Tesla unveils fleet of more than a dozen electric semi-trucks in Sacramento
SACRAMENTO -- PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA) celebrated the arrival of 18 Tesla semi-trucks at their Sacramento facility on Tuesday.
Charged up and ready to hit the roads, this fleet marks the Sacramento area as one of the first major metropolitan areas in the country to integrate these new Tesla semi-trucks.
The big blue, futuristic-looking trucks bring the city of Sacramento 18 steps closer to its goal of reaching 75,000 zero-emission vehicles by 2025.
In bold letters, the side of each truck reads: "Zero Emissions. This truck is powered by 100% renewable energy."
PBNA executives and local government officials gave their remarks at the celebratory event — speaking on the benefits of this fleet to the Sacramento community and sharing its impacts on public health.
"The reality is that transportation like heavy-duty trucks impacts low-income communities who live in this area," said Sacramento's Vice Mayor Eric Guerra. "We also rely on the work and jobs in this area. This is a way for us to clean our air and have a strong healthy economy at the same time and have a better future for our kids."
The arrival of these trucks was made possible by a grant provided by the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District.
For PBNA, this marks a milestone in their goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2040. Erica Edwards, PBNA's Senior Vice President of Plant Operations, says the company's partnership with Tesla will continue beyond this fleet.
Edwards told CBS13 they are procuring 100 more trucks by the end of the year.
"We want to lead in this space," Edwards said. "[We're] letting people know what we want to do from a sustainability standpoint and what we want is for other companies to follow."
In total, the fleet is expected to eliminate over 1,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas annually.