Everything Elon Musk and execs shared (and skipped) at Tesla Investor Day

The large, large message Tesla CEO Elon Musk and different execs tried to impart throughout its four-hour Tesla Investor Day was how the corporate could be a driver of a world shift to scrub vitality. Traders, at least these lively after the market closed, weren’t impressed maybe as a result of it lacked that huge product announcement, particular particulars the following step within the so-called grasp plan 3 or Musk’s signature “yet another factor” line.

Shares of Tesla fell 5.66% in after-hours buying and selling.

A lot of the occasion was extra historical past lesson than a forecast of future enterprise — though the nuance was that, after all, all roads result in the long run. And huge sections of the occasion had been devoted to operational efficiencies and efforts to scale back price at just about each stage of firm. (which usually traders like).

Maybe essentially the most attention-grabbing elements are what was not mentioned. Musk and an unusually lengthy lineup of division leads didn’t share new particulars on Tesla’s next-generation EV, nor did they handle present points with its Full Self-Driving software program that’s at the moment unavailable to those that opted to purchase the $15,000 choice because of a recall.

Nonetheless, there was some information and insights from the occasion. Right here’s a roundup highlighting the large stuff.

20 million EVs a 12 months by 2030

Picture Credit: Tesla/screenshot

This isn’t a brand new objective for Tesla. However a string of executives, who got here on stage to speak about every part from manufacturing and uncooked supplies to design, charging and batteries, all actually tried to show their case for the way they’d attain that objective.

The slide above reveals the prevailing portfolio, the Mannequin S, Mannequin X, Mannequin Y and Mannequin 3 — in addition to the Tesla Semi and the Cybertruck, and two veiled autos.

It’s price wanting at the 20 million autos per 12 months quantity for a little bit of a actuality verify. Tesla produced 1,369,611 and delivered 1,313,851 autos in 2022. Toyota, the worldwide gross sales chief, bought 10.5 million autos final 12 months.

Meaning, and observe the maths, Tesla would wish to extend its manufacturing (and gross sales thoughts you) about 15 occasions from 2022.

So, how will Tesla obtain this? Musk mentioned it’s not a requirement downside (a phrase he has used repeatedly previously). The powerful half is constructing the darned issues, he mentioned. Tesla’s solutions are: vertical integration, scaling current factories and constructing new ones, making the manufacturing course of extra environment friendly and including a number of extra fashions. (However, apparently, not too many; Musk mentioned perhaps 10 fashions complete).

Vertical integration and slashing prices

Tesla is known for its fixed push in direction of vertical integration. It’s the one automotive firm in current reminiscence that took on making its personal seats, as an illustration.

That message continued at the investor occasion, with executives discussing totally different items of the vertical-integration objective. Tesla mentioned it makes use of its personal software program for in-house operations, together with recruiting, and that it developed its personal purpose-built microprocessor for high-power electronics that can cut back prices by half.

For Tesla, vertical integration equals price reductions. And that’s one of many huge goals to attain that greater mission.

Lithium plant in Corpus Christi

Picture Credit: Tesla/screenshot

Tesla mentioned it prolonged its vertical integration efforts to the supplies it makes use of in battery cells.

Tesla formally broke floor at a brand new lithium refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, Drew Baglino, senior vp of powertrain and vitality engineering, confirmed throughout the occasion.

Through the presentation, Tesla confirmed a rendering of the 50 gigawatt-hour per 12 months lithium refinery. The corporate’s messaging round pace and scale continued with the refinery undertaking, as Baglino famous they’re working to have it operational by the tip of 2023.

“This can be a good instance of one thing the place we’re principally speaking about breaking floor and and beginning commissioning inside 10 months and with precise manufacturing inside 12 months,” Baglino mentioned. “That’s the goal.”

Musk added later, throughout a Q&A session, {that a} cathode processing facility will finally be constructed adjoining to the lithium refinery. He additionally famous that the corporate would like if others took on lithium mining.

“We’re doing it as a result of we have now to not as a result of we need to,” Musk mentioned.

Mexico manufacturing facility

Picture Credit: Tesla/screenshot

Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador technically broke the information Tuesday, however Musk reiterated the announcement with out sharing any new particulars other than a rendering.

“We’re excited to announce that the following Tesla gigafactory will likely be in Mexico close to Monterey,” Musk mentioned. “We do need to emphasize we are going to proceed to develop manufacturing at all of our current factories, together with California, Nevada, right here in Texas, Shanghai, so we intend to extend manufacturing at all factories. So the Giga Mexico could be supplemental to the output of all the opposite factories.”

Musk went on to tease a grand opening occasion at the manufacturing facility.

Subsequent-gen autos

Picture Credit: Tesla/screenshot

As we talked about above, Tesla displayed two veiled autos throughout the presentation, hinting at the way it will construct its next-generation of autos on a very totally different platform design. A giant a part of that design is constructing in a manner that depends on automation to scale sooner and cheaper.

