TESLA to Plans to Build World’s Biggest Battery Factory!

[dogman dan]

Not so hard to attract to Albuquerque though. It's a nice live-able city. Lots of them already there, and some just laid off from Intel. Lots of smart kids in the high schools, because mom or dad works in high tech. It's not as hip as Austin, but not bad. Great skiing, hiking, and biking very close.

Lots of people getting shot by cops there lately, but not people that behave. Part of why I say never run from cops on a traffic ticket.

Last nights cop shooting in Albuquerque, the guy forted up in the house with guns, then finally came out the front door shooting. Gulf vet gone nuts. The now famous homeless guy did nothing, but had a long history of beating up cops.

Re getting my greedy hands on some of the batteries,,, Ever heard the expression, "it fell off the truck".

 

[Hillhater]

further doubt on the type of cell Tesla will produce,..or even buy in from panasonic before the Mega plant opens ..
http://articles.sae.org/12833/

Despite Tesla Motors’ proven success with 18650-type Li-ion cells in its Model S, the industry’s best-known EV battery analyst isn’t betting that other automakers will adopt that form factor, which describes the cylindrical battery case’s 18 x 65 mm dimensions.
Dr. Menahem Anderman, President of consultants Advanced Automotive Batteries, also is not convinced that Tesla engineers will continue to architect future battery packs and EV powertrains around the small, reliable, and thermodynamically efficient 18650, billions of which are produced annually (in various iterations) for the consumer electronics industry. Tesla is the only automotive OEM to use the 18650 cell.
“I don’t see other OEMs going to the 18650,” Dr. Anderman stated following a presentation on future battery trends at the 2014 SAE Hybrid & EV Symposium in La Jolla, CA, on February 13. He said the cost advantage Tesla realized when it first specified the 18650 cells for its original 2008 Roadster model has “eroded” compared with newly developed cylindrical, pouch, and prismatic cell configurations used across the auto industry, despite Tesla's increasing production volumes.
Around 7000 individual cells, coded NCR18650A by their supplier Panasonic, are used in each Model S pack. Rated at 3100 mA·h, the cells are based on lithium nickel-cobalt aluminum (NCA) chemistry and feature a proprietary cathode geometry developed by Panasonic and Tesla. Last October the two companies announced a battery-cell supply agreement through December 2017 (Panasonic also owns shares of Tesla Motors) which will cover the launch of the Model X in late 2014 and subsequent Model E vehicles.

But the automaker's official announcement did not specify a cell form factor, and a Tesla spokesperson contacted by Automotive Engineering following the announcement would not elaborate.

The Panasonic cells purchased by Tesla are specifically designed for the automaker and feature a Tesla-patented vent system within the end cap. Battery supplier sources who spoke anonymously estimate Tesla’s cell cost per kW·h to be less than $160.

 

[Punx0r]

$160/Kwh is well below the predicted point where EV cars become price-competitive with ICE cars at current oil prices. It sounds too cheap to be true...

 

[Dauntless]

Re getting my greedy hands on some of the batteries,,, Ever heard the expression, "it fell off the truck".

Doesn't that make them dangerous?

 

[dogman dan]

You didn't get that expression did you? Fell off a truck means a wiseguy sold them off the truck on the way to the assembly factory in California.

They call it shrinkage. Some theft is inevitable, and figured into the overhead.

Just a dumb fantasy anyway, NM organized crime is making way too much money smuggling dope to bother. And tweakers won't get hired.

Anyway, anybody with any sense knows we will never have enough cash to bribe Tesla to locate here. The politicians here are making speeches, but really just bought and paid for by the oil lobby.

 

[Dauntless]

You didn't get that expression did you?

I know what it means. TWO of my ne'er do well brothers came to live with me and started trying to sell those fell off the truck items out of my house. Heh heh. I recently ran into the one guy who packed the truck so badly, he STILL is careful about crossing me.

You KNOW if this was 'Friends,' it would be Phoebe trying to get a ceramic cheap because it fell off the truck. Maybe Joey, maybe Ross would be saying "No, Phoebe, think of how broken up it would be. . . ." So Phoebe of all people gives them the hard stare as though THEY are the crazy ones.

Picture the event horizon if they really HAD sold you one that fell off the truck.

Anyway, anybody with any sense knows we will never have enough cash to bribe Tesla to locate here. The politicians here are making speeches, but really just bought and paid for by the oil lobby.

The oil lobby is the 99%. People with oil stocks in their portfolios. People with retirement accounts and mutual funds. People who work at gas stations, or own cars.

There's so much to be gotten in this world.

 

[MitchJi]

Hi,

http://green.autoblog.com/2014/05/2...ea-to-be-teslas-one-and-only-gigafactory-par/

Posted May 27th 2014
Panasonic has an idea to be Tesla's one and only gigafactory partner

Samsung? Who's Samsung? That's what Panasonic is asking as the electronics conglomerate makes it clear it is looking to secure its position in Tesla Motors' plans to build a huge car-battery factory over the next three years.

