Image source: Bild
For the 5th Axel Springer Award--which is being presented today to the innovator and founder of breakthrough companies, Elon Musk--the Ernst Cramer conference room was transformed into a Mars spacecraft. The theme of the evening is "An Evening for Elon Musk - Mission to Mars."
Source: @Knut_Fabian/Twitter
During the presentation of the award, Musk talked about how electricity consumption will double if the global car fleet is electrified. This in turn will increase the need to expand sustainable energy sources.
“We need sustainable energy,” Musk said. Since it is not always possible to obtain wind energy, humanity should be able to accumulate it from other sources, such as the sun. In his vision for the future, he sees rooftop solar panels combined with a battery capable of storing energy and fast-charging stations on a really good grid. "We will need twice as much electricity as we do today," Musk said.
With more and more electric vehicles on the road, the availability of sustainable energy is a major concern. Musk suggested that, in 20 years, all cars will be electric. “It will take another 20 years for cars to become fully electric. It's like with phones: you can't replace them all at once,” he said.
Source: Bild
Musk also spoke about the construction of Giga Berlin. He stressed that construction at such a fast pace is not an easy matter, especially since there is always a danger that everything will have to be demolished again. Musk said it was relatively easy to build a production line, but the main challenge is how quickly Tesla could build quality cars. According to his plans, by the end of 2022, Giga Berlin will reach the production mark of 500,000 vehicles per year.
There is a demand for products when there is a good product at a good price, so Musk is not worried about the demand for the company's products. “A good product at a good price, it works,” he said.
Tesla offers the very best EVs in the world, OTA updates, and Autopilot play a very important role in this, as well as in enhancing safety. Musk points out that there are many problems that can be solved with wireless updates. “Our Tesla is software on wheels,” he said.
In today's world, users are taking entertainment to a new level. Musk understands that they want to watch TV, Netflix, Disney, and play video games in the car, which is why Tesla cars can do these things. All of Tesla's entertainment options make even more sense with autonomous driving, where a person does not need to drive a car. Musk said that it is important for Tesla how the company can improve the driver experience, and would be happy to compete with those who can offer it better than Tesla.
Musk said that the self-driving car drives like a careful, attentive driver who never gets tired and cannot be distracted. This is the vision of the company and its aspiration. He stressed that it is important that the car brakes only when there is really an obstacle on the road, and not what AI considers an obstacle. He also suggested that, in addition to the fact that every new car will be electric in 20 years, it will most likely be autonomous.
© 2020, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
