The Battery Revolution Is Real, And It’s Here
The battery revolution is very real, and it’s here. Popular Tesla fan Viv noted that the topics Tesla focused on for Battery Day weren’t just another research project, but represented an actual technological revolution.
The new structure with two single castings in front and back and the 🔋 in the middle as structural element makes the vehicle better, cheaper, safer, lighter, and easier to build on all levels.
It's a brilliant move and deserves get much more attention. https://t.co/FK5bOrMSqi
— Alex (@alex_avoigt) September 25, 2020
Viv’s thread is something important to consider, especially since some confused critics, skeptics, and analysts consider what Elon Musk said on stage to be technobabble. They don’t understand the depth of what Tesla revealed. Viv broke this down into easier-to-digest components in her thread on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/flcnhvy/status/1308524430952464385
The first thing to note is the that tabless 4680 cell will create five times more energy, six times more power, and 16% more range. This is due to the tabs being removed. This alone can be challenging to understand if you are not familiar with the technicalities of designing batteries. The overview point, though, is that Tesla redesigned the lithium-ion battery in order to make it last longer and to improve efficiency. Eliminating the tab on each sell will remove thermal challenges and allow the team at Tesla to “go to the absolute lowest-cost form factor,” Drew Bagalino, Tesla’s SVP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering, said.
https://twitter.com/flcnhvy/status/1308813185559003137
Tesla’s stock price dropped after Battery Day due to what some analysts called a “Battery Day letdown.”This is really sad. It shows that to me at least that they are not focused on what’s important.
I was holding out hope that Apple might actually show us more info on how they are contributing to sustainable transport, via project Titan, but decided to redistribute some of my gains to more Tesla shares. The future for Elon & Team is clear.https://t.co/JFa0DCygX3
— Jim Hall (@jhall) September 23, 2020
One major thing Elon Musk announced that should have excited investors is that he has a plan to build a $25,000 Tesla while cutting battery costs in half over the next three years. Take a moment to absorb this — imagine an electric vehicle that is only $25,000 beating out some of the most affordable gas cars on the market right now even before you take into account “total cost of ownership” (TCO). Combine that with California’s new mandate banning the sale of gas cars from 2035 onward. We are talking about revolution.
The battery revolution is not going to come in riding on the four horses of the Apocalypse. It’s going to be silent and subtle, with a gradual flow of innovations that reach far into the future. It’s those boring technicalities that will advance our path toward a sustainable future.
The extreme difficulty of scaling production of new technology is not well understood. It’s 1000% to 10,000% harder than making a few prototypes. The machine that makes the machine is vastly harder than the machine itself.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 22, 2020
What many Wall Street analysts missed about Battery Day was that the revolution, as Viv pointed out, is actually already here. It started years ago and is ongoing.
History remembers those moments that make noise. It does not give enough props to gradual development, small but consistent improvement. The EV revolution will continue to quietly move humanity forward in defiance of the critics’ nonstop demands of bedazzling displays of technology.
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