In an online streamed event called the ‘Battery Day’, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made some new announcements about the company’s upcoming cars and the new battery technology. The American electric vehicle company launched a new variant in its premium sedan series, the Model S Plaid, which promises a much more powerful upgrade from its predecessors. Furthermore, Musk revealed plans to innovate a new range of batteries that will allow the company to launch an electric vehicle at just $25,000, in just a few years.
Model S Plaid:
The new upgrade in the Model S series comes with the stronger ‘Plaid’ powertrain. It boasts three motors compared to the Plaid-less version that had only two, and as a result, the new Model S car is able to top 200 mph, clocking 0 to 60 mph in just 2 seconds. The new powertrain has increased the car’s range up to 520 miles in a single charge and is able to produce 1,100 horsepower.
In a video showcased during the event, the new Model S Plaid was able to complete a lap around the Laguna Seca raceway in just 1 minute 30 seconds, a six-second improvement from what it achieved on its Plaid prototype.
But contrary to what Elon Musk had claimed last year that the new Plaid will be in production by 2020. In the event he confirmed that the car will be only available for delivery starting late 2021. However, pre-orders have started on the Tesla website that price the car at $139,990. Users can avail the pre order from the company’s website with a $1000 refundable deposit.
$25,000 Tesla:
Staying true to the name of the event, Tesla also announced big plans of innovations in its battery technology, something which the company has been promising for years now. Elon Musk along with Drew Baglino, SVP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering, explained a series of new innovations in the battery field that will make Tesla cars much cheaper and affordable in the future.
Tesla is planning to build its own ‘tabless batteries’ that aims to increase an electric car’s power and range. In its future batteries, Tesla will remove the tab that connects to the cells, and this is what it calls the tabless cells or 4860 cells. The company claims the new technology will make the batteries six times more powerful and give a 16% increase in its range. Elon Musk says these batteries will be produced in-house, and therefore, will bring down the cost of the electric cars. Producing batteries in-house also means that Tesla will now stop outsourcing batteries from Panasonic, something it has been trying to do for a long time.
The electric car company further plans to completely remove cobalt from its cathodes. Elon claimed that he has been trying to do this for a long time now and once completed it will make the Tesla cars way more cheaper and affordable than before.
More ways to bring down the costs of Tesla vehicles include the establishment of a new cathode plant in North America. The new plant will make improvements to the process of making cathodes that will eventually reduce its cost by 76%.
All of this put together and Tesla claims that it will be successful to produce an electric car that will be priced at $25,000. The use of tabless batteries and reduction of costs in its supply chain will help Tesla reach the price point of $25,000, somewhat close to gasoline-powered cars.
Elon Musk said, “We’re confident we can make a very, very compelling $25,000 electric vehicle, that’s also fully autonomous. And when you think about the $25,000 price point you have to consider how much less expensive it is to own an electric vehicle. So actually, it becomes even more affordable at that $25,000 price point”.
