Tesla Energy
Panasonic plans to develop cobalt-free car batteries
Tesla Inc.'s battery cell supplier Panasonic Corp. said on Wednesday it is aiming to develop automotive batteries without using cobalt in the near future amid soaring prices of the key battery ingredient. Top battery makers are scrambling to reduce cobalt content in lithium ion batteries as prices have multiplied over the recent years and the spread of electric vehicles is expected to result in cobalt shortages eventually. "We have already cut down cobalt usage substantially," Kenji Tamura, who is in charge of Panasonic's automotive battery business, said at a meeting with analysts. "We are aiming to achieve zero usage in the near future, and development is underway."
Model 3
Consumer Reports Recommends Tesla Model 3 After Re-Testing Braking Performance
It was great to see Elon Musk taking initiative to reach out to Consumer Reports and pushing through a quick software update to improve braking performance:
Tesla sent an over-the-air software update to all Model 3's this past weekend, which included a fix for the long stopping distances we experienced during our initial testing. We discuss our new test results, and what role over-the-air updates will play in the future of automobiles.
Tesla Model 3 teardown points to only $28,000 in potential material and production cost
German magazine WirtschaftsWoche spoke with one of the engineering firms who bought Model 3 vehicles on the used market to benchmark and tear them down. They claim that their cost analysis resulted in materials and logistics costs of $18,000 and labor costs of $10,000 for a total cost potential cost of $28,000. A test engineer for the firm said that he believes the Model 3 could turn out to be quite profitable: "If Tesla manages to build the planned 10,000 units a week, the Model 3 will deliver a significant positive contribution to earnings."
Tesla Model 3 goes 606.2 miles on a single charge and sets a new hypermiling record in the process
Recently, a pair of enterprising folks in Colorado decided to take their Tesla Model 3 out for a carefully controlled drive and, in the process, managed to eek out a range of 606.2 miles over the course of 32 hours. The only breaks were for a quick breakfast, driver swaps, and brief stretching outside of the car. The circumstances behind the 606.2 mile journey are beyond boring, but such is life when you’re intent on hypermiling as opposed to driving normally. Specifically, the Model 3 in question had the AC turned off and drove around a 1-mile loop, always staying between a speed of 20 to 30 MPH.
TSLA
There’s a Method to Musk’s Goal Setting Madness
Tesla is in a unique stage of its growth. A typical company thinks of each stakeholder as a group, Tesla has to think of each one as a cog. To survive, the company has to advance each cog in unison with a consistent message to each of its stakeholders... Most public companies have the luxury of sending different messages to each of their stakeholders. By comparison, most other public companies don’t have to carefully balance these groups for 3 reasons: 1. they can source parts from multiple suppliers; 2. they have a broader product line; 3. they have a more favorable cash position.
Promotion
Order a Model S or X and get free unlimited Supercharging
If you or someone you know is planning on ordering a new Model S, you can get free unlimited Supercharging with my referral code, http://ts.la/david7556 .