XPeng, the famous Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, announced the successful launch of its assisted-driving technology in Beijing. As a competitor to Tesla, XPeng’s stock demonstrated a rise in premarket trading, reflecting positive market sentiment surrounding the company’s latest development.

In a remarkable achievement, XPeng has become the pioneer in introducing an advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) in Beijing. Following the approval for usage on major ring roads and expressways within the capital city, XPeng takes the lead in implementing this cutting-edge technology. This milestone positions XPeng at the forefront of automotive innovation and reinforces its commitment to revolutionizing the driving experience.

According to CNBC, XPeng’s advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) has initially been deployed on the “ring-road” highways encircling Beijing’s city center and the “main high-speed roads.” However, it remains uncertain when the driver-assist technology will be available for use on all streets within the city. The limited coverage marks a significant step forward for XPeng in bringing ADAS capabilities to Beijing, while the expansion to broader street networks awaits further clarification.

XPeng has announced the availability of its City NGP (Navigation Guided Pilot) system, a technology comparable to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) feature, in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. The company has further revealed its intention to expand the feature to “dozens of cities” later this year. With this development, XPeng solidifies its position as a key player in the autonomous driving sector, aiming to bring advanced driver assistance capabilities to a wider range of urban environments across China.

Xiaopeng He, the founder, and CEO of the company, highlighted the importance of driver attentiveness despite the advanced capabilities of XPeng’s City NGP system. While the system showcases capabilities that closely resemble those of human drivers, He emphasized the need for drivers to stay focused on the road at all times.

He further mentioned that the current driving abilities of the system are similar to that of a novice driver. However, leveraging extensive urban driving data and strong closed-loop data training systems, XPeng intends to roll out over-the-air software updates for XNGP on a quarterly basis. These updates will facilitate continuous enhancements and improvements to the performance of the system.

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Elon Musk unveiled the famous Tesla Master Plan 3 at the Investor Day event on March 1. The event conducted at Gigafactory Austin primarily focused on sustainable growth and development of the planet and gave very few details of the actual products and financials of the company. As the event progressed, Tesla’s share price dropped by almost 5%.

Under Master Plan 3, CEO Elon Musk emphasized that Tesla will focus on creating sustainable and renewable energy not only for the company but for the whole planet. Over 80% of global energy comes from fossil fuels but only 1/3 of this energy is used for important work or to generate life-saving heat. Tesla will help to put an end to the consumption of fossil fuels and lead the world in sustainable energy. The company said that it would build a sustainable energy economy, as it not only helps the environment but also requires just 60% of the cost of fossil fuel investments.

Tesla Plans to achieve its sustainable energy goals by adding renewable power sources, replacing gasoline vehicles with Electric variants, finding sustainable heating solutions for buildings, installing high heat delivery systems and hydrogen for industries, and building the current long-distance travel options like aircraft and ships with sustainable materials.

Basically, Tesla will involve in almost all fields of infrastructure that use fossil fuels to replace them with renewable and sustainable sources of energy, so that it can create a ‘Sustainable Energy Civilization’. Musk said that there’s no need to live without electricity or proper heating just to attain sustainability as there is a clear path to sustainable living that does not require the destruction of the natural habitat or any sacrifices on our part. 

How will Tesla achieve its Ambitious Global Sustainable Energy Goals?

Tesla has projected a massive investment of $10 trillion to achieve its global sustainable energy goals. CEO Elon Musk said that though the number looks massive, it is nothing when compared to the global economy.  

The company plans to achieve its sustainability goals by increasing the world’s energy storage capacity by up to 240TWh. It plans to achieve this ambitious goal without plundering the major ores of the planet as unlike fossil fuels, sustainable energy requires less mineral extraction. The two major elements required for developing sustainable energy sources are Nickle and Iron. Musk said that Iron is one of the most abundant metals available on our planet and it will take less than 30% of available Nickel, to power the entire planet with sustainable energy. This means we can create sustainable and renewable energy without destroying the precious resources of the planet.  

Musk further added that even though the infrastructure will take time and investment, it will take less than 0.2% of the area of our planet to install solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources that can power the entire world. In the end, he said that he wanted the day to be not just about Tesla investors who own stock, but really anyone who is an investor in Earth.

As a first step to fulfill its sustainable energy goals, Tesla has decided to not use any rare earth metals for making its next-gen vehicles. 

Tesla’s Master Plan 3 – Company-level Goals:

Tesla will focus on cost-cutting, growth, and expansion in the coming years said Musk. The company will focus on efficient manufacturing processes, reducing costs, and expanding its presence in emerging markets. Tesla has already slashed up to 20% of its price for Model 3 and Model S. The price cuts have stimulated the dwindling demand and put the company back on track. To expand its manufacturing capacity, Tesla is building its sixth Gigafactory in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. 

