Tesla Inc. unveiled battery innovations and increased efficiencies that appeared to underwhelm investors late Tuesday at its much anticipated “Battery Day.”
Tesla stock’s TSLA,
Shares were down 5.2% most recently.
“It does work but not [yet] with a high yield,” Musk said, adding that Tesla has set up a pilot battery plant to work through the challenges, with production “ramping up.”
There’s a “clear path to success but a ton of work from here to there,” Musk said.
Tesla set out to completely rethink how cells are produced and designed, Musk, chief executive of not just Tesla but SpaceX, and Tesla’s chief technology officer, Drew Baglino, said as they took the stage moments after the conclusion of the shareholder meeting.
It was part presentation, part chemistry lesson, as the two took turns extolling Tesla’s progress toward producing cheaper and more efficient batteries. The innovations included changes in battery size and in silicon engineering, and plans for easier access to lithium, battery recycling, and better integration between battery cell and vehicle.
Tesla shares had gained in the extended session during the shareholder-meeting portion of the day’s proceedings, mostly thanks to Musk’s saying that it was looking “promising” that the Silicon Valley car maker would post an annual profit and stay within its previous vehicle-delivery goals for 2020, while vowing to release a more advanced version of Tesla’s Autopilot, the company’s suite of advanced driver-assistance systems, “in a month or so.”
Musk called the year “insanely hard” — the hardest ever, in fact, for Tesla.
The shareholder meeting and “Battery Day” was held outdoors, and shareholders on site were in their Tesla cars, drive-in style, honking horns whenever Musk would say something positive about the company.
Shares of Tesla have gained 407% so far this year, contrasting with gains of just 2.6% for the S&P 500 index SPX,
