Tesla hosted its Investor Day on Wednesday at its Texas plant, and livestreamed the event. The 3+-hour presentation focused first on the macro transition to a sustainable economy, supported by some 240 TWh of energy storage. Such a transition is definitely achievable, said Elon Musk. Tesla will be publishing a white paper with its calculations and conclusions.

On the car business side, Tesla presenters across multiple domains focused on Tesla’s production innovations and cost-cutting efforts, rather than teasing features about upcoming vehicles.

Nevertheless, a few snippets emerged about the characteristics of the next-generation powertrain under development:

• It will use 75% less SiC in the power electronics without compromising efficiency or performance.

• Any battery chemistry will be accepted. (Musk in his earlier comments os sustainable economies suggested that the bulk of batteries would be iron-based, with nickel reserved for very long-range applications.)

  
  

• The next generation drive unit uses a permanent magnet motor with no rare earth materials.

  
  

• Tesla is designing 100% of the controllers, and has full control of the supply chain.

• The 48V low voltage network will features significantly simplified wiring.

• Data gathered from Tesla’s constantly growing fleet of in use vehicles are informing decisions about the next-generation platform, including pack size.