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Las Megas | Tesla Megablock Event · Elon Musk Podcast

0:01
Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Elon Musk
0:04
Podcast. This is a show where we discuss
0:07
the critical crossroads, the Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The
0:11
Boring Company, and Neurolink. I'm your host, Will Walden.
0:15
Hello, hello, hello, everyone. Thank you all for being here.
0:20
It's great to see a lot of familiar faces out there.
0:25
For those joining us online, we're here in the Boring Company
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Tunnel for our latest product unveil and right on brand of
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this, this event is powered by Megapacks and Cyber truck.
0:39
All right, let's get started. At Tesla, we are building a
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world filled with sustainable abundance powered by sustainable
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energy. And tonight we are launching the
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next chapter in that vision. We are an engineering centric
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and engineering LED company and we believe that electric
0:58
vehicles, charging, storage and solar and autonomy, they are not
1:03
separate tools, but they are one of they are part of 1 seamless
1:07
solution set. We are leveraging our
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manufacturing expertise. We are leveraging our
1:14
manufacturing expertise to produce products affordably and
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at scale, increasing the reliability, increasing the
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reliability of clean energy and transportation in our
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communities. Tesla offers hardware, software,
1:28
controls and service all under one roof.
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We have engineers across the full spectrum of product
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development, energy projects and manufacturing.
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It's really what allows us to innovate and iterate quickly to
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produce the best products in the world.
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Now in 2023, we introduced Master Plan Part 3 and we
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outlined how the entire Earth could be run off sustainable
1:48
energies using technologies we have today.
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In order to eliminate fuels, we need eliminate fossil fuels.
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We need to power the grid within renewables, but to do that, that
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requires massive batteries. In order to achieve a fully
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sustainable economy, we calculated that the world needed
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46 terawatt hours or 46,000 GW hours of storage.
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Now we know, we know not all of that is going to be a mega pack,
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but we are excited to continue being a leader in the space and
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transforming the grid to a sustainable future.
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But this transformation is not just about renewables.
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Global electricity demand is projected to increase by 3%
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annually, driven by electrification, manufacturing,
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and data centers. AI data centers alone is
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projected to make up to 10% of the US energy demand by 20-30.
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This rate of load growth hasn't been seen in the US since the
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early 2000s. Load is rapidly growing and to
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be honest, the grid is not growing fast enough to keep up.
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What's interesting to note is that the grid is traditionally
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built to handle the highest demand moments, but for most of
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the day or even most of the year, it is far below capacity.
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It operates far below capacity. Some estimates state that the
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grid is about 50% utilized here in the US and said another way,
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50% of the grid infrastructure sits idle and unused most of the
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year. Batteries are are an ideal
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solution to help the grid utilize more of its own supply.
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Let's just look at this example. So it's this is an example load
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over the course of seven days and you can see the grid
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capacity in the dash red line and obviously it is greater than
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the load which it should be. Now let's add in a new data
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center load which just shifts our entire load up with the peak
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now exceeding the the grid capacity.
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So traditionally this peak wood forest the grid to install more
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infrastructure generation transmission substations just to
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serve that new peak. It would raise the entire dashed
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line, but it's an intuitive conclusion to see that batteries
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could support that peak. And in the process, we are
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increasing the utilization and the efficiency of our existing
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infrastructure. So with the growth of renewables
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and the strain on the grid, the need for storage is real and we
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are racing to solve these challenges.
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Our growth with Megapack over the last several years has been
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exponential. We have over 36 GW hours
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installed across 60 countries and over 2100 projects.
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And we have another 30 GW hours projected to come online soon
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with product that we have already shipped.
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We've scaled our manufacturing facilities to greater than 80 GW
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hours of manufacturing capacity annually, but we recognize we
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still have a long ways to go. We're just at the beginning as
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the world needs 2.3 terawatt hours annually to support a
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sustainable energy economy. We're up for the challenge.
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But how do we go faster? I'm glad you asked.
