Tesla has quite a few different future merchandise below improvement, it teased on Wednesday, as a part of its quarterly replace for traders. And whereas there’s no assure we’ll get an replace on persistent rumors just like the reasonably priced Mannequin 2, a few of these upcoming merchandise could also be revealed as a part of a March 1 Investor Day.
With scaled-up Semi manufacturing due on the Nevada Gigafactory growth introduced this week, and a whopping 100 gigawatt-hours of extra cell manufacturing of its new 4680-format cylindrical cells due from a brand new manufacturing unit on the advanced, Tesla may have sufficient cells for 1.5 million light-duty automobiles, it mentioned.
To parse that out, at about 900 kwh for the Tesla Semi battery pack and the hopes to finally ramp manufacturing of the Semi as much as 50,000 vans per yr, that leaves plenty of additional batteries—greater than half of the allotment coming from the expanded plant, even when the Semi’s successful—for different merchandise (remember the prevailing Gigafactory will nonetheless be supplying Fremont, and Giga Texas may have its personal battery plant).
Future Tesla cell will make power, energy positive factors
So which different merchandise are on the horizon at Tesla, to be constructed with these batteries?
“I alluded to quite a few future merchandise; these future merchandise would use the 4680,” mentioned CEO Elon Musk, referring to what else may be constructed with that added battery capability.
Hints within the numbers, perhaps
If it’s any trace, Tesla urged that 100 gigawatt-hours was sufficient for 1.5 million automobiles, and that enables for lower than 67 kwh per automobile. Whereas it is unlikely for thus many Customary Vary automobiles to return to the U.S., does that imply some a lot smaller or last-mile automobiles are amongst them?
2022 Tesla lineup (Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.)
Solutions may come comparatively quickly. As the corporate hinted on Wednesday, its March 1 Investor Day may embrace product bulletins, extra information on the event of its next-generation automobile platform, and the growth of its manufacturing footprint, all as a part of an replace on the corporate’s roadmap.
“We now have different merchandise in improvement…they’re very thrilling, and I believe we’ll blow folks’s minds once we reveal them” hyped Musk. “Tesla has probably the most thrilling product roadmap of any firm on Earth by an extended shot.”
Tesla Mannequin Y
Musk hadn’t supplied a lot element on what that may be, till George Gianarikas of Canaccord Genuity requested whether or not, given the large tax incentives afforded for industrial automobiles, Tesla was contemplating accelerating commercial-vehicle type components outdoors the Semi.
“Properly I used to be principally saying that, sure,” mentioned Musk including that he couldn’t but present particulars.
However, because the CEO usually does in such interactions, he couldn’t resist offering some background.
Musk defined: “We’re all the time what’s the limiting issue for brand new automobiles, as a result of for the longest time we’ve been constrained on total-cell, lithium-ion manufacturing output. And so folks say, like, why not deliver this different automotive to market at that different automotive market? Properly, it does not actually assist. However all you are doing is shuffling across the batteries from one automotive to a different.”
Tesla Battery Day – Larger prices much less
He added merely that it’s pointless and counterproductive, as a result of you find yourself with a posh mannequin to construct with out fixing the battery downside.
A product that matches the cells, the place they’re obtainable
“We would like a new-product introduction to match the place cells can be found for that new product, to make use of these gross sales with out cannibalizing the gross sales of the opposite automobiles,” continued Musk. “That’s the precise limiting issue for any new fashions, not the rest actually.”
Does that imply a photo voltaic product aiming to cut back dependency on batteries? A Robovan or Cybervan? A supply automobile? A model of the $25,000 Tesla? Or a Tesla mannequin particularly for ride-hailing?
Possibly Tesla ought to make a extremely configurable Robovan for folks & cargo?
— Mr. Tweet (@elonmusk) July 7, 2022
Uber simply final week mentioned that it’s working with unnamed EV makers to create custom-made automobiles for ride-hailing and supply, so it might as an example be the product of such a partnership.
Musk tends to get effectively forward of what Tesla has truly delivered. Tesla nonetheless hasn’t delivered the Cybertruck, and it says it received’t ship any important numbers of them this yr, with a manufacturing ramp to comply with in 2024. And in a quarterly replace Wednesday it didn’t present any replace on the Roadster.
Musk in the meantime revealed an added layer of complexity for the Cybertruck—that it’ll have Tesla’s next-generation {Hardware} 4 set for security and assisted-driving options.