Tesla Expands Semi Trials to Sysco After PepsiCo Success

Tesla's Semi has once again exceeded expectations with food distribution giant Sysco, marking a significant step beyond its initial partnership with PepsiCo. Photographed in California, the Tesla Semi's trial demonstrates its robust 500-mile range capability and exceptional performance, reinforcing Tesla's innovative impact on electric transport solutions.

Tesla Semi Expands Reach, Begins New Testing Phase with Sysco Amid Production Challenges

The Tesla Semi program has been highly constrained despite starting manufacturing over a year ago. In October 2023, the source said (via Electrek) that Tesla had only constructed roughly 70 Tesla Semi trucks, which it was operating internally and with one major customer: PepsiCo.

Tesla was meant to increase truck manufacturing at a Gigafactory Nevada expansion announced last year, but the company only recently begun ground on the project. Meanwhile, only Tesla and PepsiCo were known to use Tesla Semi. The source recently learned that Tesla conducted a test program with a customer, Martin Brower.

Tesla is testing the Tesla Semi with another customer: Sysco, one of the major food distributors in the United States.

Following the initial launch of Tesla Semi in 2017, Sysco said that it had reserved 50 trucks from Tesla:

"Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY), the leading global foodservice distribution company, announced yesterday at its Investor Day in New York, that the Company has placed a reservation for 50 of Tesla's new fully-electric Semi tractors."

Sysco has recently been photographed using a Tesla Semi in California.

Tesla recently announced intentions to begin volume production of the electric truck late next year, with broader consumer deliveries starting in 2026. The Tesla Semi can go 500 miles on a single charge with a full load, according to Tesla.

Tesla Semi Triumphs in Trials with Martin Brower, Exceeding Performance Expectations Amidst Production Hurdles

Tesla has delivered its Tesla Semi, an electric semi-truck, to a new customer as part of a trial program that reportedly pushed the electric vehicle "well beyond expectations."

Even though the Tesla Semi program has officially begun production, significant delays have occurred.

It was first unveiled in 2017 and was intended to hit the market in 2020, but it only went into production in late 2022.

Despite starting production over a year ago, the program has been limited. In October 2023, Tesla had only constructed roughly 70 Tesla Semi trucks, which it operated internally and with one major customer: PepsiCo.

Tesla was meant to increase truck manufacturing at a Gigafactory Nevada expansion announced last year, but the company only recently begun ground on the project. Tesla has delivered electric semi-trucks to another customer: Martin Brower (MB), a prominent logistics company specializing in restaurant supply networks.

MB just acknowledged that it deployed two Tesla Semi trucks in a test operation earlier this year:

"A group of five MB drivers, Frank Solari, Leo Alvarez, Casey Kamp, Carlos Nava, and Javier Hernandez, were trained to operate the Tesla Semi, which uniquely positions the steering wheel and driver's seat in the center of the cockpit and has other design features to increase driver visibility and safety. Overall, our drivers had positive feedback on how the vehicle performs."

Photo: Steve Jurvetson/Flickr(CC BY 4.0)