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Hot take: Tesla isn't actually a car company, it's a battery company. The Model S and Model 3 are functionally equivalent to Google Nexus devices - their purpos

Hot take: Tesla isn't actually a car company, it's a battery company. The Model S and Model 3 are functionally equivalent to Google Nexus devices - their purpose isn't particularly to sell a lot of units, but to provide a proof-of-concept for other companies to emulate. Tesla Motors fails if it dies, but it succeeds if it's killed by other EV companies. Selling cars to consumers is fundamentally less scalable than selling batteries to car manufacturers; you don't need dealerships, you don't need marketing, you don't need a complex supply chain for thousands of complex parts, you just need a couple of huge factories and some proprietary chemistry.

sjg007 7y ago
Panasonic is the answer to your question. https://www.google.com/search?q=who+makes+tesla+batteries https://www.google.com/search?q=who+makes+tesla+batteries
- erikpukinskis 7y ago
  They didn’t ask a question.
woodgrainz 7y ago
Doesn't Panasonic make the batteries for Tesla?
- martinald 7y ago
  Correct, and the Tesla Panasonic relationship is really on the rocks (iirc at one point Tesla owed panasonic over US$1billion in payments)
- jdietrich 7y ago
  Tesla own the Gigafactory but lease the manufacturing equipment from Panasonic on a per-cell-manufactured basis. Tesla have just bought Maxwell, a lithium cell and supercapacitor IP company. Panasonic effectively make the cells (through quite a convoluted financial arrangement with Tesla), but Tesla make the batteries, which is a crucial distinction. An EV battery pack is inordinately more complex than a bundle of li-ion cells. https://electrek.co/2019/05/16/tesla-completes-maxwell-acquisition-battery-technology/ https://electrek.co/2019/05/16/tesla-completes-maxwell-acqui...
  - Phlarp 7y ago
    Do you have any links on how the batteries are more than complex than a bundle of li-ion cells? Is the complexity in the systems to monitor voltage, temp, resistance and such of each cell and distribute load or outright fuse off weakened cells? I don't doubt you, but I would love to learn more.
danso 7y ago
For that analogy to work, wouldn’t Tesla have to be as peerless and revenue-dependent on battery tech as Google is to search and other online services? I read good things about their battery tech but nothing that suggests they have the influence or dominance Google has with search. And the financial statements don’t seem to emphasize battery revenue growth, nevermind the way search revenue has been 90% of Google’s lifeblood for nearly its entire life.
la_barba 7y ago
Interesting idea, but scale also brings about commoditization. Proprietary chemistry is not going to protect you. A Tesla branded battery that costs 2x a regular one isn't going to sell well.
cgb223 7y ago
Simple question then: Right now, does Tesla sell batteries to other car companies?

sjg007 7y ago

Panasonic is the answer to your question. https://www.google.com/search?q=who+makes+tesla+batteries https://www.google.com/search?q=who+makes+tesla+batteries

erikpukinskis 7y ago
They didn’t ask a question.

woodgrainz 7y ago

Doesn't Panasonic make the batteries for Tesla?

martinald 7y ago
Correct, and the Tesla Panasonic relationship is really on the rocks (iirc at one point Tesla owed panasonic over US$1billion in payments)
jdietrich 7y ago
Tesla own the Gigafactory but lease the manufacturing equipment from Panasonic on a per-cell-manufactured basis. Tesla have just bought Maxwell, a lithium cell and supercapacitor IP company. Panasonic effectively make the cells (through quite a convoluted financial arrangement with Tesla), but Tesla make the batteries, which is a crucial distinction. An EV battery pack is inordinately more complex than a bundle of li-ion cells. https://electrek.co/2019/05/16/tesla-completes-maxwell-acquisition-battery-technology/ https://electrek.co/2019/05/16/tesla-completes-maxwell-acqui...
- Phlarp 7y ago
  Do you have any links on how the batteries are more than complex than a bundle of li-ion cells? Is the complexity in the systems to monitor voltage, temp, resistance and such of each cell and distribute load or outright fuse off weakened cells? I don't doubt you, but I would love to learn more.

danso 7y ago

For that analogy to work, wouldn’t Tesla have to be as peerless and revenue-dependent on battery tech as Google is to search and other online services? I read good things about their battery tech but nothing that suggests they have the influence or dominance Google has with search. And the financial statements don’t seem to emphasize battery revenue growth, nevermind the way search revenue has been 90% of Google’s lifeblood for nearly its entire life.

la_barba 7y ago

Interesting idea, but scale also brings about commoditization. Proprietary chemistry is not going to protect you. A Tesla branded battery that costs 2x a regular one isn't going to sell well.

cgb223 7y ago

Simple question then: Right now, does Tesla sell batteries to other car companies?