“It’s going to look one thing like this the place we construct all the edges of the vehicles independently, we solely paint what we have to, and then we assemble the elements of the automotive as soon as, and solely as soon as. We put them the place they should go,”  Baglino mentioned.

Baglino famous that this is able to imply extra folks and robots having the area to work on separate items of the automotive, slightly than lugging heavy objects to a central buildout. What that appears like on the manufacturing facility ground is sub-assemblies, whereby the entrance, rear and ground with seats are assembled individually, and then put collectively at remaining meeting.

“To extend the size of adoption of electrical autos to the orders of magnitude that we simply confirmed you, we have now to make constraints a part of the answer,” he mentioned. “It leads us to higher than 40% discount in footprint, which implies we are able to construct factories sooner, with much less capex and extra output per unit greenback.”

Whereas that theoretically sounds neat, factories are harmful locations and when extra folks work in nearer quarters, accidents can occur.

Neither Baglino, Musk nor head of design Franz von Holzhausen gave extra particulars on next-generation autos. The one trace: This next-gen design may be used on the Cybertruck, in accordance with Baglino.

Uncommon earths

Picture Credit: Tesla/screenshot

As a part of Tesla’s next-gen design, the corporate is creating a brand new drive unit that it says will likely be extra scalable, largely as a result of it’s going to finally remove the usage of uncommon earth supplies.

“We have now designed our subsequent drive unit to make use of a everlasting magnet motor to not use any uncommon earth supplies at all,” mentioned Colin Campbell, VP of powertrain engineering, noting that the brand new drive unit price has been lowered to $1,000. These financial savings might, in concept, be handed onto the buyer to make for a extra accessible, inexpensive EV.

Tesla mentioned its subsequent powertrain will even use 75% much less silicone carbide with out compromising efficiency or effectivity of the car. The brand new powertrain can be suitable with any battery chemistry, which is able to give Tesla extra flexibility in battery sourcing, mentioned Campbell. Lastly, Tesla’s new powertrain manufacturing facility is outwardly 50% smaller than the present one in Austin, which Campbell mentioned means sooner scaling of EV manufacturing.

Warmth pumps

The third a part of Tesla’s Grasp Plan Half 3 is to change house, enterprise and industrial heating to warmth pumps. Most of that portion of the presentation was only a Local weather Tech 101 on the unwell results of conventional heating programs and how warmth pumps might assist. Musk mentioned at some level Tesla may think about constructing warmth pumps for the house to assist resolve this downside.

Tesla already produces warmth pumps for its vehicles, so increasing into properties wouldn’t be far out of left area. However if in case you have a fuel or oil heater, the excellent news is you don’t have to attend for Tesla to exchange it. Loads of different firms already do that, together with Sealed and BlocPower.

Charging and vitality storage

Picture Credit: Tesla

Tesla broke up its info-dump with some bulletins, and a number of hints, on the way forward for its EV charging and vitality storage companies. Most concretely, the automaker formally launched Magic Dock, an improve to Tesla’s charging stations which opens them as much as autos that aren’t Teslas. Rolling out the tech will allow Tesla to faucet into billions in federal subsidies.

Tesla additionally mentioned it’s going to add a $30 “limitless in a single day house charging” plan to Tesla Electrical in July. An invitation-only electrical plan, Tesla Electrical is solely obtainable to Powerwall havers in elements of Texas the place retail choice exists. Tesla added that it goals to develop its electrical plan into different areas — “market by market, in the identical manner that we’ve approached Tesla insurance coverage.” The corporate provided no particular dates.

Later, the automaker mentioned it will debut new vitality storage merchandise in 2023. One chart proven to traders appeared to depict new megapack and powerwall designs, additionally hidden beneath illustrated veils. Take this with a grain or extra of salt; Tesla has a monitor report of lacking its personal deadlines.

Robotic

Picture Credit: Tesla/screenshot

Tesla teased just a little extra details about its humanoid robotic, the Optimus, with a video exhibiting two robots slowly constructing one other bot — a giant step up from the prototype Tesla confirmed final October at AI Day.

As normal, Musk acknowledged that Optimus will likely be price considerably greater than the automotive aspect of issues. Optimus is skilled utilizing the identical AI that trains Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD, and Musk detailed how even a lot of the {hardware} for Optimus is taken from Tesla’s vehicles.

“The actuators in Optimus are all customized Tesla actuators,” mentioned Musk. “We designed the electrical motor or the gearbox, the facility electronics, clearly the battery pack and every part else that goes into Optimus. The identical group that designed the groundbreaking electrical motors which can be within the Mannequin S Plaid designed the actuators within the robotic.”

What this implies, mentioned Musk, is that Tesla has the instruments to deliver an precise humanoid robotic product to market at scale. Now it’s only a query of timing. And in addition, apparently, of what the ratio of people to humanoid robots will likely be. Musk reckons it’ll be higher than one-to-one as a result of the robots can be utilized at properties, in industrial use circumstances and extra.

How the robotic suits into Tesla’s Grasp Plan Half 3, which is targeted on a sustainable vitality future for Earth, isn’t precisely clear.