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Tesla signs deal with interesting new battery technology company
Tesla has signed a deal with Magnis Energy Technologies, an interesting new battery technology company based in Australia. It could become an important partner for the automaker.
Magnis announced today that it signed an anode active materials (AAM) offtake agreement with Tesla:
Magnis Energy Technologies Ltd (“Magnis”, or the “Company”) (ASX: MNS; OTCQX: MNSEF; FSE: U1P) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Binding Offtake Agreement with Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) for the supply of AAM beginning in February 2025 with fixed pricing.
The company is developing a graphite mine in Tanzania where it plans to get “ultra-high purity natural flake graphite” from the operation.
Under the agreement, Tesla plans to purchase “a minimum of 17,500tpa starting from February 2025,” and the automaker has an option for “a maximum of 35,000tpa for a minimum 3-year term at a fixed price.”
But the interesting part here is that Tesla is not just buying the graphite from Magnis. It plans to buy processed anode material (AAM) based on the graphite, and the deal involved Magnis building a US facility to produce the AAM:
The agreement is conditional on Magnis securing a final location for its commercial AAM facility by 30 June 2023, producing AAM from a pilot plant by 31 March 2024, commencing production from the commercial AAM facility by 1 February 2025, and customer qualification.
Magnis describes itself as “a vertically integrated lithium-ion battery technology and materials company.”
Along with its graphite mining project in Tanzania, the company is part of the Imperium3 New York consortium of companies working to build a lithium-ion battery cell gigafactory in New York.
Furthermore, Magnis is also a shareholder and partner with C4V, a New York-based battery cell technology company.
All these links to US-based battery projects could prove useful to Tesla as the automaker is looking to secure a large number of battery cells in order to support its plan to build 20 million electric vehicles per year by 2030.
Tesla could be looking to phase out the wood trim on its Model 3 sedan as part of its plan to update the mass-market sedan.
One of the most notable cosmetic features of the Model 3 interior is the large wood trim that spans across the entire front dash of the vehicle. For such a modern vehicle that is technologically superior to nearly every car on the market, the wood trim never felt like it truly fit (at least, in my opinion).
Coming standard with black interior options, rumors indicate Tesla could be looking to do away with it.
An early farewell to the wood trim on the Tesla Model 3! IMO this wood trim is a good balance of low cost, high volume and design vibe. The new Model 3 will be covered with ABS bonded foam non-woven fabric. pic.twitter.com/VIE2cFCA0v
While unconfirmed by the automaker currently, there is some evidence to suggest that Tesla could be making the move.
When the first details of the Project Highland initiative were released, it was said that Tesla was planning to reduce the number of the vehicle’s components and simplify its interior. While adding wood paneling is not necessarily that complex, it does seem like Tesla could avoid purchasing additional parts by making both the white and black interiors somewhat similar, going for a material and look that is uniform to both color options.
Tesla will rumoredly go with ABS bonded foam non-woven fabric, which is higher density and may give the vehicle a more modern look.
While some reports indicate Tesla has already committed to the move, looks at potential Project Highland Model 3 candidates haven’t shed any light on the rumor. Even still, it would not be completely out of the question to see Tesla make the jump. The Model 3 has now been out for nearly six years, and an updated interior may be exactly what the vehicle needs to not only attract new buyers but also make some current drivers think about updating to a newer car, which would boost sales.
When Tesla updated the Model S and Model X nearly two years ago, the company focused more on tech while updating some interior features, most notably the addition of the Yoke steering wheel.
Those cars received refined infotainment systems and the introduction of the Plaid powertrain, which helped make the Model S and Model X into some of the fastest production vehicles on Earth
EVs Made Up 5.6 Percent Of US Car Market In 2022 Driven By Tesla
The Tesla Model Y alone accounted for 30 percent of the US EV market last year.
The US electric vehicle market almost doubled last year, with BEV registrations surging to 5.6 percent of light-vehicle registrations, compared to 3.1 percent in 2021.
Tesla accounted for 64 percent of the US EV market, with 484,351 registrations – a 41 percent increase over 2021. Almost half of those were made up by the Tesla Model Y, with 228,312 new registrations (up 35 percent).
Among the top five most popular EVs last year, Tesla had four, with its Model Y, Model 3, Model S, and Model X being joined by the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which ranked third.
Despite the increase in registrations, Tesla's share of the US EV market fell to 64 percent last year from 71 percent in 2021 after launches of popular new models such as the Cadillac Lyriq, Ford F-150 Lightning, Kia EV6, and more.
