Tesla continues rapid innovation with new seat patent
In February of 2019, Tesla filed a patent for a “Vehicle seat with an integrated temperature-control system,” and now it seems the company has just updated the patent.
The new system will heat or cool the seats as needed with the use of coolant, which will ultimately lead to increased comfort and reduced power usage.
The new system will be much more efficient and comfortable than current heated seat technology. Traditionally, car seats get heated by an electric current that flows through resistors and get cooled by a fan under the seat.
The difference between electric resistor-based seat heaters and these new refrigerant-based seats could be compared to Tesla vehicles with electric heaters and those with a heat pump.
A model with a heat pump extracts heat from a refrigerant that is run through the system instead of generating heat using electricity directly. Heat pumps are much more efficient at generating heat when compared to electric heaters. We’d expect a similar efficiency gain from Tesla switching to these new temperature controlled seat heaters.
Most seat heating and cooling systems have 3 heat/cool settings that must be manually adjusted. These types of seat heaters are basically on/off switches and can not control the temperature of the seat well.
Tesla recently added automatic seat heater functionality to Teslas to help address this issue. The new auto setting will automatically turn on seat heaters then gradually lower their temperature as the cabin warms. However, it appears that Tesla is aiming to provide an even better solution with this patent.
Precise Temperature Control
These new seats would be able to precisely control their temperature so that you can set an exact temperature for your seat just like you do for the cabin temperature.
The new seats would be much more efficient than using electric seat heaters and would provide better cooling than running cold air through vented seats.
Better Cooled Seats
Ventilating air through the seat is rarely enough to remove excess heat for the comfort of the passenger.
Instead of blowing cold air into the seat, these new seats would work like an air conditioning system, by removing heat from the seat. This would be much more effective at cooling down the passenger.
Additionally, traditional seat heating systems take up a lot of space and are ineffective because heat typically has to travel through multiple layers of fabric and other materials.
The same way fluid is used to heat/cool batteries, the new system will more effectively transfer heat with the circulation of fluid in between layers of the seats.
The new patent includes multiple layers inside the seat. Under the outermost layer of the seat, there will be a layer of heating/cooling fluid. The fluid will circulate under this layer through the entire seat to ensure that all parts are evenly heated/cooled.
This invention shows how Tesla is innovating and paying great attention to detail in every possible way to make their vehicles more efficient, comfortable and enjoyable for the user.
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Tesla has issued a strong denial in response to a Wall Street Journal report (Paywall) which claimed that Tesla’s Board of Directors had initiated a search for a new CEO.
In a statement posted directly on Tesla’s X account, Board Chair Robyn Denholm denied the report unequivocally. As per the statement, Tesla’s board did not reach out to recruiting firms in search of a new CEO.
Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company.
This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published).
The statement reaffirmed the board’s position on Tesla’s current leadership and that the board is highly confident in Elon’s ability to continue executing Tesla’s plans and future growth.
This confidence behind Elon follows his recent statements made during the Q1 2025 Earnings Call that he would be stepping back from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the coming days and significantly reducing time spent there. Instead, he would be returning to focus on Tesla’s operations and the upcoming deployment of Robotaxi.
Shortly after the denial was posted, Elon Musk also commented on the report, specifically tagging the Wall Street Journal and criticizing their handling of the report.
It is an EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS that the @WSJ would publish a DELIBERATELY FALSE ARTICLE and fail to include an unequivocal denial beforehand by the Tesla board of directors! https://t.co/9xdypLGg3c
We’re glad to see Tesla and Elon set the matter straight, but there could have been a better way to spread this message and maybe even prevent the report from WSJ from going out.
We recently published an opinion piece on why Tesla needs its PR team back, and this specific incident is a good example. Relying solely on platforms like X for critical corporate communications - and in this case, late at night (1 AM EST), with limited reach outside the existing follower base seems like an ineffective way of communicating important company information.
We’d love to see Tesla really put some thought into managing its image, as it seems that several recent reports from major financial news organizations have apparently been wrong.
Either way, the board’s stance is clear - there is no active search underway, and Elon has the full backing and support of the board to lead Tesla toward the future.
Tesla’s Megapack is rapidly becoming a key component in energy storage and grid modernization efforts worldwide. Though often associated with powering AI infrastructure or industrial operations, Megapack’s true strength lies in its ability to stabilize electrical grids during blackouts and brownouts.
In a recent behind-the-scenes reveal, Tesla showcased the impressive scale of Megapack production at its Mega Lathrop facility, along with real-world examples of how these systems are already transforming energy resilience across the globe.
Mega-Scale Megapack
Tesla is operating the largest utility-scale battery manufacturing facility in North America at Mega Lathrop, which has the capacity to produce 10,000 Megapacks annually. Thanks to a highly automated assembly process that uses over 30 welding robots to assemble the core Megapack structure. This is the largest manufacturing fixture Tesla uses— likely to only be matched by future developments at Mega Shanghai.
Tesla uses a highly automated powder coating process, utilizing over 90 robotic paint atomizers to apply more than 140 pounds of powder coat to each Megapack. This process delivers Tesla’s signature white reflective finish, engineered for long-term durability and corrosion resistance that lasts up to 20 years, even in harsh coastal or high-heat environments.
All of Megapack’s power electronics are designed and built in-house. Each Megapack uses 24 battery modules, electrical busing, and thermal management systems to ensure grid reliability and help to maximize energy density. The architecture pairs each inverter with a battery module to maximize energy availability and overall uptime. Plus, before each Megapack ships its way across the world, Tesla performs rigorous on-site quality control to ensure that the installation process is as seamless as possible.
Watch Tesla’s video of the manufacturing process below:
Megapack’s Real-World Impact: Hawaii
The core purpose of Megapack is to make power grids more stable and resilient while also reducing reliance on dirty peak power plants like coal. They achieve this by balancing energy supply and demand in real-time, smoothing out fluctuations from variable renewable sources like solar and wind, which helps to prevent grid shortages.
Hawaii actually provides the most real and down-to-earth example of Megapack’s impact. In mid-2024, the Kapolei Energy Storage facility in Hawaii came online. Hawaii utilized 258 Megapacks with a combined capacity of 565 MWh, successfully replacing the state’s last coal-fired power plant. This single facility can power approximately 20% of Oahu’s peak electricity needs by itself for approximately 4 hours.
The project is more than just removing coal plants, though. It serves as an example of Megapack’s grid integration and grid forming technology. The Kapolei Energy Storage facility can manage grid fluctuations caused by weather changes impacting renewable energy, improving stability and preventing blackouts. Thanks to their rapid inverter response times of under a millisecond, Megapacks participate in complex grid balancing activities, including fast frequency and voltage support, which helps to maintain grid balance throughout the day. Beyond that, Kapolei also allows Hawaii to black-start the grid in case of a major power outage that takes out a large section of the grid.
This functionality would be especially useful in Spain, where black-starting the grid took over eight hours recently and is still disrupting the day-to-day life of people there.
You can check out Megapack’s real-world impact in this video from Tesla below:
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