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

big, giant The message that Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other executives sought to convey during the four-hour Tesla Investor Day was how the company would power the global shift to clean energy. Investors, at least those who have been active since the market closed, will likely have a big product announcement, specific details about the next steps in the so-called Master Plan 3, or Musk’s signature ‘one more thing’ line. It was missing, so I wasn’t impressed.

Tesla shares fell 5.66% in after-hours trading.

Many of the events were more history lessons than predictions of future business — although, of course, there was the nuance that all roads lead to the future. Also, the majority of the event was devoted to operational efficiency and cost reduction initiatives at nearly every level of the enterprise. (usually preferred by investors).

Perhaps the most interesting part is what is not said. Musk and a very long lineup of division leaders didn’t share any new details about Tesla’s next-generation EV and its upcoming factory in Mexico. $15,000 option for recall.

Still, there was some news and insight from the event. Here’s a roundup that highlights the big ones.

20 million EVs per year by 2030

This is not a new goal for Tesla.But a series of executives who took the stage to talk about everything from manufacturing and raw materials to design, charging and batteries, all really tried to prove their point. how they will achieve that goal.

The slide above shows our existing portfolio, Model S, Model X, Model Y, Model 3, Tesla Semi and Cybertruck, and two veiled vehicles.

It’s worth looking at 20 million vehicles a year for a little reality check. In 2022, Tesla produced 1,369,611 units and sold 1,313,851 units. World sales leader Toyota sold 10.5 million vehicles last year.

So, according to the math, Tesla should increase production (and sales) by about 15x from 2022.

So how does Tesla achieve this? Musk said it’s not a question of demand (a phrase he’s used repeatedly in the past). The hard part, he said, is building something outrageous. is an addition. (But interestingly, there aren’t that many; Musk said maybe 10 models total).

Vertical integration and cost reduction

Tesla is famous for its constant push towards vertical integration. For example, in recent memory, it is the only car company to manufacture its own seats.

That message continued at an investor event, where executives discussed different parts of their vertical integration goals. Tesla has already taken things in-house, including building its own chips. But the company continues to push the boundaries of vertical integration, even in the software it uses for its internal operations. The company recently ditched outsourced software to adopt proprietary software and developed its own dedicated microprocessors for high-power electronics that could cut costs in half, according to company executives.

For Tesla, vertical integration equals cost savings. And it is one of his great goals to accomplish that great mission.

Corpus Christi lithium plant

Tesla has extended its vertical integration efforts to the materials it uses in its battery cells.

Tesla has officially broken ground on its new lithium smelter in Corpus Christi, Texas, Drew Baglino, Senior Vice President of Powertrain and Energy Engineering, confirmed during the event.

During the presentation, Tesla showed a rendering of a 50 GWh annual lithium smelter. The company’s message of speed and scale continued with the refinery project, as Baglino said he is working to have it up and running by the end of 2023.

“This is a great example of basically talking about breaking ground, starting commissioning in 10 months, and starting actual production in 12 months,” said Baglino. “That’s the goal.”

Musk later added in a Q&A session that the cathode processing facility would eventually be built adjacent to the lithium smelter. He also said it would be better for other companies to take over the mining of lithium.

“I’m doing it because I have to, not because I want to,” Musk said.

Mexico factory

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador broke the news technically on Tuesday, but Musk repeated the announcement without sharing any new details other than renderings.

“We are pleased to announce that our next Tesla Gigafactory will be located near Monterey, Mexico. We plan to increase production at all our plants, so Giga Mexico will complement the output of all our other plants.”

Musk kept teasing the grand opening event at the factory.

next generation vehicle

As mentioned above, Tesla showed two veiled vehicles during its presentation, hinting at how it would build its next-generation vehicle with a completely different platform design. Part is to build in a way that relies on automation to scale faster and cheaper.

“It’s going to be something like building every side of the car individually, painting only the parts that need to be painted, and assembling the parts of the car only once. Put them where they need to go.” said Bagrino.

Baglino said this means more people and robots have space to work in separate parts of the car, rather than having heavy objects hauled into a central building. What you see on the factory floor is the sub-assembly, where the front, rear and floor with seats are assembled separately and assembled in final assembly.

“To scale up the scale of electric vehicle adoption by the order of magnitude we just showed, constraints need to be part of the solution,” he said. “This allows us to reduce our footprint by more than 40%, which means we can build factories faster with less capital expenditure and more output per dollar.”

Sounds neat in theory, but factories are dangerous places, and with more people working in tighter spaces, injuries can occur.

Neither Baglino, Musk, nor head of design Franz von Holzhausen have provided details about the next-generation vehicle. One tip only: Baglino says this next-gen design could also be used in his Cyber ​​truck.

rare earth

As part of Tesla’s next-generation design, the company is developing a new drive unit. The company says this will be more scalable, primarily because it will eventually eliminate the use of rare earth materials.

Colin Campbell, Vice President of Powertrain Engineering, said: In theory, these savings are passed on to consumers, making EVs more accessible and affordable.

Tesla says its next powertrain will use 75% less silicon carbide without compromising vehicle performance or efficiency. The new powertrain will also be compatible with any battery chemistry, giving Tesla more flexibility in battery sourcing, Campbell said. Finally, Tesla’s new powertrain factory is apparently 50 percent smaller than its current factory in Austin, which Campbell said means faster scaling of his EV production.

heat pump

The third part of Tesla’s Master Plan Part 3 is to switch home, commercial and industrial heating to heat pumps. Most of that part of the presentation was just Climate Tech 101 on the negative effects of traditional heating systems and how heat pumps can help. He said he might consider building a

Tesla already makes heat pumps for cars, so expanding into the home isn’t entirely out of the question. But if you have a gas or oil heater, the good news is that you don’t have to wait for Tesla to replace it. Many other companies are already doing this, including Sealed and BlocPower.

charging and energy storage

Tesla has split the info dump with a few announcements and a few tips on the future of its EV charging and energy storage business. Most specifically, the automaker has officially introduced the Magic Dock. This is an upgrade that opens charging stations to non-Tesla vehicles as well. Deploying this technology would allow Tesla to tap into billions of dollars in federal grants.

Tesla also said it would add a $30 “overnight unlimited home charging” plan to Tesla Electric in July. An invite-only electric plan, Tesla Electric is only available to users who own his Powerwall in parts of Texas where retail options exist. Tesla added that it aims to expand its electric plans into other areas “on a market-by-market basis in the same way that Tesla approached insurance.” The company didn’t provide a specific date.

The automaker has since said it will debut a new energy storage product in 2023. Take this with a grain of salt or more. Tesla has a track record of not meeting its own deadlines.

robot

Tesla teased a bit more about its humanoid Optimus in a video that shows two robots slowly building another bot. This is a big step up from the prototype Tesla showed at his AI Day last October.

As usual, Musk says Optimus is worth far more than a car. Optimus is trained using Tesla’s AI, the same that trains his Autopilot and his FSD, and Musk notes that much of Optimus’ hardware is taken from Tesla’s cars. explained in detail.

“All Optimus actuators are custom-designed Tesla actuators,” said Musk. “We designed every part that goes into Optimus, including the electric motor, gearbox, power electronics, and battery pack. designed an actuator for

According to Musk, what this means is that Tesla has the tools to bring real humanoid products to market at scale. It’s just a matter of timing. Also, apparently, what the ratio of humans to humanoid robots will be. Musk believes robots are more effective than one-on-one because they can be used in homes, industrial applications, and more.

It’s not exactly clear how robots fit into Tesla’s Master Plan Part 3, which focuses on a sustainable energy future for our planet.