Tesla is now making significant strides in the energy storage sector, expanding its battery production capabilities in Sparks, Nevada, and doubling the capacity of its existing battery factory in Lathrop, California, according to BNN Bloomberg.
This strategic move involves utilizing idle equipment from China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), a leading battery manufacturer. This expansion is part of Tesla's broader effort to onshore the supply chain for lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) cells in the United States, thereby enhancing its production autonomy and reducing dependence on overseas suppliers.
Tesla's Independent Control and Strategic Planning
In a notable departure from typical industry partnerships, Tesla plans to purchase machinery from CATL and install it at the Sparks facility. Tesla will maintain full control of the operation and cover all associated costs. CATL's role is limited to assisting with equipment setup, marking minimal involvement from the Chinese company. The new facility will focus on producing cells for Tesla’s large-battery Megapack product, which is designed for utility-scale energy storage applications.
Tesla's expansion in Nevada comes during heightened scrutiny by U.S. lawmakers and the Biden administration over technology collaborations with China, especially in sectors like battery production. By minimizing CATL's involvement in the new facility, Tesla aims to address concerns about U.S. companies' dependence on Chinese partnerships and aligns with the national policy of reducing technological dependencies.
Doubling Down: Tesla's Lathrop Factory Expansion
In addition to the new facility in Nevada, Tesla plans to double the capacity of its existing battery factory in Lathrop, California. The expansion of the Lathrop factory and the addition of the new Nevada facility underscores Tesla's commitment to scaling up its energy storage capabilities.
This move aligns with Elon Musk's assertion during last week's earnings call, “I said for many years that the storage business would grow much faster than the car business, and it is doing that.’ He also stated that Tesla’s energy storage business delivered nearly 15 gigawatt hours of batteries in 2023, compared to 6.5 gigawatt hours the year before. “So tremendous year-over-year growth, triple-digits. And yeah, I think we'll continue to see robust growth in storage, as predicted."
Commitment to Supplier Collaboration and Growth
Karn Budhiraj, Vice President of Global Supply Management, shared insights on the company's plans during the earnings call: "Megapack continues to see strong demand signals globally, driving consistent growth trajectory through '24 and '25. We want to thank all of our partners who've put their trust in the Megapack team to execute critical infrastructure worldwide. And I would like to personally thank the Megapack engineering and production teams for their strong 2023 execution. Lathrop continues to ramp through 2024 with the operation of a second final assembly line to double capacity from 20 gigawatts to 40 gigawatt hours by the end of the year."
Elon Musk also emphasized the importance of Tesla's suppliers in this growth, "But we also do want to emphasize that we also expect to ramp orders from our suppliers. So this is not about replacing our suppliers, it's about supplementing our suppliers. So we are very appreciative of our suppliers. Panasonic, obviously, is our longest supplier. They're an amazing company. We've got CATL, we've got LG, and BYD."
The new Nevada facility, expected to become operational by 2025, will start with an initial output of approximately 10 gigawatt-hours (GWh). Plans are in place to expand the facility, contingent upon the project's smooth progression and establishing a stable supply chain. Once fully operational, the Nevada facility could contribute significantly to Tesla's overall battery production capacity in the region, potentially accounting for about 20% of the production, including the output from the Lathrop location.
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Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.
Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.
It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.
Advisor-led Demo
This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.
The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.
Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.
Vision-based Improvements
ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.
Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.
I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.
Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.
Actually Smart Summon
ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.
We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.
We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.
Park Seek and Banish Autopark
When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.
A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.
While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.
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