Chief Executive Officer, Tesla Motors, Elon Musk, has revealed that the company will start production of electronic trucks and they would be ready for deliveries by December 1, 2022.
Musk, who disclosed this on his official Twitter page on Thursday, said the trucks would be called, Tesla Semi Trucks.
The world’s richest man also added that Tesla’s first deliveries of the trucks would be to Pepsi on December 1, 2022.
He tweted, “Excited to announce start of production of Tesla Semi Truck with deliveries to @Pepsi on Dec 1st!
“500 mile range and super fun to drive.” He added.
When Musk unveiled the prototype of the futuristic, battery-powered Semi in 2017, he said the Class 8 truck would go into production by 2019.
However, the timeline has been pushed multiple times due to part shortages and Musk said the production would be delayed to next year. In August, he announced the planned production of the truck.
In another tweet, Musk reiterated that the vehicle has a range of 500 miles (805 km). It was not immediately clear how many Semi trucks the electric vehicle maker plans to produce.
The truck is expected to cost $180,000, although it would qualify for a tax break of up to $40,000 under a U.S. subsidy program approved by the Senate.
Back in 2017, PepsiCo reserved 100 of Tesla’s semi electric trucks as it sought to reduce fuel costs and fleet emissions.
In an interview with CNBC last year, PepsiCo’s top boss Ramon Laguarta had said transportation accounted for 10% of the company’s gas emissions.
The maker of Mountain Dew soda and Doritos chips had previously said it aims to use the trucks to ship snack foods and beverages between manufacturing and distribution centers as well as to retailers.
Confirming Musk’s tweet on Friday, PepsiCo said in a statement that the trucks would be used at its Frito-Lay plant in Modesto, California, and its PepsiCo beverages factory in Sacramento.
Neither Musk nor Pepsi disclosed the number of Semis that would arrive at the packaged food company in December. On its website, PepsiCo said it expects 15 of its trucks to deploy by the end of this year.
Tesla, on the other hand, has been struggling to deliver as many electric vehicles as it produces, which has hurt its share price. Musk is also trying to close his $44 billion takeover of Twitter Inc (TWTR.N), which has Tesla investors worried that the billionaire was spreading himself too thin.
PepsiCo has been aiming to reduce fuel costs and emissions, and reserved 100 of the trucks in 2017.
U.S. companies have pledged to take action to reduce their impacts on the environment, with PepsiCo aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.
Other companies including United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N), Walmart Canada (WMT.N) and food service distributor Sysco Corp (SYY.N) had also placed preorders for Tesla’s Semi trucks.
Walmart, UPS and Sysco did not respond to requests for comment on the status of their orders or delivery timings.
