Bookmark + Dejan Antunovic (left) with PepsiCo and Dan Priestley of Tesla give IAA 2024 attendees an update on Semi truck operations in California. Photo: Jack Roberts Pepsico and Tesla took advantage of the main stage at the 2024 IAA commercial vehicle show in Germany on Sept. 17. The session focused on giving attendees an update on the deployment of Tesla Semi truck fleet operations. Pepsico electrification program manager Dejan Antunovic and Dan Priestley, senior manager, Semi, for Tesla, started off by discussing both the benefits and challenges of electrifying PepsiCo's heavy-duty fleet. Antunovic noted that Pepsico's initial project began in 2018-2019, focusing on sustainability and cost reduction, and has now blossomed to include15 Tesla Semis in Modesto, 21 in Sacramento, and 50 in Fresno. On average, he said, the trucks are achieving 0.8 kWh/km efficiency. “It’s been a journey for us,” Antunovic said. “And we are now seeing electrification of the fleet provide a lower cost solution over time. The great thing is how well that has gone with heavy-duty electric trucks. We started with one site. And now we have begun to scale our operations. Now it's time to scale that across different geographies in North America.” Tesla's Dan Priestley said driving operating and maintenance costs out of the Semi truck design is an ongoing process for Tesla engineers. Photo: Jack Roberts Tesla Semis Shine at Pepsico To accomplish those goals, Priestley said Tesla designers look at every little design in terms of materials or processes in order to drive costs out of the truck. “We look to leverage the scale of other pieces of our business, where we can take componentry over,” he explained. “Sometimes it's simple things. Like if you get into the truck, you'll see that we use the same screens that we do in some of our other cars. But also we carry over much more intricate bits, such as powertrain pieces. "We get to leverage that validation, and that volume, in order to drive down the initial price to our customer.” Tesla Treats Efficiency as a Design Philosophy for Semi Truck The other important design criteria for the Semi truck is efficiency, Priestley said. “We really pride ourselves at Tesla making the vehicle as efficient as possible,” he said. “And that really is the biggest lever for driving down costs.” There are two reasons behind that thought process, Priestly explained. “One is, when it comes to just the raw measurement and efficiency in terms of kilowatt hours consumed, we're directly driving down the amount of energy you need in order to continue to do the job,” he said. “But also, when we look at it on a range basis, we need to be more efficient. It means that we get to remove a battery from the vehicle. And so that's a great lever in a way, to reduce the upfront cost of vehicle as well.” But the process really starts with the initial design, Priestly said. “Efficiency really informed the shape of the truck, and that informs the powertrain selection, everything we do along the way in order to continue to improve the vehicle and ultimately drive down the cost.” Dejan Antunovic, electrificaton program manager, PepsiCo, said the company is running Tesla Semis successfully in three different applications. Photo: Jack Roberts And from there, he said, that philosophy extends through the rest of the vehicle design process. “We look for areas that we can extract the most value out of our supply chain and drive down costs that way,” he added. “But then also service maintenance. And we leverage our software, our vertical integration there, along with our inhouse service learnings from our passenger cars." Using feedback from those servicing the BEVs in the field, he said, Tesla is able to "make [technicians'] jobs easier, get the truck back on the road, reduce service costs, keep part costs low, and ultimately deliver that entire idea of lowest total cost of ownership.” Pepsico on Tesla Semi: Positive Feedback and Performance From PepsiCo's point of view, Antunovic praised the simplicity and adaptability of the Tesla design. Feedback from Pepsico drivers and technicians has been overwhelmingly positive so far.