Matchbox Car of the Future – Tesla, Matchbox cars have always been so much fun to play with as a child. They were always a great way to own a car without having to pay the price tag of some of the most incredible vehicles in the World.
Their simple designs and construction always made kids eyes light up with excitement and fun. Companies like Matchbox had thousands of cars both real and fantastic to choose from and they came in all shapes colours and types.
The construction of these vehicles would be as complicated as the real thing, but under the veneer, it was simply a metal cast with some plastic interior and wheels.
So why has it taken over 100 hundred years for a car company to try to do the same thing?
Tesla rethinks manufacturing
Matchbox Car of the Future – Tesla. Tesla has spent billions of dollars making some of the most incredible vehicles. They have now started to bring the same principles that matchbox employed into real-world vehicles. This simple approach has found several benefits.
Elon mentioned the process to create vehicles like matchbox cars several years ago. The Model Y seems to be the testbed for these advancements to make their way into real-world vehicles.
Giga Press
The Giga press appears to be the tool that will make this happen. The new factories of Giga berlin and Giga Texas and eventually Giga Shanghai will employ the use of the Giga press to produce castings of vehicle parts.
To achieve such an amazing manufacturing marvel Tesla worked to develop their own formula of aluminium to deliver the casting. Taking a structure in the vehicle from many pieces down to 1-2 pieces is truly incredible.
Model 3 has almost 70 parts in the rear construction.
These images show the contrast between the two vehicles and how much simpler the construction is.
The Model Y is the vehicle Tesla believes will sell millions globally, as I wrote about last week, so to produce the vehicle in large numbers they had to rethink the complete process of manufacturing at volume.
Linked In post
The recent post by Tom T. on Linked In shows the success of the Giga press and its possibilities moving into the future.
Matchbox cars will continue to be the cool toys that they have been for decades. It is now that the young children that loved those vehicles can now love the real vehicles made the same way and help influence the future of the car industry.
2022 is the year that the Model Y will become the car to own. Its anticipation for international deliveries has been growing as 2021 ended. There have been several items that point to the Model Y being the car that outsells them all.
USA
The Model Y has been for sale and delivered in the United States for over a year. By all reports, the vehicle has been nothing but a marvellous vehicle to drive. One of the greatest selling features is its ability to be an amazing family vehicle. The fact that it falls into the class of an SUV makes it unique.
With the imminent conclusion of the Berlin and Austin factories, the ramp of sales for Model Y will only increase in 2022.
Model Y will be the first vehicle to be produced out of these new factories.
Commission of these factories is due to occur in the coming weeks/ days which will allow the Model Y ramp to happen very quickly.
Model Y – Evolution
Tesla has made no secret of the fact that the Model Y will be the first vehicle to use the new 4680 Battery Cell.
In 2019 Tesla was granted a patent for the new battery structural pack.
This structural battery pack, inclusive of the 4680 cells, is a revolution. The first real innovation made on battery technology for many years.
New technology, with the introduction of the 4680 cells, helps to show that using first principles to help stagnant technologies move forward is still possible.
Tesla outlined at their battery day presentation several innovations inclusive of the new 4680 cells. These innovations when combined should improve the range, power and efficiency of the new Model Y. There are huge expectations for the use of these new battery cells.
Recently they updated the Model Y owners manual which referenced the Structural battery pack.
To rethink the battery, you also have to rethink the infrastructure that makes it function.
Connectors and power management technology
Demand
The Model Y’s importance to Tesla has never really been cemented till now.
The new factories of Giga Austin and Berlin will help this along when they start production of the Model Y
The introduction of these new vehicles to the Market will increase both supply and demand.
Currently, the Model Y is only for sale in the USA, China, and Europe inclusive of the UK. The introduction of the new factories will hopefully allow for greater sales across the globe.
Demand for Tesla vehicles is at an all-time high. This has been seen with timelines for deliveries growing significantly, not just with the Model Y, but with the whole Tesla Fleet.
