UPS Pre-Orders 125 Tesla Electric Semis

UPS, which operates one of the largest commercial trucking fleets in the world, reserved 125 of Tesla’s new battery-electric Semi tractors.  (Earlier post.)  The new tractors will join UPS’ extensive alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicle fleet, comprising trucks and tractors propelled by electricity, natural gas, propane, and other non-traditional fuels.

The UPS reservation for the electric Class 8 tractor is the single largest pre-order known yet; Pepsico last week pre-ordered 100 units, the largest to that point.  Other reservations have come in from companies such as Wal-Mart, J.B. Hunt, and Sysco.

UPS has provided Tesla real-world UPS trucking lane information as part of the company’s evaluation of the vehicle’s expected performance for the UPS duty cycle.  UPS frequently partners with suppliers of emerging vehicle technologies to help them develop solutions that prove ready for stringent UPS use-cases.

Tesla’s Semi tractor claims up to 500 miles range on a single charge, an unparalleled cabin experience for drivers, enhanced on-road safety, and significantly reduced long-term cost of ownership.  Safety features include:  automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, automated lane guidance, and brake-by-wire and steer-by-wire with redundancy.

Tesla’s driver-assistance features have been found by the US government to reduce crash rates by 40%.  Tesla expects to begin production of the vehicles in 2019, and UPS will be among the first companies to put the vehicles into use.

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