Tesla Has More Awful News About Its Semi Trucks

Tesla  (TSLA) - Get Free Report CEO Elon Musk introduced the Semi to a waiting world on Nov. 16. 2017.

This was the electric vehicle maker's first take on the semi-trailer truck, and Musk said that the Semi would have a single-charge range of 500 miles and be less expensive to operate than a diesel truck.

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He also said that Tesla expected to begin producing the truck by the end of 2019.

However, the Semi has been having a tough time getting on to the highway. 

In January 2022, Musk said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings conference call that the Semi should not be expected before 2023.

Pepsi's Plans for Semi

By October, Musk said Tesla was aiming to ramp up Tesla Semi production to 50,000 electric trucks per year – as soon as next year. 

But in March, Tesla issued a voluntary recall for the Semi due to a parking brake issue that could affect 35 vehicles produced between Nov. 30, 2022, and Feb. 28.

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Specifically, the electronic parking brake valve module could malfunction and move into the park position when the parking brake is activated, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notice.

That number of recall vehicles roughly matched the number of Semis that Tesla's first customer Pepsi  (PEP) - Get Free Report and its subsidiary Frito-Lay were said to be deploying, Electrek noted.

PepsiCo told Reuters in December that it planned to roll out 100 Semis in 2023, when it will start using the electric trucks to make deliveries to customers like Walmart  (WMT) - Get Free Report and Kroger  (KR) - Get Free Report.

The company said it was deploying 36 electric trucks from Tesla, with 15 in Modesto, Calif., and 21 in Sacramento.

Question About Production

And then on June 13, Tesla issued another recall for the Semi. 

"The door open warning indicator only displays when the vehicle's parking brake is not engaged and the side door is not fully latched," the NHTS alert said. "In addition, the door closure warning system allows the operator to dismiss the notification that the side door is unlatched, which could result in driving with an unsecured door." 

Unlike the recall in March, this action was being handled as an over-the-air update. 

This recall covered 36 vehicles produced between Nov. 30, 2022, and March 13 and matches the previously reported number of deployments.

This would seem to indicate that the production of the Semi is going very slowly.

Pepsi did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Tesla dissolved its public relations department in 2020.