Initially, the Model Y will be delivered to the already existing customers to hopefully improve the delivery timelines once the new factories get up to production speed.
Once they have achieved this there are a couple of questions that need to be asked.
How long will the timeline be to catch up to demand that already exists?
What territories are next?
When is Australia ordering going to open?
Most importantly, where is the next Giga/Tera Factory going to be located?
These questions are important as they help to give customers a better idea about what to expect. As demand grows people will want more information to reference and rely upon. Not everyone wants to wait months for a vehicle.
I have written about the average person wanting to be able to make a difference. People will struggle to choose the change if they must wait for an extended time. So, the answer to these questions is paramount.
Battery day and the future
As was outlined by Tesla over a year ago on their battery day, the introduction of the 4680 cells will be a game-changer for the production of the Tesla Vehicles starting with the Model Y.
The 4680 cells and the structural battery pack are to be introduced to the Model Y. This would explain the initial production out of Austin and Berlin of the Model Y as a priority.
As seen in the images below the comparison of the battery packs between 2170 battery cells and battery pack and the 4680 cells and structural battery pack are significantly different but are contained in the same space-occupying area.
We are yet to see what the introduction of the 4680 cells will do for this vehicle however it cannot be dismissed that the changes that are being made are looking towards a future of greater distance, more performance, better efficiencies, and reduction in the cost of vehicles.
Tesla has made no secret of the fact that they will require large quantities of battery cells in the future. The partnerships they have been building for many years like the one with Panasonic will only help to strengthen the production and deliveries of these cells.
It will make sure that the production of both cells and Tesla vehicles will continue to progress even during the difficult times we see ourselves in currently.
Tesla has also shown, that with their own production of their 4680 cells they can be part of the Giga factories. Inclusion of the production of cells in the car production facilities would be a game changer.
Austin and Berlin are just the start of this realization and the fact that the Model Y is being produced as the first vehicle is no accident. Elon Musk has said many times that the Model Y is the car that will outsell all other Tesla’s. The fact that these vehicles are the first ones coming out of Berlin and Austin just reinforces this fact.
Model 3
An article recently published by the Tesmanian website highlighted that in Australia the Model 3 has become one of the best-selling vehicles across the board. This is incredible considering the Australian political landscape until recently has not been very supportive.
Australia has always been a progressive country, just look at the uptake of mobile devices. I believe once the market shifts to support Electric vehicles in a much more progressive way the people of Australia will make that transition very rapidly.
This is all good for the Model Y and why many of us from the Tesla community keep asking when we can order the Model Y in Australia and in New Zealand.
Hyundai
It is inevitable that car companies who are starting to double down on EV’s will shut down and transition their workforce towards the EV marketplace. Hyundai has done just this, and I don’t believe this will be the last time we hear of other companies doing the same.
The only concern would be if they laid off a lot of people. Transitioning people to work in a new field can be challenging but also exciting and can bring out some fresh and interesting ideas.
Tesla has always been driven by there mission to transition the world to sustainable energy. Elon himself has been alarmed at the changes that need to occur and the fact that the world is dragging its feet. It stands Tesla out amongst the other companies who say they are the competition. Tesla is driven by a greater vision than just selling cars, solar or batteries. They are driven to make the world better. Plain and simple.
The recent video they published as shared by the Tesla owners club outlines some of the achievements the company has achieved. Not only do they have a mission, but they continue to strive to meet this mission in everything they do.
Australia not far away
In the middle of last year, Hong Kong was given the opportunity to order and receive the Model Y. At the time we speculated what the price and features would be that Australia could expect. We had also hoped that the ordering for Australia to start soon.
But alas nothing happened. However, 2022 is the year of the Model Y. There is no doubt that the introduction of the new Giga factories will take the pressure off the current factories producing the Model y and could open the doors for orders in Australia and New Zealand to begin.
Regardless of what happens the Model y based upon the new structural battery pack, the 4680 battery cells, the multiple locations of manufacturing and the innovation that is yet to happen to improve these vehicles will make the Model Y not only the car for 2022 but also the car most wanted, most bought and most desired across the globe.
