Dive Brief:
- LTL carrier ABF Freight is adding two Tesla Semis to its operations to evaluate long-term and potentially scalable integrations, the carrier announced Thursday in a news release.
- The equipment will initially support linehaul operations in California, with a planned extension to Reno, Nevada, and possibly other lanes.
- “Adding Tesla Semis to our lineup allows us to expand that across more lanes and operating conditions to evaluate whether heavy-duty electric vehicles meet the same standards for safety, reliability and performance across our existing fleet,” President Matt Godfrey said in the release.
Dive Insight:
The initial Tesla Semi integration allows ABF Freight to gauge additional investments in the long term and benchmark the EVs to traditional diesel equipment.
Asessing that total cost of ownership, along with performance, safety and driver satisfaction, is part of ABF Freight’s next phase, according to the news release.
“With deployment expanding across additional lanes and driver groups, ABF expects to gain deeper insight into everyday performance across its network,” the carrier said.
EVs savings in fuel costs can eventually help compensate for the costlier equipment, which can be 2.5 times as expensive as diesel tractors.
The addition of equipment follows an ABF Freight three-week pilot of a Tesla Semi in 2025 in which the company saw the EV perform similarly to diesel, parent company ArcBest noted in its annual report.
“While the 2025 pilot demonstrated strong early results, ABF will continue evaluating the Tesla Semi over a longer period and broader operating footprint before making additional investment decisions,” the carrier said in the release.
