The ZET SCALE alliance, which includes Microsoft and PepsiCo, has selected Tesla as the primary supplier for its fleet of Class 8 electric trucks. The initial order consists of 2,500 vehicles, a move expected to nearly double the current number of heavy-duty electric trucks operating in the United States.
The trucks will be deployed across 10 major logistics hubs, including Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, and New York. While Tesla leads the supply, the alliance has also engaged Kenworth, RIDE, and Volvo as additional manufacturers. The specific share allocated to Tesla remains undisclosed.
ZET SCALE aims to expand the program to at least 10,000 trucks in the long term. This deal follows a previous order of 500 units for Einride. The new agreement comes just two days before the scheduled opening of Tesla's dedicated Semi factory in Nevada on September 24.
The new Nevada facility is located near the 4680 battery cell production lines at Gigafactory Nevada and has an annual production capacity of 50,000 trucks. Tesla reports that the production version of the Semi is 3% more efficient than the prototype, featuring a drag coefficient of 0.36.