Mahatma Gandhi once said,” Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
Last year saw a change in the collective psyche of the world’s population to the possibilities of the electric vehicle.
This change in thinking was bought about by a government policy shift, a better understanding of the capabilities of electric vehicles, more electric vehicles on the road, greater coverage of electric vehicles by media outlets and meteoric rise of share prices in electric vehicles like Tesla.
Most people
But for the average person, this change has helped to frame the question “what can I do?”
This is the only question most people ask. They ask this when they realize that either they don’t know what they can do, or they realize they don’t have
enough money
time
or motivation to make the change.
Most average people live paycheque to paycheque, sometimes working more than one job to make ends meet.
So it seems almost insurmountable how they could make a decision to buy a car that cost approximately $60000 AUD.
Our EV story
My wife and I were in this very position. We earn a good wage, have a mortgage and school fees and so many other debts and expenses. So how did we end up buying an EV?
We have crunched the numbers for many years about owning a Tesla and I have tweeted Elon over the years asking about the prices and if they would drop.
@elonmusk this is what the $40000 dollars dual motor costs in Australia……. Surely there has to be some way we can cut this cost. Giga Australia makes sense. @Tesla would be the only major car dealer in Australia. Consider this seriously. Aussies need this. pic.twitter.com/VpadnkckJ2
He agreed prices were high, however since this tweet the prices have come down significantly. We own one car and had a loan on a second fairly new Mitsubishi ASX.
But the ultimate trigger for my wife and I finally decided to take the Tesla purchase plunge was the increase in petrol prices to almost $2 a litre. With my wife’s old vehicle it worked out to be almost $100 dollars a week to fill up her vehicle. That is $400 dollars a month.
Be the change that you wish to see in the world
Mahatma Ghandi
Surprised
My wife came home after filling up and advised that she was going to crunch the numbers and find out if the electric vehicle was possible. It turned out that it was and the difference between what we were paying now for the loan on the car, petrol, maintenance, insurance roadside assistance and tyres, more than covered the cost. Less than a month later we had a brand new Model 3.
Since this time we have found out that owning an electric vehicle is the best decision, we have made for many years. Do we have a loan for a vehicle that we have to pay off, yes, but the money we save on petrol more than makes up for the extra cost of the vehicle.
The reason I am telling you this story is to highlight that we are the average family that I keep talking about, we are not rich and we don’t have lots of money. We just understand that to make the change we have to be the change we wish to see in the world.
We have been advocates of doing something small to help make a change on a bigger level.
You see I am a medical professional and have seen the best of humanity and also the moments of sadness that comes with death, illness and pain.
If there is something that I can do to help alleviate the pain of others by making better choices then i will try. To own an electric vehicle is one of those choices that we have made.
Owning a Tesla is not for everyone but owning an electric vehicle is possible for all.
Over the coming years owning an EV should get easier as more companies release vehicles and the market becomes more competitive. It, will only get easier as the next couple of years move forward.
Second hand market
In recent history, a lot of owners of the original Nissan leaf have taken the plunge and upgraded to the new Nissan Leaf. This improved the EV marketplace in the second-hand car market. They were snapped up very quickly and are still highly sort after.
The model y when released to the Australian market will hopefully do the same. Existing Model 3 owners may consider taking the step towards the Model Y and thus allow their Model 3 to be taken into the used EV market place which should allow others to buy at a lesser price than brand new vehicles and experience the benefits of electric vehicles.
2022 is the year if the Model Y
(Check out my next blog where I talk about the Model Y and how 2022 will be its year. )
The average person is able to own an electric vehicle as long as it is right for you and your circumstances. Our story is just an example of the possibilities.
Consider your current costs and look at the costs you need for the EV and decide if you are comfortable with the difference if any.
2022 will be an exciting year for EV’s and it would be great to have more people driving them to help the environment and themselves.
