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Based on the companies they have been acquiring, it certainly looks like they want to start their own manufacturing. https://electrek.co/2019/10/05/tesla-quiet

Based on the companies they have been acquiring, it certainly looks like they want to start their own manufacturing. https://electrek.co/2019/10/05/tesla-quietly-acquires-battery-manufacturer https://electrek.co/2019/10/05/tesla-quietly-acquires-batter... In addition Musk seems to be saying they will need an incredible ramp in battery production (to 2-3twh/year!!!) to make an important contribution to global warming. Given his style, I wouldn’t doubt he intends to have Tesla do the manufacturing: Q2 2019 earnings call: https://youtu.be/SG-59Os2H5o https://youtu.be/SG-59Os2H5o Obviously he doesn’t want to upset Panasonic too much in the short term: they have a lot to lose if Panasonic pulls the plug early.

ianai 7y ago
Figure he’d ever pivot and become a net cell producer to others?
- omgwtfbyobbq 7y ago
  I could see them supplying cells for stationary energy storage if Tesla energy is at capacity, but I suspect they would only become a cell supplier to another auto manufacturer if that manufacturer was serious about EVs and willing to commit to a long term contract.
  - ianai 7y ago
    That must be what he’s thinking. He’s said he sees a need for 100 gigafactories to get us onto sustainable energy.
- torpfactory 7y ago
  I think he intends for Tesla to be the end use for all the cells. Unless their products start tanking, in which case he'll pivot.
aguyfromnb 7y ago
>Based on the companies they have been acquiring, it certainly looks like they want to start their own manufacturing. They also bought a trucking company and said they were going to start building their own car carriers.
- torpfactory 7y ago
  Sure, but batteries are far more 'core' to Tesla's businesses than trucking or car carriers. TBH, I never understood that comment by him. I imagine he got interviewed right after some Tesla operations meeting where they were struggling to find trucking capacity and he just blurted out 'lets build car carriers' to the nearest microphone.
  - aguyfromnb 7y ago
    >Sure, but batteries are far more 'core' to Tesla's businesses than trucking or car carriers. That's true, but I'm not sure it makes any more sense than car carriers. The cells that Tesla users for their battery packs are commodity products. Why would you bother to try to manufacture those? I mean, batteries are core to Apple's business too, but they aren't producing them. The value-add is in their pack technology. The move back to vertical integration is odd.
    - torpfactory 7y ago
      Tesla have shown a rather large appetite for vertical integration. For example, they make their own seats. Why? I guess they think they can eek out some advantage. They could certainly get commodity seats from a traditional auto supplier, but they must have some line-of-sight to making them cheaper, or better or maybe just more customized than what a supplier would produce. I think the same will be true for batteries. They won't be making a copy of the Panasonic cell design. They will only become a manufacturer if there is some advantage to be gained. They will probably seek to integrate IP from their Maxwell acquisition and improvements from their research group in Canada.
      - 7y ago

ianai 7y ago

Figure he’d ever pivot and become a net cell producer to others?

omgwtfbyobbq 7y ago
I could see them supplying cells for stationary energy storage if Tesla energy is at capacity, but I suspect they would only become a cell supplier to another auto manufacturer if that manufacturer was serious about EVs and willing to commit to a long term contract.
- ianai 7y ago
  That must be what he’s thinking. He’s said he sees a need for 100 gigafactories to get us onto sustainable energy.
torpfactory 7y ago
I think he intends for Tesla to be the end use for all the cells. Unless their products start tanking, in which case he'll pivot.

aguyfromnb 7y ago

>Based on the companies they have been acquiring, it certainly looks like they want to start their own manufacturing. They also bought a trucking company and said they were going to start building their own car carriers.

torpfactory 7y ago
Sure, but batteries are far more 'core' to Tesla's businesses than trucking or car carriers. TBH, I never understood that comment by him. I imagine he got interviewed right after some Tesla operations meeting where they were struggling to find trucking capacity and he just blurted out 'lets build car carriers' to the nearest microphone.
- aguyfromnb 7y ago
  >Sure, but batteries are far more 'core' to Tesla's businesses than trucking or car carriers. That's true, but I'm not sure it makes any more sense than car carriers. The cells that Tesla users for their battery packs are commodity products. Why would you bother to try to manufacture those? I mean, batteries are core to Apple's business too, but they aren't producing them. The value-add is in their pack technology. The move back to vertical integration is odd.
  - torpfactory 7y ago
    Tesla have shown a rather large appetite for vertical integration. For example, they make their own seats. Why? I guess they think they can eek out some advantage. They could certainly get commodity seats from a traditional auto supplier, but they must have some line-of-sight to making them cheaper, or better or maybe just more customized than what a supplier would produce. I think the same will be true for batteries. They won't be making a copy of the Panasonic cell design. They will only become a manufacturer if there is some advantage to be gained. They will probably seek to integrate IP from their Maxwell acquisition and improvements from their research group in Canada.
    - 7y ago