Tesla's story in 2020 was stunning and full of colorful events. The main merit for all its achievements lies with the Tesla team, who has worked harmoniously and diligently. We recently entered a new year, but Tesla expresses gratitude to its team and invites us to recall the main company's achievements of the past year.

Gigafactory Shanghai: first deliveries of China-made Model 3 to customers

Source: Xinhua

Tesla started production in China, marking a major step in Elon Musk's global push for electric-vehicle domination, and heralding what could be the dawn of real competition in the world’s largest EV market. January 7, 2020, Musk visited Giga Shanghai to attend the Tesla MIC Model 3 delivery event in China.

Gigafactory Berlin - groundbreaking

Source: Tesla

Tesla has come a long way in preparing for the construction of the plant near Berlin. After clearing 90 hectares of pine plantations, roots and topsoil, Tesla began the construction phase. At the end of May, the Brandenburg State Environmental Protection Agency approved the start of foundation work at the construction site.

1,000,000th production car

Congratulations Tesla team on making our 1,000,000th car!! pic.twitter.com/5M99a9LLQi

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2020

For 10 years Tesla has stood heroically and coped with many lows, to ultimately reach new highs. On March 20, 2020, the company announced an amazing achievement: the production of 1,000,000 vehicles.

Giga New York builds Solar Roof for 1k homes in one week

Source: Tesla

In mid-March, Tesla announced that Giga New York had built Solar Roofs for 1,000 homes in one week, which equates to 4 MW PV tile production over a seven-day period.

Model Y deliveries begin

Source: Tesla

The first deliveries of Model Y began in mid-March, starting six months ahead of schedule. This marked a new era for Tesla, and by the end of 2020, the model became the 4th best-selling EV in the world.

In Q1 2020, Tesla produced 102,672 vehicles and delivered 88,496 vehicles

Source: @thirdrowtesla/Twitter

In Q1 2020, Tesla produced 87,282 Model 3 and Y, and Model S and X totaled 15,390 units, corresponding at the time to 33% YoY growth. Meanwhile, the company delivered 76,200 Model 3 and Y, and Model S and X deliveries totaled 12,200--40% YoY growth.

100,000th Powerwall installed

Source: Natural Solar

In 2020, Tesla reached another milestone and installed its 100,000th Powerwall. The company announced that more than 40% of its solar panel customers choose at least one Powerwall. Powerwall's deployment has also accelerated thanks to large projects such as Australia's Virtual Power Plant and an electric utility in Vermont.

Tesla Model Y deliveries to Canada

Source: Tesla

In early June, the first Model Ys were delivered to owners in Vancouver, Canada. This marked the beginning of the expansion of the model's influence in markets outside the US.

Impact report

Source: Tesla

Total Recordable Injury Rate (TRIR) for 2019 at the Fremont Factory of 5.98 is 5% better than the Bureau of Labor Statistics industry average for auto manufacturers with >1000 employees. Tesla cares deeply about safety--both for its customers who enjoy the company's products and its employees who build them.

First 400-mile electric vehicle

On June 15, Tesla first introduced the world's longest-range EV, the Model S Long Range Plus. The new Model S comes with 402 miles (EPA) range per charge, price starting at $74,990 USD. Top speed is 155 mph, with only a 3.7 second 0-60 mph time.

In Q2 2020, Tesla produced 82,272 vehicles and delivered 90,891 vehicles

In Q2 2020, Tesla produced 82,272 cars and delivered 90,650 units. The company said it had successfully returned production to its previous levels, despite being suspended for more than a month in the quarter due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Analysts had expected lower numbers, but Tesla once again proved that it was capable of what others consider unlikely if not practically impossible.

Texas announced as the next Gigafactory site

Source: Tesla

During the Q2 2020 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company's new Gigafactory will be located in Austin, Texas:

"It's going to be right near Austin ... The location is five minutes from Austin International Airport and 15 minutes from Downtown Austin, and it's about 2,000 acres, and we're going to make it a factory that is going to be stunning. It's right on the Colorado River. So we're actually going to have a boardwalk where there'll a hiking and biking trail. It's going to basically be an ecological paradise. Birds in the trees, butterflies, fish in the stream, and they will be open to the public as well. So not closed and only Tesla."

World's largest Megapack project in Moss Landing begins

Source: PG&E

The Monterey County Planning Commission came to a unanimous decision in February 2020, about Tesla's upcoming Megapack battery installation. The county planners gave Tesla and PG&E the green light to move forward with their energy storage facility, which will pump power to the Moss Landing Power Plant, and will become the largest Tesla Megapack facility in the world.

Hornsdale battery expansion complete

In early September, Neoen announced that it had completed the expansion of Tesla's large battery at Hornsdale in South Australia, and it would begin providing important inertial services to the network through its expanded capacity.

Model S Plaid record lap at Laguna Seca 1:30.3

Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien

During Battery Day in September 2020, Tesla unveiled the new Model S Plaid. In 2019, the Plaid three-motor prototype lapped Laguna Seca at a blistering 1:36.555; but after some changes during the test in 2020, the time was even further reduced to 1:30.3.

Battery Day

Source: Tesla

During Battery Day, Tesla revealed its new 4680 cell architecture, significantly larger than the current 2170 cells. The company removed the two tabs connecting the battery cap and can to the ‘jellyroll’ anode/cathode, and replaced that with a spiral architecture allowing many more points of connection, increasing efficiency, and reducing resistance. The net effect is a form factor with a 6X increase in power and which allows for a 16% increase in range, while reducing $/KWh costs by 14%.

In 3Q 2020, 145,036 vehicles were produced and 13,593 vehicles delivered

Tesla confirmed an all-time record of 139,300 deliveries, beating most Wall Street analysts' expectations. The company also produced an all-time record 145,036 pure electric vehicles from their Fremont, California factory and Gigafactory Shanghai during the period of Q3 2020.

Giga Shanghai Model 3 shipment departs for Europe

Source: Tesla

At the end of October, Tesla Giga Shanghai began shipping its China-made Model 3 vehicles to Europe. The first export batch consisted of 7,000 units.

Full Self-Driving Beta

At the end of October Tesla released a fully functional version of its Full Self-Driving package, which is the result of a "fundamental rewrite."

20K Superchargers and counting

In early November, Tesla reached another milestone: The company installed 20,000 charging stalls around the world, and the number continues to grow at a high rate.

Joined S&P 500

With five profitable quarters, Tesla met the requirements for inclusion into the S&P 500 after the Q3 2020 earnings report, which requires that a company’s last four quarters in summation are profitable, and that the previous quarter is profitable. November 16th, 2020, S&P 500 officially announced Tesla would be included in the index.

Produced and delivered half a million vehicles

COVID-19 had a significant impact on production and delivery targets for 2020. However, the company rolled up its sleeves and made every effort to reach the goal of delivering 500,000 vehicles. Tesla produced 509,737 and delivered 499,550 vehicles in 2020.

© 2021, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.

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