FedEx is now part of a group of fleets that includes rival UPS, PepsiCo, Anheuser Busch, J.B. Hunt, Walmart, Ruan Transportation Management and others that have reserved the all-electric rigs. Late last year, UPS placed an order for 125 Tesla Semis, while PepsiCo reserved 100 and Anheuser Busch reserved 40.
Earlier this year, Tesla founder CEO Elon Musk told analysts he expects to sell 100,000 units or more annually by 2022.
Tesla has not confirmed total truck orders to date, but speculation swirls that number could be anywhere between just more than 1,000 to several thousand more.
FedEx Freight president and CEO Mike Ducker says the company’s investment in the Tesla trucks is part of its “commitment to improving road safety while also reducing our environmental impact.” In the last decade, FedEx says it has saved more than 158 million gallons of fuel by replacing vehicles with more efficient models and making greater use of electric vehicles, fuel cells, natural gas, hybrids and clean truck technologies.
Tesla claims its new big rig, which is scheduled for production next year, will deliver a better experience for truck drivers, while increasing safety and significantly reducing the cost of cargo transport. Its advanced technologies, such as surround cameras and onboard sensors, help to aid object detection while also enabling Enhanced Autopilot for automatic emergency braking, automatic lane keeping, and lane departure warning.
