Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / SpaceX, Tesla and EV Updates

Transcript

SpaceX, Tesla and EV Updates · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:00
  Hi everybody and welcome back to the Elon Musk podcast where we
• 0:03
  dig into the world of technology, sustainable energy
• 0:05
  and groundbreaking advancements that are changing how we live
• 0:08
  and interact with our environment and with technology.
• 0:12
  Today we're going to talk about two major stories making waves
• 0:15
  in the automotive sector. The first is Volvo's strategic
• 0:19
  partnership with Connected Energy to repurpose old EV
• 0:22
  batteries into new energy storage systems, move that holds
• 0:26
  promise for reducing battery waste.
• 0:28
  And that second story is all about Tesla hitting the
• 0:31
  milestone of producing its five millionth electric car and its
• 0:36
  ongoing experiments in vehicle manufacturing, which could
• 0:39
  drastically cut costs now. Earlier this week, Volvo
• 0:43
  announced A collaboration with Connected Energy, a firm
• 0:47
  specializing in battery recycling, And Volvo has signed
• 0:50
  a letter of intent to construct battery energy storage systems,
• 0:54
  or Bess, following an initial investment announced last year.
• 1:00
  Now, with E V's becoming increasingly popular, finding a
• 1:03
  sustainable way to dispose of or repurpose use batteries has
• 1:07
  become a big concern. Now, Volvo and Connected Energy
• 1:11
  aimed to tackle this issue by converting these old batteries
• 1:15
  into energy storage systems, and these systems will employ
• 1:19
  batteries from Volvo's existing line of electric buses, trucks,
• 1:23
  and other machinery. Matthew Lumsden, CEO of
• 1:27
  Connected Energy, shared his enthusiasm about expanding their
• 1:30
  technology to the European market in collaboration with
• 1:34
  Volvo Energy. Elizabeth Larson, Volvo's Energy
• 1:37
  Senior VP for Sales and Services, echoed these
• 1:41
  sentiments, highlighting the benefits of aligning the project
• 1:44
  with the principles of the circular economy.
• 1:47
  Now, Volvo expects to introduce this new energy storage system
• 1:51
  in Europe by 2025. Furthermore, at its Gothenburg
• 1:55
  facility in Sweden, Volvo has already started using connected
• 1:59
  energies E store system to access grid response rates.
• 2:04
  Now switching gears, let's talk about Tesla, the EV manufacturer
• 2:09
  that continues to make headlines.
• 2:11
  This week, Tesla announced that it had produced its five
• 2:14
  millionth electric vehicle, a staggering accomplishment when
• 2:17
  you consider the pace at which the company has been ramping up
• 2:20
  its production. The first million took 12 years,
• 2:25
  the second million 18 months, and now Tesla is on track to
• 2:29
  reach the 6 million mark by early of 2024.
• 2:33
  All of this production is contributing to Tesla's status
• 2:36
  is the largest all electric car manufacturer globally, with a
• 2:40
  growth rate that shows no signs of slowing down.
• 2:45
  Now what makes this story even more interesting is the way
• 2:48
  Tesla is changing the game in vehicle manufacturing.
• 2:52
  And according to a recent port, Tesla is getting closer to
• 2:55
  achieving its goal of die casting the underbody of its
• 3:00
  cars in one piece. Now, traditional manufacturing
• 3:04
  techniques often involve up to 400 original pieces that need to
• 3:09
  be assembled, which can be both time consuming and costly.
• 3:14
  And if Tesla succeeds, they could cut manufacturing costs by
• 3:19
  up to 50%, setting a precedent for the industry.
• 3:24
  However, the shift in manufacturing isn't without
• 3:26
  challenges. Tesla's working with 3D printing
• 3:29
  and industrial sand to make prototypes, which gives them
• 3:32
  greater flexibility for design changes without breaking the
• 3:35
  bank. And even then, achieving the
• 3:37
  final product requires overcoming substantial hurdles
• 3:41
  like the formulation of special alloys and fine tuning the
• 3:44
  molten alloy cooling process. But if Tesla pulls this off,
• 3:49
  they'll set a new benchmark for the industry, putting
• 3:52
  considerable pressure on traditional manufacturers to
• 3:55
  adapt or risk becoming obsolete. Now let's do a bonus story here.