Panasonic is now saying it expects to be the only battery manufacturer partner for Tesla's so-called gigafactory, Reuters says, citing comments from Panasonic senior executive Yoshio Ito. Ito says his company has been in talks with Tesla about its construction plans, and while Samsung started supplying Tesla's batteries last year, Panasonic, which makes Tesla's lithium-ion cells, is looking for solo billing once the $5-billion factory goes live in 2017. All Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said so far is that he expects Panasonic to be the main partner in the gigafactory.

Last fall, Panasonic and Tesla reached an agreement in which Panasonic would increase its supply of battery cells to Tesla by a factor of 10 within the next three years, and Panasonic says its already doubled its battery-production investment this year largely because of the California automaker. That said, Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga said in March that there was significant risk involved in any investment in the gigafactory and hadn't committed to any investment as of that time. So Ito's comments may merely be a negotiation ploy. Tesla is looking for partners to shoulder about $3 billion of the $5 billion gigafactory cost.

Earlier this month, Lux Research estimated that Panasonic has a 39-percent global market share for plug-in and hybrid batteries. NEC has 27 percent and LG Chem has nine percent.

http://green.autoblog.com/2014/05/28/toyota-still-wants-tesla-battery-help-evaluating-rav4-ev/

Toyota still wants Tesla's battery help, still evaluating RAV4 EV program

Tesla Motors said earlier this month that the agreement it has with Toyota to supply battery packs for the Toyota RAV4 EV SUV would be finished by the end of the year. The deal is done, but Toyota is now singing its best version of Baby, Please Don't Go.

The Japanese automaker may look to extend the battery-pack agreement with California-based Tesla, Automotive News says, citing comments made by Osamu Nagata, who heads Toyota's manufacturing and engineering in North America. Nagata also complimented Tesla for its "clear business strategy." Toyota, which owns 2.5 percent of Tesla, started the RAV4 EV collaboration in 2012, in which Tesla was to make about 2,600 battery packs for the all-electric SUV. That agreement was estimated to be worth about $100 million.

"We have a good relationship with Tesla and will evaluate the feasibility of working together on future projects," Toyota said in a statement e-mailed to AutoblogGreen. "We are also evaluating the RAV4 EV program and will have more to say at a later date."

And while Toyota hasn't quite met initial sales expectations – it sold about 1,600 of the RAV4 EVs through this spring – the company expects to reach 2,500 by the end of the year. And the partnership did generate about $15 million in revenue for Tesla, according to that company's first-quarter letter to shareholders. That said, Tesla is obviously focusing its battery-making efforts on its own models.

Yikes, $100 million for 2,600 battery packs, that's over $38k per pack ! Maybe they should buy Model S packs from wrecking yards .

 

[Joseph C.]

Where do they get these figures from? 100,000,000 for 2,600 battery packs. That works out at 38k per car. The retail price of the car was 50k. 11,300 left over after the battery is accounted for. Does that maths make any sense to anyone?

 

[Hillhater]

No, and it doesent stack up against this comment either..

it sold about 1,600 of the RAV4 EVs through this spring –
. And the partnership did generate about $15 million in revenue for Tesla, according to that company's first-quarter letter to shareholders

To me, that says $15m revenue from 1600 packs, which would be $9,375 per pack..
..which is a figure i could understand.

 

[Joseph C.]

:lol:

I didn't see that Mitch had already commented on it.

 

[PRW]

saw on this morning's news that Standard and Poor's has given Tesla a junk bond rating? http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveschaefer/2014/05/28/sp-gives-tesla-a-junk-bond-rating-cites-vulnerable-business

 

[Joseph C.]

saw on this morning's news that Standard and Poor's has given Tesla a junk bond rating? http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveschaefer/2014/05/28/sp-gives-tesla-a-junk-bond-rating-cites-vulnerable-business

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/posting.php?mode=quote&f=14&p=900543#

:lol:

Where were they when they were actually needed. 'Narrow product product focus'. :lol:

You are looking at a future major player in the energy business. In time Tesla Motors will only be a small part of a much larger company. That's why their stock is valued so highly.

 

[dogman dan]

My sense of humor must have been broken the other day. Duh, I thought you were serious D.

The oil lobby I mentioned affecting NM is not so much everybody, It's the Texas lobby, which owns a lot of the oil and gas in NM. Same guys that were puppeting Steve Pierce to block the new solar and wind power line. This is local stuff you would not know about, been that way since I was born. They make sure of things like the pit rule getting blocked, so they can just keep dump drilling sludge in unlined open pits, and drive away. Stuff other states won't allow. They call it job creation.

On a happy note, they failed on the power line. Obama must have reminded the guys that run White Sands that he was their CO. Suddenly they compromised, and 5 miles of power line will be underground, instead of 50 miles.

So when they get the power line built, solar panels can sprout like mushrooms here, and sell the power to LA.

