New York (AFP)
Failing to revolutionize the battery, Tesla announced Tuesday a series of technical improvements supposed to allow it to halve its production cost and to offer an electric vehicle at $ 25,000 within three years.
"By how many years can we accelerate the adoption of sustainable energy? This is the real measure of success," said Musk.
In the face of climate change, "we must act", he said.
With this in mind, the entrepreneur said he was "confident" in the group's ability to quickly offer an electric car for $ 25,000, a reduction of at least $ 10,000 compared to the base model he is currently offering to the company. sale.
Achieving this requires reducing the cost of batteries.
To do this, Tesla, in a fairly technical presentation, exposed several advances at various stages of battery design: on the design of cells, on the production line, on the use of silicone, on the manufacturing of the cathode and the metals used, and on the integration into the car itself.
All this should ultimately make it possible to reduce the production cost of a kilowatt hour by 56%.
Elon Musk "did not revolutionize the nature of the battery or the way it works," remarks Karl Brauer, analyst for the specialized site iSeeCars.
"But a more efficient way to produce the battery and to generate and conserve the energy inside the battery."
- On a parking lot -
The group presented "a multitude of small advances in the design of the battery or the car around the battery, allowing it to reduce its cost significantly, to increase the speed of production and the distance it can cover", he emphasizes to AFP.
The two most interesting things to him are the increased use of silicone, a readily available material, and the use of the battery as a structural part of the car.
Elon Musk has always had in mind to convince drivers to adopt electric vehicles en masse.
"We don't have really cheap cars yet, but we will," he said on Tuesday.
It remains to be seen whether the amount of $ 25,000 will be enough to convince as many people as they want.
The event, broadcast live online after the annual general meeting of the company, began with a small quack: no sound on the video presenting the activities of the company to Internet users.
Covid-19 requires, he stood outside, the speakers succeeding on a podium in front of the shareholders who had been able to make the trip, installed at the wheel of a little more than 200 cars of the brand neatly arranged in a large parking lot .
"It's a little difficult to feel the atmosphere of the room," said the boss ironically, arriving on the stage.
A few blasts of the horns nevertheless regularly greeted these announcements.
Used to media blows, the entrepreneur of South African origin had promised on Twitter, on September 11, that he would lift the veil on "many exciting things" during this event already postponed several times.
Tesla is keen to play the leading roles in batteries, the key element for the future of electric vehicles, in order to increase its lead over other car manufacturers, which still derive the majority of their revenues from vehicles with thermal engines (diesel or gasoline).
Mr. Musk, however, calmed the enthusiasm of the most enthusiastic Monday night by stressing that the innovations presented would not reach "real mass production before 2022".
Before adding a few hours later: "People do not fully understand the extreme difficulty of mass-producing new technologies."
He stressed during the presentation on Tuesday that some of the innovations presented were not yet working but were "very close" to doing so.
On the New York Stock Exchange, the stock fell 7% in electronic trading after the event.
© 2020 AFP