Tesla and SpaceX: Elon Musk's industrial empire [video]

Post by purringmeow » Mon, Mar 31, 2014, 2:34 AM UTC

cushychicken wrote: post #37

purringmeow wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Makes me think how much we need a revolution in batteries. I am wondering if there will be a new type of batteries soon or maybe we'll get improved capacity by slapping a software layer that manages charging/discharging.

We've needed one for ages! Lithium ion is the best we can do so far, and it has two GAPING flaws: * tons of energy is lost as heat * volatility of the chemical storage mechanism occasionally causes that heat to get released as an explosion I'd love to see Musk's solution end up in a massive increase in battery performance.

Post by shas3 » Mon, Mar 31, 2014, 2:41 AM UTC

coreymgilmore wrote: post #26

Musk is thinking 8 steps ahead of almost everyone. While Tesla is a huge play with revolutionizing the car world, there are some other parts in play. First, his Gigafactory to produce batteries. When the other big automakers get into the electric car mindset, who are they going to buy batteries from? Musk who owns the single largest and high-tech battery factory (that produces on an enormous scale), or other battery…

Post by bsilvereagle » Mon, Mar 31, 2014, 2:44 AM UTC

andrewtbham wrote: post #18

Since the car is so quiet... I wonder if the noise the car makes on these clips is an overdub.

Post by threeseed » Mon, Mar 31, 2014, 2:47 AM UTC

cushychicken wrote: post #39

adventured wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with a lot of what you said. However, this: "Competitors will not have the ability to compete on charging when they release cars because Tesla will already have an established network." is dramatically wrong. They will absolutely compete on charging, stubbornly so, and probably leveraging politics in the process. The major energy companies will also get into the charging business (much like the oil companies…

I'm still going to bet on the guy who has put something in space.

Post by andrewtbham » Mon, Mar 31, 2014, 2:49 AM UTC

dpcheng2003 wrote: post #35

coreymgilmore wrote: post #26

Musk is thinking 8 steps ahead of almost everyone. While Tesla is a huge play with revolutionizing the car world, there are some other parts in play. First, his Gigafactory to produce batteries. When the other big automakers get into the electric car mindset, who are they going to buy batteries from? Musk who owns the single largest and high-tech battery factory (that produces on an enormous scale), or other battery…

What's amazing is that Tesla has been providing NRE R&D for OTHER automotive companies for years already. Last year, $15 million of their revenue was from development services but as early as 2011, $55 million of revenue (>25%) was from basically doing powertrain design for companies like Toyota and Mercedes. Link to last 10-K: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/0001193125140... Tesla will definitely make…