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Tesla has delivered a new fleet of up to 21 Tesla Semi electric trucks to PepsiCo as the automaker slowly ramps up the much-delayed vehicle program.

Tesla unveiled the production version of its Tesla Semi class 8 electric truck and delivered the first units in December.

It came after years of delays in the program.

Reservation holders are glad to see the electric truck in the hands of customers finally, but it hasn’t been clear how fast Tesla can ramp up production of the vehicle.

PepsiCo took delivery of the first Tesla Semi trucks. Within weeks of taking delivery of the first truck, PepsiCo said that it would be deploying 36 Tesla Semi trucks, but it wasn’t clear how many were already in operation.

Now the giant food and beverage company has unveiled a new fleet of Tesla Semi trucks to be used at its Sacramento facility:

The company confirmed that it is using 15 Tesla Semi trucks at its Modesto facility, and now up to 21 trucks are going to operate from the Sacramento plant.

We also learned that Tesla is selling its electric truck to PepsiCo for $250,000.

It was the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District that confirmed it when it said that it paid for 18 of the 21 trucks to be used at the Sacramento bottling plant with $4.5 million in grants.

On top of the trucks, Tesla also installed four 750-kW Megachargers at the Sacramento facility as it did at the Modesto plant.

Electrek’s Take

It’s still hard to estimate Tesla’s production of Tesla Semi trucks at this time.

Chairwoman Robyn Denholm previously said that Tesla could deliver 100 electric trucks in 2022, but it looks like the automaker delivered half of that.

Electrek previously obtained information pointing to Tesla having the capacity to build about five Tesla Semi trucks per week at its facility near Gigafactory Nevada.

But the real capacity is going to come from the expansion of Gigafactory Nevada announced in January.

In the meantime, I wouldn’t expect any meaningful deliveries of Tesla Semi trucks, but it’s still great to see PepsiCo getting some on the road.

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Rare earth stocks surge on U.S-China trade dispute over the critical minerals

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Rare earth stocks surge on U.S-China trade dispute over the critical minerals

A dump truck moves raw ore inside the pit at the Mountain Pass mine, operated by MP Materials, in Mountain Pass, California, U.S., on Friday, June 7, 2019.

Joe Buglewicz | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Shares of U.S. rare earth miners surged in early trading Monday, after President Donald Trump threatened China with retaliation over its strict export controls.

USA Rare Earth soared more than 18%, Critical Metals surged 18%, Energy Fuels jumped more than 11%, and MP Materials rallied about 8%.

Trump on Friday threatened China with a “massive” increase in tariffs in retaliation for Beijing imposing strict export controls on rare earth elements. The president then dialed down his rhetoric on Sunday, saying the situation with China will “be fine.”

The Defense Department, meanwhile, is accelerating its effort to stockpile $1 billion worth of critical minerals, according to The Financial Times.

And JPMorgan Chase said Monday it would invest up to $10 billion in companies that are crucial to U.S. national security.

“It has become painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing — all of which are essential for our national security,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in press release.

Rare earths are a subset of critical minerals that are crucial inputs in U.S. weapons platforms, robotics, electric vehicles and other applications.

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Bloom Energy shares soar more than 30% after striking deal with Brookfield to provide fuel cells to AI data centers

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Bloom Energy shares soar more than 30% after striking deal with Brookfield to provide fuel cells to AI data centers

Bloom Energy power storage equipment in San Ramon, California.

Smith Collection | Gado | Archive Photos | Getty Images

Shares of Bloom Energy surged Monday after striking a deal with Brookfield to deploy fuel cells for artificial intelligence data centers.

Brookfield will spend up to $5 billion to deploy Bloom Energy’s technology, the first investment in its strategy to support big AI data centers with power and computing infrastructure.

Shares of Bloom Energy were up more than 30% in early trading. Bloom’s fuel cells provide onsite power that can be deployed quickly because they do not rely on the electric grid.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC last week that the AI industry will need to build power off the electric to meet demand quickly and protect consumers from rising electricity prices.

“Data center self-generated power could move a lot faster than putting it on the grid and we have to do that,” Huang told CNBC on Oct. 8.

This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

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JPMorgan Chase says it will invest $10 billion into industries critical for national security

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JPMorgan Chase says it will invest  billion into industries critical for national security

JPMorgan Chase says it will invest $10 billion into industries critical for national security

JPMorgan Chase on Monday said it is launching a decade-long plan to help finance and take direct stakes in companies it considers crucial to U.S. interests.

The bank said in a statement it would invest up to $10 billion into companies in four areas: defense and aerospace, “frontier” technologies including AI and quantum computing, energy technology including batteries, and supply chain and advanced manufacturing.

The money is part of a broader effort, dubbed the Security and Resiliency Initiative, in which JPMorgan said it will finance or facilitate $1.5 trillion in funding for companies it identifies as crucial. It said the total amount is 50% more than a previous plan.

“It has become painfully clear that the United States has allowed itself to become too reliant on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing — all of which are essential for our national security,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in the release.

As the biggest American bank by assets and a Wall Street juggernaut, JPMorgan was already raising funds and lending money to companies in those industries. But the move helps organize the company’s activities around national interests at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and China.

On Friday, markets tumbled as President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on Chinese imports after the major U.S. trading partner tightened export controls on rare earths.

In the release, Dimon said that the U.S. needs to “remove obstacles” including excessive regulations, “bureaucratic delay” and “partisan gridlock.”

JPMorgan said that within the four major areas, there were 27 specific industries it would look to support with advice, financing and investments. That includes areas as diverse as nanomaterials, autonomous robots, spacecraft and space launches, and nuclear and solar power.

“Our security is predicated on the strength and resiliency of America’s economy,” Dimon said. “This new initiative includes efforts like ensuring reliable access to life-saving medicines and critical minerals, defending our nation, building energy systems to meet AI-driven demand and advancing technologies like semiconductors and data centers.”

The bank said it would hire an unspecified numbers of bankers and create an external advisory council to support its initiative.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

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