I understand they plan to release some information on battery development and future projects on September 22. Model Y full production is scheduled for March 2021 in Tesla vehicle type licensing documents. I have been predicting January but perhaps I've underestimated the ramp of the rear sub-frame casting line.
I was out for some food on the weekend and a Tesla Model X rolled up and parked next to us. It is a really impressive car, I love those doors. I see more and more of them every month.
Elon's meeting with VW CEO and chairman Herbert Diess is clearly not to give Elon an ID.3 demo. If Tesla is cutting a deal to provide parts and/or technology to VW, that could be impactful to Tesla in a positive way. Hopefully, we will find out on September 22 the state of the Hi Bar work and how evolved Tesla's in-house battery program is.
Elon just promised to share detail on the new approach to automobile manufacturing on September 22. He has also said battery day is going to be one of the most exciting days in Tesla history. I will be surprised if he doesn't reveal the Plaid Edition Model S. Sounds like it's going to be a pretty extensive dog and pony show.
I don't see an issue with that but if Tesla releases FSD this year, S&P will look like a total clown show. That would be entirely appropriate. Now that Tesla is a licensed power utility in the EU, they are definitely going to start building out an EU smart grid with renewables and batteries. They will bring a small improvement to transmission efficiency, also. At this point, Tesla has the scale, technology, and experience to move the needle in a number of industries. $400B no longer seems over valued and there is a lot more to come. Short term, I have no idea how to value Tesla but, long term, they still have some value.
When the first car came on the market, I said, "for that kind of money, it better come with cocaine & hookers".
In this thread....i would agree. But also is for me too. People i think, get tired of me fist pumping when i see a tesla on the road. Double pump when they have temp tags because its new. Im all “fn tesla baby!”
I did a medium dive into anode free batteries, because that is a contradiction to my understanding of what a battery is. Thank you to the beautiful, brilliant, and amazing communicator, Shirley Meng. The cell is, indeed, built without an anode. The anode is formed through an electroplating process that is done after the cell is manufactured. This plating process deposits an ultra-thin layer of lithium on the conductor that is now makes up part of the anode. The battery does indeed have an anode but it doesn't exist when the cell is formed. The cell becomes a battery after the plating process. Basically, it is a more simple way to manufacture cells because there is no micro-layer deposition or fancy process on the anode side. There is just a cathode, electrolyte, and conductor that later becomes the anode. As I understand it, anode formation is a significant part of the cell manufacturing process. This type of battery completely eliminates that without making cathode production significantly more involved. IOW, three steps becomes two steps.
A quick note about the Unplugged Performance Model 3 entered in the Pike's Peak rally. They did some amazing work to get the car repaired and back on the road after a crash on Wednesday. During the race, the car was way off on power. The car peaked at 240KW on Pike's. Post race analysis revealed the car was still in limp mode, after the crash. Had the car dominated, as was expected, it would have been another blow to ICE cars.
But... back to S&P 500 inclusion. It should come as no surprise Tesla was excluded from the primary S&P index. I've been thinking about Tesla's inclusion and I lean toward the idea they should have been included in the index. I hope that's not entirely based on personal bias. They have dominated multiple fields and created a fully viable EV industry. It shouldn't be a surprise that Tesla is blocked from conventional financial circles, given Tesla represents massive disruption. A lot of people are scared and well they should be. Those who would suggest Tesla should not be on the S&P 500 index should consider how long Facebook has been included. lol! I expect Tesla will be part of the S&P 500 in the next year, or so. This isn't a big deal.
How many people is David Trainer going to lead to slaughter with his FSD denial? The shame is not the underlying ignorance. The shame is that outlets like CNBC put a megaphone on that ignorance. I expect that Tesla steps through the singularity of FSD, the legions of FSD deniers are going to start with, "Who knew that automated transportation would be valuable?". That will evolve into, "We always knew FSD was a world changer. That's why we always knew Tesla was going to be worth more than every other car company." One thing that is fair to point out is that FSD isn't developed until it's developed. It appears Tesla is on the cusp of FSD but it is taking far longer than expected and it isn't 100% certain it will happen, although it is 99.9% certain. We also don't know that Tesla will win the race, although that too seems pretty likely.
For those who don't understand the weaponized ignorance behind the FSD discussion, here is the detail. People fall into three groups: - pretend full self driving doesn't exist, isn't being developed, and isn't relevant, even if it does come to market - pretend all FSD is the same and condemn the technology based on the nonviable amount of localized data needed to support data based FSD - where data based FSD exists, downplay all FSD based on the cost of sensors and the overhead of maintaining localized data - implement deeper artificial intelligence and binocular cameras to simulate human-style driving and human-style decision making While Waymo and Ford (Argo AI) continue to test in their geo-fenced areas, Tesla auto pilot is operating on snow covered roads and in real world conditions all around the world. Auto Pilot works best in Southern California, where it was developed, but it is a generalized solution that is far more viable generally than other systems and is being used today around the globe. Perhaps just as difficult as developing the hardware platform and implementing AI is the herculean effort to analyze and implement solutions to the near infinite number of corner cases and unusual circumstances that crop up during everyday driving. No one is close to Tesla on this front, from what I can tell. Actually, no one is close on the hardware and AI front either, but that gap has the potential to narrow more quickly than the driving experience work Tesla is doing.
Either Tesla is going to full on challenge the world, build plants globally, and compete for global sales figures comparable to other manufacturers or....... Tesla will have the superior technology and license it to global manufacturers. Tesla advantage is that they build the car and technology together. Waymo is trying to build technology into someone else's car. Ford does not seem as committed to technology.
It would seem you still think of Tesla as a car company. For what it's worth, Tesla would not be worth it's valuation if it was a car company. On that, we agree.
I tend to fall into that trap. I forget that its also a utility company that could be powering cities and towns with a few tweeks to a power grid and some used Tesla powerpacks on the garage wall.
