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ZET SCALE Selects Tesla for 2,500 Electric Trucks

By Drooid · Sep 24, 2026, 10:34 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

ZET Scale Selects Tesla

ZET SCALE coalition selected Tesla as primary supplier for 2,500 electric Class 8 trucks.
The order will roughly double the United States’ battery-electric heavy-truck fleet.
Deliveries will occur over several years to ten hubs, including Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York-Newark.
Tesla’s new Nevada Semi factory, opened this week, can build up to 50,000 trucks annually, far exceeding the order.

Summary

PepsiCo Leads Testing

ZET Lease’s fair-market-value structure shifts residual-value risk from carriers, easing electric-truck adoption.
Microsoft sustainability director Nico De Golia says participation turns climate commitments into operational freight reality.
PepsiCo, the No. 2 North American private carrier, led the alliance’s initial semi-truck testing.
Tesla began production at its Reno, Nevada plant in April and will host carrier visits week of Sept 21.
ZET SCALE’s members now include Ikea and Red Bull, broadening the demand-pool beyond tech firms.

History

Historical Context

The DOE’s 2008 cost-shared vehicle-technology projects, including aerodynamic heavy-duty truck trailers, and its 2009 ATVM loan program that granted $8.4 billion to firms such as Tesla and Nissan, created federal support for fuel-efficient and electric trucks. Building on that foundation, ZET SCALE’s 2,500-truck Tesla order, backed by Microsoft and PepsiCo, could double the U.S. battery-electric heavy-truck fleet to about 5,000 by 2028.

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ZET Scale Selects Tesla

ZET SCALE coalition selected Tesla as primary supplier for 2,500 electric Class 8 trucks.
The order will roughly double the United States’ battery-electric heavy-truck fleet.
Deliveries will occur over several years to ten hubs, including Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York-Newark.
Tesla’s new Nevada Semi factory, opened this week, can build up to 50,000 trucks annually, far exceeding the order.

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