Featured Image Credit: (L) tesla_mercedes/Instagram, (Upper R) Tesmanian, (Lower R) tesla.cybertruck/Instagram
Elon Musk's leaked email about the Tesla Semi's volume production definitively confirms that TSLA has solved its battery production bottleneck issue for all its models, including the Cybertruck. With that information in mind, TSLA's true potential as an automaker may just be starting to show.
A recently leaked email from Elon Musk revealed that Tesla is ready to bring the Tesla Semi to volume production. "It's time to go all out and bring the Tesla Semi to volume production. It's been in limited production so far, which has allowed us to improve many aspects of the design," Musk wrote in his email. Tesla's CEO has verified the email.
Volume production for the Tesla Semi is quite a remarkable feat, and the ramifications of reaching it ripple throughout the rest of TSLA's vehicle lineup, especially those that are scheduled for manufacturing soon. In the coming months or years, Tesla and Elon Musk have either hinted or outright said it would release the Cybertruck, Roadster 2.0, and the Plaid lineup, which includes the CYBRTRK, Model S, and X.
— Donny Dolittle (@DolittleDonny) June 10, 2020
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2020
All the vehicles mentioned above have yet to start production because of one issue: Tesla's battery bottleneck. During TSLA's Q4 2019 Earnings Call, Elon Musk discussed the need to improve battery production capacity to increase vehicle production.
"Yeah. Going back to what I just said that the -- we got to improve the total battery capacity. Otherwise, we add complexity, but we do not improve the number of vehicles on the road. So, while we do some sort of high-capacity vehicle at some point probably, but we need to make sure we got the batteries to make cars that we've already got already on our plate," he said.
People don’t understand that when Elon said “bring the Tesla Semi to volume production” is equal to already solved battery production bottleneck.
— Vincent (@vincent13031925) June 11, 2020
ARK Invest predicted that TSLA Terafactories could resolve the company's battery production constraints. With the issue solved, ARK believes Tesla could scale its manufacturing to one million units per year. Elon Musk and CFO Zachary Kirkhorn hinted that Tesla Gigafactories were growing at an exponential rate and could be called Terafactories. The Semi reaching volume production supports Musk and Kirkhorn's words during TSLA's Q1 2020 Earnings Call.
Tesla's progress in battery tech and production was supposed to be revealed months ago during Battery Day. However, the event was postponed at least twice already because of the pandemic. If Battery Day did go on as scheduled, Elon Musk's decision to begin volume production for the Semi would probably be crystal clear. Even without Battery Day, however, there is a myriad of clues supporting the idea that TSLA has solved its battery bottleneck issue and has improved its battery tech.
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Ma. Claribelle Deveza
Longtime writer and news/book editor. Writing about Tesla allows me to contribute something good to the world, while doing something I love.