PepsiCo Readies for Delivery of Tesla Semis With Megacharger Installation

Four ultra-fast Tesla Megachargers are said to be nearly operational at PepsiCo’s warehouse in Modesto.

byRob Stumpf|
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PepsiCo looks like it's gearing up for the very first deliveries of Tesla's long-awaited electric Semis. The snack company has already received a number of Tesla Megachargers at its Frito Lay warehouse in Modesto, California, according to Drive Tesla Canada, and it's now begun installing them on-site.

Photos supplied by a reader show what appears to be the final preparations of the warehouse Megacharger installation. One charger can be seen in the photos here, along with an empty pallet and two other charger-sized boxes. There are also Green Line High-Efficiency Transformers, Megacharger boxes, and control boxes. This appears to be enough for a four-stall charging station based on configurations observed at Tesla's Nevada Gigafactory.

Drive Tesla Canada believes that the electrical work has already been completed. Additional info supplied to the publication allegedly revealed that the units will charge at 1.5MW—the inverter capacity of Tesla's Megapack energy storage devices—rather than the originally specced 1MW. The outlet also says these chargers will be cooled by a proprietary "immersion cooling technology" but didn't share exactly what that tech entails.

In November, PepsiCo had a permit approved for the very same Frito Lay warehouse in Modesto where the installation of the Megachargers is taking place. The application lists a total expected cost of $334,000 for the chargers, plus a $5,500 permit fee.

It's believed that PepsiCo could take delivery of its Tesla Semis as early as this month. Last March, the food company said it expected to deploy "15 electric tractors" by the end of 2021, but did not specify the manufacturer. That timeframe has come and gone without any news of delivery; however, Tesla has been prepping a small facility near Gigafactory Nevada where small-scale Semi production is believed to be taking place.

Tesla does not anticipate reaching volume Semi production until at least 2023, so if PepsiCo does receive any trucks in the near future, it may be as part of an early customer pilot where the Semi is assessed based on real-world performance. Either way, I'm sure some Tesla fans are excited to finally spot the futuristic trucks on the road.

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