FedEx orders 20 Tesla fully electric tractor-trailers
American courier company FedEx said Monday it ordered 20 of Tesla’s fully electric trucks.
The Tesla tractor-trailers will have four motors, enhanced autopilot and a centered driver position to promote safety. They are expected to be able to travel as many as 500 miles per charge, accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 20 seconds with an 80,000-pound-cargo load. The automaker says they will provide more than $200,000 in fuel savings.
Tesla unveiled the fully electric trucks in November, which will cost between $150,000 and $180,000. Tesla is set to begin production on the in 2019, CEO Elon Musk has said.
“Our investment in these trucks is part of our commitment to improving road safety while also reducing our environmental impact,” FedEx Freight president and CEO Mike Ducker said in a press release.
Some other prominent companies have already placed orders for the Tesla semitrailer, including Walmart, Pepsi and UPS.
Musk said he expects to produce up to 100,000 electric tractor-trailers per year. However, Tesla has faced some production challenges, particularly concerning its Model 3 sedan, which is critical to the company’s plan to bring electric vehicles to the mass market. During the last three months of 2017, the company delivered about 1,500 Model 3 vehicles, fewer than original expectations of manufacturing 5,000 of the cars, per week, by that timeframe. Musk said the holdup is due to a bottleneck at its Nevada gigafactory.