UAE-based Bee’ah buys 50 electric Tesla trucks

LONDON: UAE-based Bee’ah has bought 50 Tesla Semi heavy-duty electric trucks, making it the first company in the Middle East to operate the eco-friendly vehicles.
The environmental management company made the announcement at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. It is is one of the largest orders for the Tesla Semi to date, in line with Sysco Corporation and second to PepsiCo, which ordered 100 trucks, and UPS, which ordered 125 units, according to Inside EVs, an electric vehicle specialist website.
Bee’ah reserved its 50 Tesla trucks immediately after they were launched but it has kept the move quiet until now.
The Sharjah company says its Tesla trucks will be used for waste collection and transportation, including transportation of materials for recovery.
The company said in a statement: “Overall, Bee’ah’s modernized fleet will continue to make a significant contribution to reducing the company’s carbon footprint, and that is by using the new Tesla Semi trucks alongside the existing electric vehicles, the vehicles that run on compressed natural gas and the ones that run on bio diesel, in addition to the boats that use solar energy while cleaning lakes and water bodies.”
The incoming Tesla Semi trucks go into production in 2019, and are expected to enter into service in 2020, according to Inside EVs.
Launched in California by Tesla’s chief executive Elon Musk, the new truck will be capable of traveling 805 kilometers on a single charge.
The base price of the 800+ km-range model is $190,000, according to Tesla. It can accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 20 seconds.
Salim Al-Owais, Chairman of Bee’ah, commented: “As a company that strives to be the best in our field, we only work with partners that we consider to be the best in theirs. Through this latest investment, we hope to demonstrate to others the value and importance of seeking out better, more viable ways of achieving our business aims, all for the greater good of our communities.”