Tesla said Tuesday it is cutting battery costs to make a difference in renewable energy globally, and may include a 25,000 self-driving model for three years or more.
Chief executive Elon Musk and the head of
Tesla's power team innovated battery design, materials, and production, which
combined could reduce costs by up to 56 percent per kilowatt-hour.
During a "Battery Day"
presentation, Musk said there was an urgent need for new ways to make car
lithium-ion batteries, given the limited supply and cost.
In after-market trading, Tesla's shares
fell nearly six percent as investors realized that the road ahead was not
short.
Musk tweeted that Battery Day
announcements would be "crazy", with high expectations.
During the presentation, Drew Baglino,
Senior Vice President of Musk and Energy Engineering explained the technical
features of making Tesla's batteries, which range from raw materials and
designs to the very cells of the car's structure.
Innovations, some of which are still in the development were expected’ to put more energy into battery cells, reduce
production costs, and dramatically extend battery life.
He expected that large-scale replacement
batteries would be used’ in Tesla factories many years before.
"It wasn't a big deal, it was a lot
of improvement," said Car Brower, executive analyst at IC Cars, about the
Battery Day revelations. "All of these are included in batteries that can
be made faster and cheaper and provide longer vehicle lengths," he explained.
According to Brewer, the innovations
include the use of silicon in batteries instead of more expensive materials and
the design of battery cells in automotive structures.
- Sustainable future -
Musk and Baglino
insisted that moving away from fossil fuels toward sustainable energy is an
important part of tackling climate change.
"It's really important that we take
action," Baglino said.
"We're going to run out of these
fossil fuels, so let's just move on to the future."
According to musk, in order to make a
difference in the world of renewable electricity, it is essential to make
lithium-ion batteries cheaper and in larger quantities, which Tesla aims to
store more.
"We are working very hard to move the
world towards sustainable energy as soon as possible," Musk said.
In addition to making electric cars, Tesla
has a battery division dedicated to power sales for its vehicles, as well as
storage packs for electricity in homes, businesses or disaster scenes.
Tesla makes batteries at its plants in the
United States and China, and is building a factory in Germany.
Tesla model lithium-ion batteries are
manufactured’ by Panasonic at the Giga Factory of the electric car company in
Nevada.
Musk said in a tweet Monday that Tesla
plans to increase battery purchases from Panasonic, LG and CATL based in China.
"However, even as our cell suppliers
are moving at a faster pace, we are still predicting significant shortages in
2022 and beyond until we take action ourselves."
When it comes to batteries, the key to the
future of electric vehicles is Tesla ahead of other automakers.
- Tesla 'Movie Theater'.
The battery event featured an annual
shareholders' meeting, followed by Tesla cars.
He nodded and walked on stage, thanking
Musk.
"We've basically got the Tesla Drive
in movie theater."
"It's a little difficult to read a
room when everyone is in a car."
The sound was missing from the streamed
videos at the beginning of the event, but there was a clear flaw in the way the
speakers presented it.
Color founder and chief executive Musk has
a knack for imagining amazing innovations, from colonies on Mars to computers
and "hyperloop" tunnel systems to mind-boggling underground people.
According to Musk, Tesla's new battery-making method could potentially help the company produce 25,000 models
in "three years".
Despite a long-standing goal of making
electric cars available to the public, Tesla models currently start at just
over 35 35,000 and the price is skyrocketing.
"It's very critical that we build
cars that people can really afford," Musk said.
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