PepsiCo Inc. announced that it would be the first company to receive its orders for the much-delayed electric vehicle when Tesla Inc.’s Semi trucks were delivered on Dec. 1.

The trucks will be used at PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay plant in Modesto, California, and its PepsiCo beverages factory in Sacramento, according to a statement from the company. PepsiCo reserved 100 of the trucks in 2017 as part of its ongoing effort to lower fuel costs and emissions.

PepsiCo plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040 as part of a US company commitment to reduce its environmental impact.

According to Ramon Laguarta, CEO of PepsiCo, transportation contributes to about 10% of the company’s greenhouse gas emissions, which makes Mountain Dew. Last year, the fleet that belongs to the company covered 1.2 billion miles.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, announced the start of the Semi truck’s production late on Thursday via Twitter. He claimed the trucks have an 805-kilometer (500-mile) range and are “super fun to drive.” View More

The trucks were supposed to start production by 2019, but due to a lack of parts, that date has been pushed back to 2019.

Other businesses had also placed preorders for Tesla’s Semi trucks, including United Parcel Service Inc, Walmart Canada, and food service distributor Sysco Corp.

Requests for comments regarding the status of their orders or the timing of their deliveries were not met by Walmart, UPS, or Sysco.

The quantity of Semis that would be delivered to the packaged food company in December was kept a secret by both Pepsi and Musk.

By the end of this year, PepsiCo anticipates deploying 15 of its trucks, according to its website.

On the other hand, Tesla’s share price has suffered as a result of its inability to deliver as many electric vehicles as it produces. Tesla shareholders are concerned that Musk is overextending himself because he is also working to complete his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc.

(Adapted from BusinessToday.in)