Tesla partnering with Tesla Semi reservation holders like UPS and PepsiCo to build on-site charging stations

Thursday February 1, 2018 11:02 pm PDT by Dave Lee

According to Reuters, Tesla is working with several companies (Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo and UPS) to build charging stations at their facilities.

Tesla will help provide design and engineering services but it wasn’t disclosed what portion of the building costs Tesla would pay for, if any.

PepsiCo has reserved 100 Tesla Semi trucks and has held multiple meetings with Tesla to discuss charging, according to Pepsico executive Mike O’Connell.

Anheuser-Busch has ordered 40 Tesla Semi trucks and is looking to install charging stations at large breweries and other locations, according to their senior director of supply chain, James Sembrot.

UPS has ordered 125 Tesla Semis and is looking to work with Tesla to build on-site charging stations according to Scott Phillippi, their global engineering director.

The Tesla Semi was revealed in November 2017 and the major value proposition presented was a cheaper way to transport goods for trucking companies. A Tesla Semi can go up to 500 miles on a single charge.

The Tesla Semi is also able to go 0-60mph with a 80,000 lbs load in 20 seconds.

According to Tesla, the Tesla Semi will be equipped with Enhanced Autopilot that “helps avoid collisions, a centered driver position provides maximum visibility and control, and a low center of gravity offers rollover protection.”

The expected based price is $150,000 for the 300 mile range version and $180,000 for the 500 mile range version.

Tesla Energy expands into 800 Home Depot stores; Lowe’s expansion in discussion

Thursday February 1, 2018 1:02 pm PDT by Dave Lee

Tesla is planning on selling their solar products within Tesla-branded spaces at 800 Home Depots stores across the U.S.

The Tesla solar mini stores inside Home Depot will be have Tesla employees on hand to demonstrate and answer questions about their solar panels and also Powerwall products.

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InsideEVs estimates 1875 Tesla Model 3s were delivered in January 2018

Thursday February 1, 2018 8:02 am PDT by Dave Lee

This morning InsideEVs published their January estimates of how many electric vehicles each manufacturer has sold in the U.S.

Tesla doesn’t not publish monthly sales figures, but rather reports deliveries on a quarterly basis. So, InsideEVs uses their own method to estimate deliveries:

We never know for sure what the monthly numbers total up to until Tesla’s quarterly (or annual) updates add more clarity. However, we do our best to keep our finger on the pulse of what’s happening.

To come to an estimated monthly number, we don’t simply take the quarterly estimate given by Tesla and divide it by 3 and hope it all works out. This is surely not how it works in the real world. We simply report from the data we accumulate ourselves, including first-hand accounts available from the factory and from the community itself.

Historically, while InsideEVs hasn’t been exact on monthly Tesla deliveries in the past, their estimates have been generally in the ballpark and provide useful information.

Most notable, InsideEVs estimates that Tesla has delivered 1,875 Model 3s in January.

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