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Snack giant Frito-Lay has launched its first 100% all-electric truck fleet at one of its North Carolina distribution sites.

Frito-Lay’s electric truck fleet is based out of the snack giant’s South Charlotte Product Exchange Center (PEC). It consists of 28 Ford E-Transits and a “wide array of charging solutions” (whatever that means), but we know it’s working with Atom Power on that front and with Duke Energy for power.

Ryan Kennedy, the CEO of Atom Power, said, “It was exactly what they needed for this depot, which was highly reliable charging infrastructure, large-scale energy management, and that’s what we do fundamentally as a company.”

Frito-Lay doesn’t explicitly say, but it looks as though it’s deploying Ford’s two-seater cutaway model with a 68kWh lithium-ion battery and a range of 126 miles.

The PepsiCo subsidiary says that the South Charlotte site is a pilot for future electric depots. It’s set a target of deploying 700 electric vehicles before year-end (they’d better hurry!) and achieving net zero emissions by 2040.

The trucks will drive around 800 miles daily to deliver snacks to retail stores in Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union Counties in North Carolina, and Lancaster and York Counties in South Carolina.

This electric truck fleet will eliminate 260 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. 

Read more: Daimler eCascadias are now to Coke as Tesla Semi electric trucks are to Pepsi

Photo: Frito-Lay


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Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s just dropped an electric ice cream truck: Meet the sweet new EV

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Rivian and Ben & Jerry's just dropped an electric ice cream truck: Meet the sweet new EV

Imagine seeing this as the next ice cream truck rolling through your neighborhood? Yep, Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s teamed up to create the electric ice cream truck we’ve been waiting for. The “Scoop Truck” will be hitting the road to hand out ice cream this week and honestly, it looks pretty sweet.

Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s unveil electric ice cream truck

What’s better than an ice cream truck? An electric one. The Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s mashup gives us a sneak peek at the ice cream truck of the future.

The “Scoop Truck” will officially debut at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, this week. Fans can stop by to get a first look at the electric truck (and maybe a sweet treat to go with it).

After that, the scoop trucks will hit the road, stopping at Rivian community events. You can also catch it at upcoming events in Vermont, Ben & Jerry’s home state.

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The electric scoop truck is based on Rivian’s Commercial Van, which was launched last month in the US. You may have seen the Rivian Electric Delivery Vans (EDVs) for Amazon roaming through your neighborhood. After ending its exclusivity agreement, Rivian is now open to other partnerships, like with Ben & Jerry’s.

Rivian-electric-ice-cream-truck
Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s electric ice cream truck (Source: Ben & Jerry’s)

Rivian said its Commercial Van “will allow for more events, more catering gigs, and dishing out more ice cream than ever” with up to 161 miles of range.

Sean Slattery, Ben & Jerry’s US integrated Marketing Project lead joked that “Rivian helped Ben & Jerry’s reduce our reliance on fossil fuels in a small way, while making things a little bit cooler… which, as an ice cream company, is extremely difficult to do.”

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Rivian Commercial Van (Source: Rivian)

Rivian’s electric van is available in two models: the Delivery 500 and 700, starting at $79,900 and $83,900, respectively. The smaller (Delivery 500) van is designed for getting around city streets, while the larger (Delivery 700) model includes extra space (652 cu ft) for more cargo and storage.

Rivian and Ben & Jerry’s are two companies fighting for a cleaner future, so the “sweet” partnership makes sense. What do you think of the electric ice cream truck? Let us know in the comments below.

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Elon Musk tries and fails to pump Tesla’s stock (TSLA)

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Elon Musk tries and fails to pump Tesla's stock (TSLA)

Elon Musk tried to pump Tesla’s stock (TSLA) by claiming a 10x increase in profits, but it failed. In fact, the stock is down 10% since Musk’s pump.

After an analyst posted a prediction that Tesla would increase its profits by 256%, Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded

It will require outstanding execution, but I think more like 1000% gain for Tesla in 5 years is possible.

