TESLA

Company close to complete the manufacture of its batteries

All parts begin to fit together to enable Tesla to become a battery cell manufacturer. So far, the US brand has partnered with Panasonic to produce cylindrical cells - the 18650 for Model S and X, and the largest 2170 to power Model 3 - which no other manufacturer of the market disputes are those that achieve the highest density and lowest cost. Not surprisingly, given that Tesla and Panasonic have been investing in this business since 2012, while the remaining battery manufacturers started much later. At least with the need to optimize efficiency without looking at costs.
But Tesla wants to continue to lead in technology, which forces it to continue to invest in research and development. And most of the time, this investment involves acquiring smaller companies with specific expertise in areas that take time to master. As a result, Elon Musk's company acquired Maxwell, a renowned manufacturer of ultra-capacitors, mastering this technology like no one else, leading Tesla to establish a new laboratory to develop a new, necessarily innovative, type of battery without Panasonic's presence. .
Now Tesla is back to the news by acquiring Canadians from HilbarSystems, a specialist in battery cell production and the manufacture of specific equipment for battery assembly lines. Does this mean that the manufacturer is preparing to abandon the cylindrical cells he has used so far in his vehicles?
But Hilbar Systems has not been Tesla's only acquisition in recent weeks. According to CNBC, the American brand bought startup DeepScale, which specializes in artificial intelligence and computer vision. Tesla is not the first manufacturer to buy startups, but Tesla, founded in 2015, fits in with its next needs, with the initial goal being to develop autonomous vehicles and create neurological networks.
It is not surprising that a company like Tesla, which has been constantly pressured by Wall Street to declare profits - which it has only occasionally managed - can afford to invest so heavily, which does little to help it achieve better financial results in the quarter. . The explanation can be found in the small importance that Musk (and its key shareholders) attach to immediate performance, preferring to focus on the medium to long term potential. It remains to be seen what the outcome of this strategy is.

Autonews