At least four companies have publicly confirmed having placed preorders for Tesla’s heavy-duty electric truck.
The companies, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Walmart, Meijer Inc., and Loblaw have each paid the $5,000-a-truck deposit price for the trucks Tesla CEO Elon Musk said will be ready in 2019.
J.B. Hunt said in a statement it has reserved “multiple” trucks and plans to deploy them on the West Coast within its Intermodal and Dedicated Contract Services units.
“Reserving Tesla trucks marks an important step in our efforts to implement industry-changing technology,” said John Roberts, president and CEO. “We believe electric trucks will be most beneficial on local and dray routes, and we look forward to utilizing this new, sustainable technology.”
Walmart said it preordered 15 of the Tesla Semis, with five for its U.S. operations and the other 10 for Canada.
"We are excited to be among the first to pilot this new heavy-duty electric vehicle," the company said in a statement to CNBC.
Canadian grocery chain Loblaw Cos. told Reuters it had placed an order for 25 of the trucks. The company has intentions of transitioning to a completely electric vehicle fleet by 2030. Another grocer and discount retailer, Meijer Inc., told Bloomberg News it would test four Tesla Semis. The company current has a fleet of 250 trucks.
Ryder System told the Wall Street Journal it will place an initial order with Tesla, but did not disclose details.
While these firms received immediately publicity for these orders, executives with Hirschbach Motor Lines and Daseke Inc. have said the 500-mile range on a single charge would prevent it from considering the trucks at this early stage.
