Walmart is planning to test Tesla’s electric trucks in Canada and the U.S., it said Friday, just a day after the unveiling of the all-electric Tesla Semi.
The retail giant becomes the second U.S. company to commit to trying the new technology as an alternative to diesel, after J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., a major U.S. trucking company.
J.B. Hunt has reserved an unspecified number of trucks for the U.S. West Coast market, where trucking fleets are facing increasing stringent California emissions legislation.
Hunt’s statement followed a rejection of the new vehicles on Thursday by Old Dominion Freight Line Inc., the United States’ fourth-largest less-than-truckload carrier. Other carriers were also more cautious.
Walmart told CNBC it would order 15 trucks and said it wants to test how the technology performs in its supply chain.
“We have a long history of testing new technology – including alternative-fuel trucks – and we are excited to be among the first to pilot this new heavy-duty electric vehicle,” the company said in a statement to CNBC.
Testing new technology
Tesla did not release the prices of its all-electric Semi, which has a range of 800 kilometres at maximum weight at highway speed.
The Class 8 vehicle, the heaviest weight classification for trucks, can recharge the battery enough in 30 minutes to go 640 kilometres, according to Tesla founder Elon Musk. That compares to diesel trucks capable of travelling up to 1,600 km on a single tank of fuel.
Musk promised to build a global, solar-powered network of “megachargers.”
“Carriers have been skeptical about the heavy-duty tractor applicability to their models, given questions regarding torque, total hauling capacity, and recharging infrastructure,” said Benjamin Hartford, a sector analyst with brokerage Baird.
“(J.B. Hunt) the first mover, particularly with regard to Tesla, but we expect other carriers to follow as electric tractor viability becomes proven.”
Tesla shares rose about two per cent Friday morning after the announcement, though Tesla has fallen far behind on its production schedule for the Model 3 mass market consumer vehicles.