Ford ranked second behind Tesla in US EV registrations with a 7.5 percent market share and 56,464 registrations (more than double compared to 2021), while Chevrolet took third place with 4.8 percent market share and 36,245 registrations (+41 percent), largely thanks to the budget-priced Bolt EV and EUV.
Hyundai Motor Group brands followed, Kia with 3.8 percent market share and 28,506 registrations (more than triple compared to 2021) and Hyundai with 3.5 percent market share and 26,825 registrations (+142 percent). Audi was the best-selling traditional luxury brand with 2.1 percent market share.
That said, legacy automakers struggled to maintain the necessary production levels to meet demand. In addition, big brands such as Chevrolet have yet to kick off their planned EV offensive. The bowtie brand is preparing to launch the Equinox EV and Blazer EV SUVs and Silverado EV pickup this year.
Analysts expect Tesla's market share to recede as legacy automakers and EV startups such as Rivian ramp production. However, the company's sales leadership is likely to remain as Tesla is proving a difficult rival to dislodge atop the sales charts.
The EV maker continues to have a "tremendous first-mover advantage as it was the first brand to offer truly aspirational EVs to the early adopters," Ed Kim, president and chief analyst at AutoPacific, told Automotive News.
A Tesla Semi made a stop at the Tesla Takeover event at Harris Ranch in Coalinga, California over the weekend, giving participants a chance to check it out from up close.
Harris Ranch is home to one of the first Supercharger stations opened by Tesla and the world's largest with 98 charging stalls. While the Semi did not charge its battery there, it attracted a lot of attention from Tesla owners from around the state.
Organized by six Tesla owners clubs from Southern California, the Tesla Takeover event attracts unique Tesla vehicles every year. Visitors were able to see the original Tesla Roadster, many "bagged" Model 3s, and possibly more Plaid Model S and Model X vehicles in one place than anywhere else.
That said, the Tesla Semi featuring a Frito-Lay livery on the cab and Cheetos-branded trailer managed to steal the show. It was surrounded by excited Tesla fans even before the driver managed to complete the parking maneuver at the event.
According to a Twitter post from Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, the Semi was loaded with Frito-Lay products and made a stop at the Harris Ranch on its way to Bakersfield
In the videos uploaded by other participants on social media, we can see the Tesla Semi arriving at the venue in complete silence and then backing up to park as people couldn't stop admiring it.
It looks like the Tesla Semi is a pretty effective marketing tool for Frito-Lay and its parent company PepsiCo. The huge interest for Tesla's Class 8 electric truck means that every sighting of a Semi displaying the Frito-Lay or PepsiCo colors catches the attention of millions of people online, and this latest sighting makes no exception
As of December 16, 2022, PepsiCo had taken delivery of 36 Tesla Semis – 15 at the Frito-Lay Modesto facility and 21 at the PepsiCo Sacramento site. For 2023, the company plans to deploy all 100 of the heavy-duty electric trucks it reserved as far back as 2017.
PepsiCo is the highest-profile customer for the Tesla Semi and the first one to take delivery of the electric truck. United Parcel Service and food delivery company Sysco are also among the fleet customers that have placed orders for the Tesla Semi
Lookup the person who funds the Dawn Project. Dan O' Daud runs a Rival company Green Hills Software, which is developing what? Self driving cars LoL. Hardly an honest broker in my book
I will assume you don't know Dan O'dowd is a giant fraud that has faked many FSD vids. Go watch the long form versions you can see there is no blue steering wheel on screen this means no FSD. He tries to hide this fact by posting very low rez versions but it is still visible. In some of his vids the driver is yankiing the steering wheel around we know this because of the chimes. I kinda feel bad for you that you were duped by that guy.
Here is a respected organization tested the various crash and safety systems. Highest total score of any car.
I know that FSD is still in beta, has some bugs and is far from being able to make Tesla's into fully autonomous vehicles, but Dan O' Daud is a complete fraud, and is as biased as it gets running a rival company developing autonomous software. Tesla needs to go after him this fraud of a person full speed ahead and sue the crap out of him
Regardless of who’s software is the best right now after using FSD for a day, in my area I didn’t think it was that good and I wouldn’t trust it in normal driving.
On a desolate road I’m sure it would be good but it was frustrating using it in normal driving and I had to constantly correct it in certain circumstances which would turn it off. I think if you let it do its thing the way people around here drive they will run you off the road and road rage on you.
