Walmart Announces It Is Tripling Tesla Semi Order

Walmart Canada has announced it will be more than tripling its Tesla Semi order. This announcement will bring the total order to 130 semi-trucks. In the announcement, Walmart Canda said “tripling our reservation of Tesla Semi trucks is part of our ongoing effort to innovate the business and prioritize sustainability”

This order makes Walmart Canada holder of the biggest publicly announced reservation for the Tesla Semi. Other notable companies that order the Tesla Semi are UPS, PepsiCo, and Anheuser-Busch which ordered, 125, 100, and 40 semi-trucks respectively.

The Tesla Semi is expected to start at $150,000. This is for the version that goes 300 miles on a charge. There are two other versions, a 500 mile 180,000 version and a founders series limited edition version which costs $200,000.

According to Wallmart Canada, the orders seem to be for the long-range version. At $180,000 a truck the entire order will amount to just over 23 million dollars. This investment is a part of a 3.5 billion dollar push by Walmart Canada to modernize its operations.

In the press release, Walmart Canada highlights some of the advantages of the Tesla Semi.

• Tesla Semi consumes less than two kilowatt-hours of energy per mile at Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) and highway speed, significantly reducing operating costs per mile compared to diesel.

• 500 miles range allows a driver to go to their destination and back without recharging (500-mile range at maximum weight at highway speed)

• Capable of 0-60 mph in 20 seconds with a full 80,000-pound load and can climb 5 percent grades at a steady 65 mph (compared to 45mph for the same grade in a diesel truck).

• Regenerative braking technology recovers 98 percent of kinetic energy to the battery.

• Surrounding vehicle cameras and sensors aid object detection and minimize blind spots, automatically alerting the driver to safety hazards and obstacles.

• Additional driver safety features including Automatic Emergency Braking, Automatic Lane Keeping, Lane Departure Warning.

Tesla Semi was announced back in 2017 and was thought to go into production in 2019. After a spate of delays the Semi is now expected to come into market in early 2021.

In the Battery Day event Elon Musk said, The 18-wheeler will come with the highest energy pure nickel cathode batteries. This has the chance to increase the already incredible range of the vehicle.

Currently the vehicle is expected to be manufactured in Tesla’s new Austin Gigafactory. And I for one am really excited to see this trailer tractor do 0 to 60 in 5 seconds.

For more information checkout: Why Elon is unhappy with Tesla’s Battery Day Coverage and how it could be his own fault. Also see How Tesla’s China operations is expanding with a weekly infrastructure build

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at
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