Karat Packaging, which focuses on distributing and manufacturing environmentally friendly disposable foodservice products, has announced that it will be adding 10 Tesla Semi trucks to its fleet. The order is part of the company’s geographic expansion of its logistics services business.
For now, Karat Packaging has 86 trucks and trailers while also providing third-party logistic (3PL) services to around 100 customers in California. Along with the expansion in California, Karat is planning to expand its logistic offerings geographically from its existing distribution centers in New Jersey, South Carolina, and Texas.
Alan Yu, chairman and chief executive officer at Karat Packaging, shared how this new purchase reflects the company’s promise of investing in environmentally friendly solutions.
“We are excited to incorporate alternative-fuel trucks into our fleet. This purchase represents our commitment to continue investing in environmentally friendly solutions. Adding to Karat Packaging’s competitive advantage and the Company’s distinguishing characteristics, we are pleased to offer additional 3PL services to new and existing customers, particularly during the current supply chain environment.”
In November, Sawyer Merritt shared that a source told him that the Tesla Semi was in limited production. The emphasis should be on the word “limited,” as Elon Musk has stated a few times that Tesla was constrained by the global semiconductor chip supply shortage and by battery cell supply.
Elon also even shared on Twitter that it wasn’t possible to produce additional vehicles in volume until both constraints were addressed.
Please don’t read too much into this. As mentioned publicly, Tesla is constrained by chip supply short-term & cell supply long-term.
Not possible to produce additional vehicles in volume until both constraints are addressed.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2021
In November, Pepsi CEO Ramon Laguarta announced that Pepsi would be receiving the first of its Tesla Semi orders in Q4 2021. However, Elon’s above response, which was to a question by James Stephenson about Pepsi’s order, was a warning not to look too much into that.
Perhaps Pepsi will be one of the first customers to receive its Tesla Semi deliveries, but Elon’s response should serve as an echo of what Sawyer emphasized in his video — this is a very limited start to the Semi’s production and sales.
With all of that being said, I think 2022 will be an important year for Tesla and we will start seeing more Tesla Semis being delivered as well as updates on the Tesla Semi’s production development.
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