FedEx Corp. has placed a reservation for 20 Tesla Semi trucks. The fully electric trucks, which are scheduled to begin production in 2019, will be operated by FedEx Freight, FedEx’s “less-than-truckload” unit.
“FedEx has a long history of innovation and incorporating sustainability efforts throughout its global network,” comments Mike Ducker, FedEx Freight’s president and CEO. “Our investment in these trucks is part of our commitment to improving road safety while also reducing our environmental impact.”
Tesla claims its new big rig will deliver a far better experience for truck drivers, as well as increase safety and significantly reduce 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. The company also touts electric energy cost-savings that are half that of diesel.
Since 2008, FedEx says it has saved more than 158 million gallons of vehicle fuel by replacing vehicles with more efficient models and making greater use of electric vehicles, fuel cells, natural gas, hybrids and clean truck technologies. More about the company’s sustainability efforts can be found in its Global Citizenship Report.
In December, UPS reserved 125 of the all-electric trucks. Wal-Mart, PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch are among other companies that have also pre-ordered the Tesla Semi.
I can’t wait for those rigs to come into operation. We need real operations data in order to square them off against the alternatives. For the moment we get all the hyped provisional data that no one can really pin down. Tesla claims and we gobble it up like Spaghetti. It’s time we got less vapourware and more hardware to compare. Natural gas trucks are out there for everyone to see. Don’t believe the performance figures – go and see for yourself.
Reservations are NOT actual orders. There is ZERO battery stations or other electrification in the USA.