CTV News is reporting the Canadian subsidiary of the U.S.-based retail giant Walmart has ordered an additional 30 of Tesla’s 18-wheeler semi-trucks to go along with its initial order of 10 placed in November 2017.
Walmart says it plans to convert 20 percent of its Canadian fleet to electricity by 2022 and will take delivery of the Tesla semis over the next five years. The first 20 trucks will go to Mississauga, Ontario with the rest going to Surrey, British Columbia. According to Nasdaq, the Tesla semis are supposed to go into production in 2019.
Tesla claims the semis can go 500 miles (804 kilometers) on an electric charge, even with a full 80,000-pound load, and they will have some semi-autonomous driving features, just like electric cars.
“We are always looking for innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and lead the industry in the drive for sustainable change,” stated John Bayliss, senior vice-president, logistics and supply chain with Walmart.
Walmart is not the only company to pre-order the Tesla semi. PepsiCo ordered 100 of the Tesla Class 8 heavy-duty electric semi trucks last year after they were introduced, plunking down $30,000 a truck as a pre-order fee. The pre-order fee jumped from an original $5,000 to the current $30,000.
Other companies ordering the trucks include Meijer a supermarket chain in Michigan that ordered four, and J.B Hunts Transport Services a top trucking company that reserved multiple trucks. Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch ordered 40 trucks and Loblaws, a Canadian grocery chain also ordered the trucks.
Walmart Canada operates 410 stores in Canada, serving more than 1.2 million customers per day.
