Tesla has made some major announcements at its battery day event citing the steps it will be taking steps to further improve performance of its cars. Some of the steps that the company would be taking in future are:
- Eliminating cobalt in its batteries
- Plaid powertrain for the Model S
- A new cathode plant
- Make a $25,000 car.
The company will remove cobalt in its cathodes, although its existing batteries use very little cobalt. The major reason being Cobalt is mined under conditions that violate human rights. However, it is not clear by when the company will totally get rid of it.
Tesla has also announced Plaid powertrain that would go into production in late 2021. The powertrain produces 1,100 horsepower, achieves a top speed of 200 mph, can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under 2 second and extends the car range to at least 520 miles on a single charge.
The EV maker also plans to get into the business of mining minerals used in electric vehicle batteries and has secured the rights to a 10,000-acre lithium clay deposit in Nevada. Along with this the company will build a new cathode plant for its batteries in North America. The purpose is to reduce supply chain costs, simplify cathode production and make improvements to its process, ultimately making cathodes 76 percent cheaper.
In three years the company also plans to build a $25,000 car that on par with a gasoline car. It will achieve this goal by using new battery cells, and changing the materials inside the cell, to reduce the price per kilowatt-hour by half.