Tesla also demonstrated the novel ‘Unboxed Process’ during the Investor Day event. With this unique method, the company can build its vehicles all at once in the assembly line itself using parallel and serial assembly, with only the paint job requiring a separate process. This method will be used to make Tesla’s next-gen vehicles.  

Investors were disappointed with Master Plan 3, as it did not include any details of new launches or products. Though the company has two mystery vehicles in the pipeline, it did not provide any details for the same. 

Tesla Master Plan 2 – Unfulfilled Promises:

Tesla’s Master Plan 2, is considered a flop as the company could not realize most of its targets presented in that plan. Master Plan 2 which was unveiled in 2016, outlined the company’s major goals which included the creation of multiple new vehicles across major categories, achieving fully autonomous driving capability, launching Robotaxis that could help Tesla owners make money, and creating a robust solar energy business. 

However, since 2016, Tesla has introduced only two new vehicle models, the Tesla Semi and Cyber Truck. After several delays, the company started delivering the Semi trucks just last year and the Cyber Truck is still under wraps with no definite timeline in place for its launch. 

As for autonomous driving, Tesla has launched its Full Self Driving Hardware for an additional cost of $15000 but has still not achieved complete autonomy. And until the company makes fully autonomous, self-driving vehicles, it cannot even think of rolling out the Robotaxi project. 

After the disappointment with Master Plan 2, investors were looking forward to some solid ideas and plans from the company in Master Plan 3. However, the company did not introduce any major products or plans during the event. When asked about Tesla’s upcoming products, Musk said that “We will have a proper sort of product event as we’d be jumping the gun if we were to answer that question.”

On Wednesday as the Investor Day event progressed, Tesla saw a 5% drop in its share price. Experts state that the price drop reflects the disappointment of investors who were looking forward to details of new products and services from the company.

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Tesla is apparently planning on bringing its battery production capacity that it uses for its electric vehicles to the US. The company currently manufactures these battery packs in Germany, so here are all the details.

For those unaware, the American automobile giant is working on building its battery cells with a new 4680 format for the last three years and will now be bringing them the US for the federal tax credit. Furthermore, this aligns with the brand’s plan of long term growth since the new structural battery pack architecture will be an integral part of its next generation of electric vehicle models. So now, the EV maker is producing the battery cells from its pilot plant in Fremont, California.

Although, it is still relying on its Gigafactory in Texas and Berlin for battery production on a bigger scale. Back in 2022, it was rumored that Tesla was facing issues in making battery cells from its Gigafactory in Berlin and was even considering moving battery production equipment to the US. A new report now stated that the company is making the shift to get the full 7,500 US Dollars federal tax credit. To get this benefit, automobile makers basically need to source their battery cells from within North America.

Apparently, the move from Germany to the US was obvious considering a 3,645 US Dollars subsidy that the company will get directly from US Taxpayers for each 81kWh Model Y long range battery pack that they manufacture. As of right now, Tesla is also gearing up to ramp up production of its new 4680 battery cells at the Texas Gigafactory.

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Tesla is the global leader in electric vehicle manufacturing, with massive expansions in the operations of the company to cover new and uncharted territories. Battery issues provide a critical performance and safety challenge for Tesla’s electric vehicles (EV), as the pursuit of greater range for these batteries may also mean serious safety concerns have to be grappled with. Due to the internal makeup of these EV battery cells, several accidents have been reported that led to battery fires. Some of these incidents were fatal, leading to loss of life.

Tesla has continued to evolve its battery technology, and it unveiled its plan in 2020 to produce a new tabless battery cell, with a new operating mechanism and bigger capacity. The 4680 format highlighted by Tesla last year, the company claims, is capable of producing bigger, cheaper, safer, and more efficient cells. Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solutions are two Korean companies that have now taken bold steps to produce separate 4680 battery cell models, as they eye Tesla’s huge supply contract for the car component.

Tesla is already scaling up its production processes and doing the necessary modifications within its battery factories that may come on board in Germany, China, and the United States. But plans are already in progress as well Tesla to incorporate the 4680 design and technology in partnership with battery manufacturers for the production of improved batteries for its cars. In fact, four of the leading battery manufacturers, including LG Energy Solutions and Samsung SDI, had individually announced plans to build their own versions of the Tesla 4680 battery cell.

Reports monitored from Korea now indicate that both LG and Samsung may have completed the production of samples of the 4680 cell, as the race for the Tesla supply contract gathers steam. The report also shows that both companies are currently carrying out tests on the sample 4680 cells produced, with sights set at 2023 for a possible release of the battery to the market – of course, based on either of the companies nicking the contract.

Tesla will pick from the pool of manufacturers for the supply of the battery, which could debut with the Model Y, according to some sources.

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