 

[velias]

Looks like they have effectively broken ground in a industrial park east of Reno, already clearing land at least.
Don't know about Texas or the other competitors.
Guess it will be November before any announcements are made.
Don't really understand the simultaneous factory strategy to start building in 2 or 3 places then going with whoever gets it going faster/cheaper. Seems like a waste of effort or maybe a scam to try to get the best deal. If they are in that much of a rush they should just stick with one site and go full speed.

http://www.rgj.com/story/money/reno-rebirth/2014/06/09/reno-san-antonio-tesla-gigafactory/10261205/

 

[Dauntless]

Why Texas is considered the favorite and the rest are "Underdogs."

http://www.texasgotitright.com/

Funny thing about 'Junk Bonds,' they are mostly quite profitable for all involved.

The "Unsolicited" rating means that Tesla did not request an issuer rating or reach a rating agreement with S&P, but that the firm believes there is sufficient interest in the company to warrant initiating coverage.

That was the most interesting statement of the article. Can you name any of the European governments with a junk bond rating? Sam Wyly, the guy behind that book about Texas, has built a number of companies by making the junk bonds from those companies into a mother lode.

Neither Forbes nor Standard and Poor are decrying Tesla for their junk bond status.

 

[dogman dan]

I thought it was looking like California had snuck in and sharked us. CA is back on the list. They are offering a nice package of incentives.

NM is failing to match it, because we don't want to spend a tiny amount of money to bring the state legislature back from vacation to do it.

We're frocked. I kind of knew it all along. Susana style job creation, while other states slowly get going again, we continue to lose jobs.

 

[arkmundi]

Why Texas is considered the favorite and the rest are "Underdogs."
http://www.texasgotitright.com/

Yeegodz man??? I was born, bred & educated there, so know Texas pretty well. Often back to visit the family homestead, ride horses and chase armadillos. But live there?? So people will go where the jobs are, get that. But I'd rather be jobless, homeless and broke in Massachusetts than take root in what will soon be one of the driest states. You'll have to answer the question where they'll be getting their water from in 10 years.

 

[Giovanni LiCalsi]

Trees, hills and water make the best landscape.

 

[Dauntless]

Why Texas is considered the favorite and the rest are "Underdogs."
http://www.texasgotitright.com/

Yeegodz man??? I was born, bred & educated there, so know Texas pretty well. Often back to visit the family homestead, ride horses and chase armadillos. But live there?? So people will go where the jobs are, get that. But I'd rather be jobless, homeless and broke in Massachusetts than take root in what will soon be one of the driest states. You'll have to answer the question where they'll be getting their water from in 10 years.

My family out there gets their water out of the ground, which continues to work through the drought so far. Ma has cut down some of the cedar trees to keep it coming.

I'm wondering how much longer I'll be able to get water here in California, where historically there's a bigger problem with it. Good ole' Gerry Brown wants to do away with farming here and build more houses, so we have to wonder what we'll for food as well as water. And more and more new laws where he excitedly talks about ending more JOBS, so there's a 3rd thing we'll have to learn to live without.

Chasing armadillos? Those things seem pretty slow, how hard could they be to catch?

 

[arkmundi]

Chasing armadillos? Those things seem pretty slow, how hard could they be to catch?

You'd be surprised. Yes, they can be caught, so people do it all the time. But they are burrowing animals, and very agile digging a hole and crawling in, where they are then almost completely invisible. Anyway, its fun, and then you skin 'em, roast 'em on on open fire, and use the skin parts for Texas style boots, belts, buckles and jewelry. There's a whole industry down there, especially around one of my favorite cities - Austin.

 

[999zip999]

Armadillos I hear there are great for Leprosy. Eating ?
I would hope to see a different format than 18650. Please ?

 

[arkmundi]

Armadillos I hear there are great for Leprosy. Eating ?

OK, so Chalo needs to chime in here, but I think my eBike would be better than a horse in chasing down an Armadillo in the wilds of Texas. And use a nabber to grab 'em & bag 'em. So, eBike, nabber, bag, hunting knife, matches, seasoning mix. Am I missing something? Nope, think that's just about it.

 

[Dauntless]

OK, so Chalo needs to chime in here. . . .

Chalo is an armadillo hunter? Is THAT what that hat is?

 

[docnjoj]

Armadillos I hear there are great for Leprosy. Eating ?

OK, so Chalo needs to chime in here, but I think my eBike would be better than a horse in chasing down an Armadillo in the wilds of Texas. And use a nabber to grab 'em & bag 'em. So, eBike, nabber, bag, hunting knife, matches, seasoning mix. Am I missing something? Nope, think that's just about it.

I use one of those "Nabbers" for getting clothes up and down from high shelves. We have armadillos here too and that nabber would barely go around a baby one. Never work on a grown one.
otherDoc

 

[velias]

Looks like it is definitely going to Reno.
They have 50 bulldozers and pulled a permit to clear the land.
They have been working nights to get it done.
Here's a link with the info/photos......

http://transportevolved.com/2014/07...eno-nv-probably-first-tesla-gigafactory-site/

I wonder if all the talk about building dueling factories to see which one would get off the ground fastest was all crap.
Or maybe theres some secret going on with two factories or something like maybe they are gonna move the car factory. I think theres something going on with texas too.