Tesla to work on residential HVAC techniques with Bioweapon Protection Mode
July 20, 2022
By Gabe Rodriguez Morrison
Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the company is interested in making its own HVAC system for homes. “It’s on the future product list,” says Elon.
Tesla is known for having remarkable air quality inside their electric vehicles. They went as far as integrating large HEPA filters into most of their models, which Tesla calls Bioweapon Defense Mode.
The HEPA filter removes 99.97% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria, and any airborne particles with a size of 0.3 microns (µm). The filter is adapted into an efficient HVAC system to prevent decreasing the vehicle’s range.
Last year, when Tesla announced a software update to make the Model S HVAC system quieter, Elon was asked about Tesla making a home HVAC system, to which he replied:
“Oh man, home HVAC that is super energy efficient, quiet & purifies the air would be great. We developed it for the car, but it can be scaled up for home use.”
Residential HVAC is a product that Elon has been talking about for years and really wants Tesla to manufacture in the future. More recently Elon said that it is on Tesla’s list of future products.
It’s on the future product list. Especially important in places like Austin, which has next-level amounts of pollen in the air.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 18, 2022
Back in 2020, Elon Musk spoke about his desire to create a “super efficient” HVAC system for homes.
HVAC and AI seem to be two areas that interest Elon. Last year Elon said that Tesla would look into adding an AI-based HVAC system into their vehicles (and now possibly into homes).
The system could take environmental readings into account such as the air quality in the area, whether the car is in stop-and-go traffic, and automatically control car features that would improve the air quality inside the car.
The car could automatically enable air circulation or even turn on Bioweapon Defense Mode.
Tesla is working on many other projects right now and the HVAC is not in an advanced stage of development yet. It is unknown when Tesla will officially unveil an HVAC system but this news confirms that the HVAC system is in fact on a “list of products” and can be expected in the distant future.
I’m dying to do super efficient, quiet home HVAC with HEPA & water distillation. It’s weird, but I really want to do it.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 23, 2020
November 4, 2022
By Lennon Cihak
Tesla’s bringing its collection of revolutionary electric vehicles to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
The exhibit, dubbed “Inside Tesla: Supercharging the Electric Revolution,” will offer an in-depth look at the past, present, and future of the electric vehicle revolution. It will also showcase Tesla’s history, from its early and rough beginnings to the present global leader in EVs.
The exhibit will feature the most comprehensive collection of Tesla’s products to date. From early prototypes of the Model 3 from 2016 to the 2012 Model X prototype, as well as Tesla’s 1 millionth vehicle ever produced, these rare vehicles will be on display.
In addition to the vehicles, there will be information about the products and software that powers each car. Information about Tesla’s energy ecosystem, manufacturing automation, autopilot, and full self-driving expertise will be on full display. Attendees will also get an inside look at projects from SpaceX, The Boring Company, and Hyperloop.
“Tesla has revolutionized the automotive, EV, technology, and manufacturing spaces within a relatively short time span, begetting the question, ‘How did they do that?’” Terry L. Karges, Petersen Automotive Museum’s Executive Director, says in a press release shared with Not a Tesla App. “This exhibit strives to be a holistic walk-through of how the brand became a global phenomenon and further details what lies ahead.”
“Inside Tesla: Supercharging the Electric Revolution” will be open to the public on November 20 in the Mullin Family Grand Salon and Phillip Sarofim Porte Cochere on the museum’s first floor. The exhibit will be open until October 22, 2023.
For more information and how to purchase tickets, visit the Petersen Automotive Museum’s website.
November 4, 2022
By Gabe Rodriguez Morrison
The Financial Times recently reported that Tesla had talks with Glencore about taking a stake in the Swiss mining giant. It seems that Tesla and Glencore held some sort of discussions starting as early as last year. Discussions apparently continued until March this year when Glencore’s chief executive Gary Eagle visited Tesla’s Fremont Factory.
According to the FT, Tesla supposedly planned to buy a minority equity stake of 10% to 20% in Glencore but both parties were unable to reach an agreement. Tesla had concerns about Glencore’s coal mining business which conflicted with the EV manufacturer’s environmental goals.
However, at an investor’s conference today in New York, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla “never contemplated investing in Glencore.” It’s not clear what led the FT to think that Tesla was considering investing in Glencore, but there may have been conversations between Tesla and Glencore as Tesla tries to secure mining materials.
Glencore does plan to align itself with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and shrinking its coal portfolio over time.
Glencore is the world’s largest trading house and producer of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Australia, and Canada. A few years ago, Tesla secured a cobalt offtake agreement with the Swiss mining giant for Giga Shanghai and Giga Berlin.
Will Tesla invest in mining?
Although talks between Tesla and Glencore did not lead to Tesla considering an investment in the mining giant, the discussions hint that Tesla is interested in what’s happening in the mining industry.
Elon has said in the past that he prefers not to enter the mining industry, although Tesla will if they have to. Mining could become more of a constraint as Tesla increases vehicle production and scales the 4680 battery assembly line.
At the Q3 2022 earnings call, Elon was asked about vertically integrating into mining, and he responded:
“We’ll do whatever we have to. Whatever the limiting factor is, we’ll do. We do not artificially constrain ourselves. We don’t vertically integrate just for the hell of vertically integrating,” Elon Musk replied to Jonas.
“Like if there was a great supplier who’s better than us or we think is at least very good, or even where the economics of comparative advantage suggests that we should use that supplier, even if we could beat them, but we could use our resources to do something else that will be more productive, then we would in source in that case. But if we have to go mine, we will mine,” Musk explained.
The rise of EVs has caused many carmakers to become more involved in the mining industry to secure raw materials such as cobalt, lithium and nickel that are needed to manufacture batteries.
These types of discussions will likely continue as the need for such raw materials increases. It is possible that Tesla’s Master Plan Part 3 will involve the acquisition of a mining company so that Tesla can “scale to extreme size to shift humanity away from fossil fuels.”
