A Tesla Semi made a stop at the Tesla Takeover event at Harris Ranch in Coalinga, California over the weekend, giving participants a chance to check it out from up close.
Harris Ranch is home to one of the first Supercharger stations opened by Tesla and the world’s largest with 98 charging stalls. While the Semi did not charge its battery there, it attracted a lot of attention from Tesla owners from around the state.
Organized by six Tesla owners clubs from Southern California, the Tesla Takeover event attracts unique Tesla vehicles every year. Visitors were able to see the original Tesla Roadster, many “bagged” Model 3s, and possibly more Plaid Model S and Model X vehicles in one place than anywhere else.
That said, the Tesla Semi featuring a Frito-Lay livery on the cab and Cheetos-branded trailer managed to steal the show. It was surrounded by excited Tesla fans even before the driver managed to complete the parking maneuver at the event.
According to a Twitter post from Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, the Semi was loaded with Frito-Lay products and made a stop at the Harris Ranch on its way to Bakersfield.
In the videos uploaded by other participants on social media, we can see the Tesla Semi arriving at the venue in complete silence and then backing up to park as people couldn’t stop admiring it.
It looks like the Tesla Semi is a pretty effective marketing tool for Frito-Lay and its parent company PepsiCo. The huge interest for Tesla’s Class 8 electric truck means that every sighting of a Semi displaying the Frito-Lay or PepsiCo colors catches the attention of millions of people online, and this latest sighting makes no exception.
As of December 16, 2022, PepsiCo had taken delivery of 36 Tesla Semis – 15 at the Frito-Lay Modesto facility and 21 at the PepsiCo Sacramento site. For 2023, the company plans to deploy all 100 of the heavy-duty electric trucks it reserved as far back as 2017.
PepsiCo is the highest-profile customer for the Tesla Semi and the first one to take delivery of the electric truck. United Parcel Service and food delivery company Sysco are also among the fleet customers that have placed orders for the Tesla Semi.
