The list of Tesla semi buyers is getting a bit longer, and this time, the number of semis that have been ordered is bigger than the previous preorders. AB InBev, parent company of Anheuser-Busch, announced that the popular beer brand has preordered 40 electric semis from Tesla. Although it will likely be years before any Tesla semi buyers will see their big rigs, major brands are lining up to order them.
Tesla stock ticked slightly higher after the news, although at this point, what’s really needed is news about progress on Model 3 production to really drive the shares.
Anheuser-Busch joins the list of Tesla semi buyers
Anheuser-Busch said its order of semis is one of the biggest Tesla has received, although the EV maker itself hasn’t offered many details about which firms might be on the list of buyers. For many brands, ordering a Tesla vehicle could be part of their publicity campaign, at least for those bold enough to announce to the world that they’ve ordered one.
Tesla is certainly a trendy brand, so other major brands are ready to jump on board publicly. It will be interesting to see how many of these first Tesla semi buyers are left on the list when it finally becomes their turn to complete their orders. The truck won’t enter production until 2019 or later.
The EV maker revealed its electric semi last month, and a handful of big companies were first in line to order one. Among the first Tesla semi buyers were Walmart, Meijer, and J.B. Hunt. The electric truck’s design is rather unusual as it has room for the driver to stand at the wheel, and there are huge touchscreens on both sides of the driver. Tesla said it can travel 300 to 500 miles on a charge, depending on which model is ordered. The price starts at $150,000 for the truck with the shorter range and $180,000 for the model with the longer range.
Tesla semi buyers have ordered ~140 so far
Jalopnik put together a list of the companies that are believed to be among the early Tesla semi buyers, and if the website’s calculations are correct, about 140 of the electric trucks have been preordered. All we have to go on are public announcements from companies like Anheuser-Busch that want attention for buying one of Tesla’s trucks and media reports naming others and citing unnamed sources for the information. Here are the companies listed by Jalopnik:
- Walmart
- Meijer
- Anheuser-Busch
- B. Hunt
- Loblaw
- JK Moving
- Girteka Logistics
- Fercam
- Ryder
- Fortigo Freight Services
- DHL
Anheuser-Busch said it ordered 40 electric semis from Tesla, so at $5,000 per order, the EV maker is getting a serious influx of much-needed cash from its semi already. Apparently, the beer maker has a history of pressing ahead with its logistics. Last year the company said it made the first beer delivery via an autonomous truck. By 2025, the beer maker aims to slash its operational carbon footprint 30%, and it hopes using electric trucks will help it do that. The semis will be equipped with Tesla’s Autopilot semi-autonomous driving system as well.
Tesla stock rose by as much as 0.51% to $314.86 in intraday trading on Thursday.
