According to Tesla, the new big rig will be safer and produce significantly less carbon footprint than their non-EV counterparts. It even has onboard sensors and cameras to help avoid traffic accidents, and there's also the option for Enhanced Autopilot, which promises features such as automatic emergency braking, automatic lane keeping and lane departure warning.
The Semi has a recharge rate of 400 miles in 30 minutes via Tesla's new Megachargers, and will be able to travel up to 500 miles between stops. As for where the Megachargers will be built, right now that depends on customers like Pepsi and UPS to build them out themselves. At least to start, it seems like these trucks will be mostly kept to routes that keep them somewhat close to home. The trucks are set to deploy in the year 2019.