The comment was quickly propagated by Elon fans and the community of “Tesla all-ins” as being a sign that Musk, who is quite busy with X and DOGE lately, still believes in Tesla.

And yet, Tesla’s stock is down 10% since Musk’s pump:

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There are a few factors at play here. Mostly, it’s just not a great pump and shows Musk is disconnectedness with Tesla and its shareholders.

Many of his fans took it as a “1000% or 10x increase in Tesla’s stock”, but the analyst Musk was responding to was talking about profits.

At the time of the tweet, Tesla was trading at 150x profits. With a P/E of 15, Tesla’s stock price already assumed a roughly 10x increase in profits over the next few years.

Therefore, Musk saying that with “outstanding execution,” he “thinks” Tesla could “possibly” achieve a “more like” 10x increase in profits in “5 years,” is just not the pump that his fans thought it was. In fact, it was basically him saying that Tesla is currently priced for perfect execution.

Despite the drop in the last two days, Tesla is still trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of ~130.

Electrek’s Take

I think this shows how disconnected Elon is from Tesla and its shareholders. They thought, and he probably did too, that this would be a great pump, but it’s simply not.

Especially not amid protests and boycotts against Tesla while the company already had demand issues.

They are clinging to the idea that the Model Y refresh will save the company and return it to growth, but I don’t see that happening right now.

I think that Elon distancing himself from Tesla would be the only thing that would help right now, and it doesn’t look like it will happen. So, the shareholders will have to push him out, which won’t happen until the stock price motivates them.

We are still quite a bit away from that, but I think it’s headed in that direction fast.

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Waymo One begins autonomous rides in Austin, Texas, exclusively through Uber [Video]

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Waymo One begins autonomous rides in Austin, Texas, exclusively through Uber [Video]

Starting today, the fully autonomous Waymo One ride service is available exclusively to customers in Austin, Texas through the Uber app. Today’s news builds upon Waymo’s existing partnership with Uber and is a milestone in the robotaxi startup’s expansion to new cities around the US.

As promised, robotaxi developer Waymo is expanding its Waymo One service to new US cities. While much of the world is still not completely sold on the plausibility of full-fledged robotaxi operations across major metropolitan areas, Waymo is trekking forward in its operations and has the data to prove it is, in fact, safer in many ways.

With the financial backing of parent company Alphabet Inc. (Google) and a $5.6 billion influx of cash secure in 2024, Waymo has been able to expand robotaxi operations in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix.

At the time of the Series C funding announcement mentioned above, the mobility company detailed plans to expand its Waymo-One rideshare services to new cities like Austin, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia in 2025 through an ongoing partnership with Uber.

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Today, Waymo has confirmed that fully-autonomous rides are now available in Austin through the Uber app. Be sure to check out the video from Waymo below.

Waymo Austin
Source: Waymo

Waymo One operational around 37 square miles of Austin

Waymo confirmed the start of fully autonomous robotaxi services in Austin today through a social media post. According to Waymo, Uber users who request an Uber X, Uber Comfort, Uber Green, or Uber Comfort Electric will have the opportunity to opt in and match with Waymo’s autonomous vehicles (when available).

Riders who are matched with a Waymo One-equipped EV, currently the Jaguar I-Pace (RIP), will be able to travel within a 37-square-mile footprint around much of Austin, including Hyde Park, Downtown, and Montopolis. Through the Uber app, riders will see options to unlock the Waymo One vehicle’s doors, open the trunk, and begin their ride once they are inside.

Today’s rollout stems from a multi-year partnership between Waymo and Uber. Austin is the first market where Uber is managing and dispatching Waymo vehicles, so it will be an important one to keep and eye on to see how everything runs and how the public responds.

As previously announced, the partnership with Uber also includes robotaxi expansions to the public in Atlanta, Georgia, later this year. As we reported in December 2024, Miami is also in the works for a 2026 rollout. While we await those expansions, here’s some footage of the Waymo One rollout in Austin.

Source: Waymo

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