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It’s not just EVs though, Tesla is going to vertically integrate and parlay a lot of their EV tech into general energy solutions. The gigafactories and solar in

It’s not just EVs though, Tesla is going to vertically integrate and parlay a lot of their EV tech into general energy solutions. The gigafactories and solar installations are the future imo, the cars are the side show.

piva00 5y ago
Yeah, if the future is for Tesla to integrate more storage solutions for the grid with renewables... There is logic in being bullish. Large-scale energy storage is probably one of the most critical sectors not solved of the green energy effort.
- sudosysgen 5y ago
  Tesla can't compete on energy storage on a $/kWh basis. CATL and BYD have them soundly beat. Yes it's not solved yet but Tesla is not the leader in solving it.
kesselvon 5y ago
The solar business is basically dead. Tesla is a car company that builds electric cars until it shows otherwise.
FireBeyond 5y ago
Isn't Solar City just a trainwreck? From the acquisition which looked almost entirely like Elon bailing out his brother's business, to all manner of customer complaints now about fragile installations that are having maintenance and reliability issues and people being unable to get that dealt with because everyone involved keeps passing the buck...
- epgui 5y ago
  It's a work in progress, not a train wreck. On the balance sheet it doesn't look good, but if you think about the strategic impact it will have on the business once they can bring costs down and ramp up installations, I think it's more fair to call it an investment.
sudosysgen 5y ago
Tesla isn't completely vertically integrated. They've been buying batteries from CATL and that is core EV tech.
- epgui 5y ago
  They are vertically integrat-ing. Ref: battery day (Sep 2021)
  - sudosysgen 5y ago
    Their recent contract with BYD seems to say it won't be soon.
    - grecy 5y ago
      Elon has said many times lately they're trying to get all the batteries they can. They'll buy all the batteries Panasonic and others will sell them, and they'll make all the batteries they can in house. So it's a bit of both in this case.
      - sudosysgen 5y ago
        Sure, so in that case they aren't trying to vertically integrate, unless they are currently scaling up production faster than anyone else and they're not.
        grecy 5y ago
        > unless they are currently scaling up production faster than anyone else and they're not They have Giga Nevada which is already the world's biggest battery plant (although technically a lot of the production is Panasonic. They also make batteries at their China factory They've also said they will make batteries at both Giga Berlin and Giga Texas, and they're increasing their operations in California, including making more batteries. I think it's safe to say they are scaling up production extremely fast, and I'd be interested to hear of another company scaling faster than they are.

piva00 5y ago

Yeah, if the future is for Tesla to integrate more storage solutions for the grid with renewables... There is logic in being bullish. Large-scale energy storage is probably one of the most critical sectors not solved of the green energy effort.

sudosysgen 5y ago
Tesla can't compete on energy storage on a $/kWh basis. CATL and BYD have them soundly beat. Yes it's not solved yet but Tesla is not the leader in solving it.

kesselvon 5y ago

The solar business is basically dead. Tesla is a car company that builds electric cars until it shows otherwise.

FireBeyond 5y ago

Isn't Solar City just a trainwreck? From the acquisition which looked almost entirely like Elon bailing out his brother's business, to all manner of customer complaints now about fragile installations that are having maintenance and reliability issues and people being unable to get that dealt with because everyone involved keeps passing the buck...

epgui 5y ago
It's a work in progress, not a train wreck. On the balance sheet it doesn't look good, but if you think about the strategic impact it will have on the business once they can bring costs down and ramp up installations, I think it's more fair to call it an investment.

sudosysgen 5y ago

Tesla isn't completely vertically integrated. They've been buying batteries from CATL and that is core EV tech.

epgui 5y ago
They are vertically integrat-ing. Ref: battery day (Sep 2021)
- sudosysgen 5y ago
  Their recent contract with BYD seems to say it won't be soon.
  - grecy 5y ago
    Elon has said many times lately they're trying to get all the batteries they can. They'll buy all the batteries Panasonic and others will sell them, and they'll make all the batteries they can in house. So it's a bit of both in this case.
    - sudosysgen 5y ago
      Sure, so in that case they aren't trying to vertically integrate, unless they are currently scaling up production faster than anyone else and they're not.
      - grecy 5y ago
        > unless they are currently scaling up production faster than anyone else and they're not They have Giga Nevada which is already the world's biggest battery plant (although technically a lot of the production is Panasonic. They also make batteries at their China factory They've also said they will make batteries at both Giga Berlin and Giga Texas, and they're increasing their operations in California, including making more batteries. I think it's safe to say they are scaling up production extremely fast, and I'd be interested to hear of another company scaling faster than they are.