Is Tesla's stock in trouble? Elon Musk remains confident

Elon Musk and the executives held the Tesla Investor Day and gave information on the company's future. They concentrated on driving the shift away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. However, Musk didn't make "the big product" announcement, and Tesla's stocks fell 5% in after-hours trading.

Some participants were disappointed as the event felt like a history class rather than an investor day. Musk avoided giving much information on the company's plans and steps. The executives discussed how to reduce costs in the future at every level of the company. Reducing costs aims to create a more profitable business, and that is something the investors would want to hear.

None of the "important" announcements regarding Tesla's next-generation EV or the new factory in Mexico were made. The new factory was introduced during the event, but we still seek details. Besides, they also haven't mentioned the issues around full self-driving software. Customers opted to buy the $15,000 option, which is now unavailable due to a recall. These were the main subjects that people wanted to know about, but they weren't told deeply. Elon Musk mentioned that there will be a different product event for the new vehicles.

20 million EVs a year

Tesla's goal is to reach 20 million EVs a year by 2030. The company seeks to reach it by working very attentively on every aspect. This includes design, manufacturing, batteries, charging, and all the other specs. Tech Crunch said Tesla produced 1,369,611 and delivered 1,313,851 vehicles in 2022. Last year, Toyota led the market by selling 10.5 million vehicles. Tesla's expectation in the following seven years is to grow 15 times more than its current state, which is quite impressive. Musk said the problem is not about demand but building darned things. Tesla wants to keep its model count low, maybe up to 10, and concentrate on improving manufacturing efficiency, building new factories, and scaling existing ones. This way, they are willing to reach the goal by 2030.

On another note, Tesla is bringing two new vehicles to its lineup, built on a completely different platform design. The next-gen vehicles will cost 50% less with the upcoming innovations. Tesla relies on automation to scale faster and cheaper.

Vertical integration

Vertical integration is a business strategy where a company controls multiple supply chain stages for its products or services. This means that a company may own or control its products or services' production, distribution, and retailing. Recently, Apple announced something similar on its Apple Silicon chipsets: it will switch from Intel to its own chipsets. Tesla is one of the leaders in the industry to achieve that. It is the only car company that produces its own seats. Tesla has manufactured its own purpose-built microprocessor for high-power electronics and eliminated the outsourced software. The company mentioned that this change would reduce costs by half, and it looks like this strategy will continue until Tesla vertically integrates to the highest point possible.

Moreover, the company will also produce its own materials used in battery cells. Tesla is working on a new lithium refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas. Drew Baglino, senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering, said that it would start commissioning within 10 months and with actual production within 12 months.

No more Rare Earth and traditional heating systems

With the next-generation vehicles, Tesla will stop using rare earth materials. According to Tech Crunch, "We have designed our next drive unit to use a permanent magnet motor to not use any rare earth materials at all, said Colin Campbell, VP of powertrain engineering, noting that the new drive unit cost has been reduced to $1,000." Tesla's next powertrain will be as powerful and as efficient as now while using 75% less silicon carbide. The new powertrain factory is also 50% smaller than the current one, meaning EV production scaling will be much faster.

The presentation also included how the company wants to switch to heat pumps for home, business, and industrial heating. It already uses heat pumps in its vehicles, but Musk mentioned maybe Tesla could also manufacture heat pumps for homes.

Magic Dock

Magic Dock will let non-Tesla electric cars charge at Tesla's charging stations. The company will add a $30 "unlimited overnight home charging" plan in July. This is only available for Tesla Electric users, an invite-only plan. Tesla Electric is only offered to Powerwall users in parts of Texas where retailers are placed. However, the company wants to expand to other parts of the country. Tesla will also reveal new energy storage products this year.

Tesla Humanoid Robot

Tesla gave more information on its humanoid robot Optimus. It showed a video in which two robots are building another robot. It was trained by the same AI that trains Tesla's Autopilot and FSD technologies. Musk mentioned that "the team that designed the groundbreaking electric motors that are in the Model S Plaid designed the actuators in the robot."

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