• 3:59
  Let's pivot from the roads to space, where something
• 4:02
  monumental is happening. NASA is collaborating with
• 4:05
  SpaceX to create the Human Landing system, the Starship
• 4:09
  Human Landing System, which will play a critical role in the
• 4:12
  Artemis 3 and Artemis 4 missions, and these missions aim
• 4:16
  to land American astronauts close to the moon's South Pole.
• 4:19
  The HLS will use two distinct types of SpaceX Raptor engines,
• 4:24
  one tailored for sea level atmospheric conditions and the
• 4:27
  other for operations in space where there's no atmosphere now.
• 4:31
  Last month, SpaceX showcased an important milestone for the
• 4:34
  vacuum optimized Raptor engine. They ran a test proving that the
• 4:38
  engine could successfully operate under extremely cold
• 4:41
  temperatures, temperatures that a spacecraft would experience
• 4:44
  after spending extended periods in space.
• 4:47
  And this test is significant because one of the challenges
• 4:50
  specific to Artemis missions compared to low Earth orbit
• 4:53
  missions is that the landing systems might have to remain
• 4:56
  inactive in space for an extended period of time.
• 4:59
  Now this causes the temperature of the hardware to plummet to
• 5:02
  levels much colder than what one would typically find on shorter
• 5:07
  missions closer to Earth. The company and already reach a
• 5:10
  significant testing milestone in November of 2021 and SpaceX
• 5:14
  demonstrated the Raptor engines ability to manage a crucial part
• 5:17
  of landing on the Moon during a 281 second test firing.
• 5:22
  This test aimed to verify two things.
• 5:24
  First, it tested the Raptors throttle profile, its ability to
• 5:29
  modulate engine power over time. Second, it verified that the
• 5:32
  engine could sustain a burn for the entire duration of the
• 5:35
  descent phase of the mission. Both objectives were
• 5:38
  successfully achieved bolstering NASA's early trust in Spacex's
• 5:42
  engine development program. Simulation and insitu testing
• 5:46
  are vital for refining Artemis Moon Landers.
• 5:49
  Now these test runs offer a kind of mission like validation of
• 5:53
  the systems that will be responsible for transporting
• 5:56
  astronauts to and from the lunar Surfaced and post test data
• 6:01
  assessments offer NASA continuously growing confidence
• 6:04
  in the preparedness of the US industry for the mission.
• 6:07
  And what's next for Spacex's Raptor engines?
• 6:10
  They're slated for further testing during Spacex's upcoming
• 6:14
  second integrated flight test, involving both the Starship in
• 6:18
  its booster, the Super Heavy System, and by bringing in
• 6:21
  SpaceX and its innovative engine technology, NASA aims to ensure
• 6:26
  the success of future lunar missions.
• 6:28
  With rigorous testing and continued advancements, the
• 6:31
  partnership could usher in a new era of space exploration, paving
• 6:35
  the way for more advanced missions that extend well beyond
• 6:38
  the moon. While that was a packed episode
• 6:41
  and we've covered Volvo's efforts and reimagining EV
• 6:44
  battery waste, Tesla's groundbreaking vehicle
• 6:47
  production and manufacturing methods, and NASA's partnership
• 6:50
  with SpaceX for lunar landings, each of these stories presents a
• 6:53
  unique angle on how technology and innovation can address
• 6:58
  challenges and create opportunities for a better
• 7:00
  future. And if you found this episode
• 7:02
  engaging, don't forget to hit the Subscribe or Follow button
• 7:05
  on whatever podcast platform you're listening on right now.
• 7:09
  It's completely free and we'll keep you updated and posted on
• 7:12
  all the latest episodes of the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 7:16
  O, thanks for tuning in today. I appreciate you and please take
• 7:20
  care of yourselves and each other and I'll see you in the
• 7:23
  next one.