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How do we meet this challenge of a growing energy demand and
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strained grid infrastructure? We need fully integrated
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solutions that consider the entire scope and the lifetime of
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these projects. We need solutions that are
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secure, scalable, resilient, and that inspire confidence in the
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technology. And quite simply, we need to
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figure out how to connect into the grid faster.
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So when we started developing the latest iteration of
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Megapack, we focused on three guiding principles #1 simplicity
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and speed. We recognized that complexity
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creates risk and it adds delays. In order to simplify and go
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faster, we need to figure out how to make it easier further
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upstream in the project #2 we needed a flexible platform.
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The grids needs and the industry are evolving quickly.
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We need a platform that is able to navigate supply chain
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complexities, policy changes and evolving technologies.
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And #3 we need to continue what we do best and leverage our
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vertical integration. We need to enhance the things
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that we've done well with Megapack and learn from our past
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generations of products and projects that we've built around
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the world. So we're excited to introduce
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our next generation product, the next iteration of innovation
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born from necessity. Yeah.
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All right. We're excited to announce Mega
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Block, the latest evolution in our industrial storage product
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lineup. This isn't just a new container
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or a white box with new specs. We focused on this product being
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a plug and play platform, hardware, software, services
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delivered as one all from Tesla and moving further up the value
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stream than we historically have.
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Our Mega Block platform is designed for 20 MW hours of
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usable AC energy, a 25 year life, 10,000 cycles and with an
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industry leading round trip efficiency of 91%.
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So what is Mega Block? Let's take a closer look.
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Mega Block is a pre engineered medium voltage block that
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integrates our next generation Megapack Threes.
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We have eliminated the above ground cabling between the
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transformer and the Megapacks using a new flexible busbar
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assembly. So we've essentially made this
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part of the project now plug and play.
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Each block connects to a Tesla system controller, which
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orchestrates control of the entire site of up to hundreds of
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Megapacks. We've combined these hardware
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innovations with the same power electronics, site controls,
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software and firmware platforms that we've used on previous
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Megapack generations to reduce the risk and allow for a
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seamless technology transition. And really, with Megapack 3, we
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optimize the product for both mass and energy.
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It was important to us to be able to fit the maximum amount
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of energy per unit mass because mass is really where the system
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breaks. We were able to fit 5 MW hours
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of AC usable energy into 86,000 LB box 28 foot long enclosure
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that can be shipped globally. We manufacture it in one place
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to maintain quality and ship a pre assembled product anywhere
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in the world. Megapack 3 is optimized for up
9:00
to 8 hour applications and it builds on our proven silicon
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carbide, Tesla inverters and our Fire Protection system.
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The new thermal Bay is drastically simplified.
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It uses the Tesla Model Y heat pump essentially on steroids and
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has 78% fewer connections, which minimizes failure points.
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We've also also introduced a larger battle battery module and
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a larger a larger cell leveraging the latest in cell
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technology. And I wanted to talk about the
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cell and the supply chain a little bit because obviously
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that's a, that's a key component in the industry.
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Right now. Megapack 3 is using a 2.8 liter
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cell. It's Co engineered with Tesla's
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cell team and sourced from reliable vendors worldwide.
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And now with Tesla Megapack factories in the US and China,
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we'll be sourcing cells from the US, Southeast Asia and China,
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making Mega Block a flexible platform ready to handle supply
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disruptions, policy changes and technology evolution.
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For example, we made sure that the platform didn't need to be
10:01
overhauled. If we want to introduce a 5
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liter cell, we have multiple transformer vendors qualified
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and tested to validate performance from the cell level
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to the medium voltage level. Megapack 3 will be manufactured
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in Houston in late 2026 with a manufacturing capacity of 50 GW
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hours per year. Mega Block works even in the
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harshest climates, with an industry leading operating range
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down to -40°C up to 60°, which means we can operate from the
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northern reaches of Alaska and Canada to the hottest parts of
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the Atacama Desert in Chile and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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And one of our core principles, again, in designing Mega Pack
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Three with simplicity, it's easy to make things more complicated
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as you're thinking about evolving a new product line.
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And we wanted to avoid that. We wanted to do what we did well
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with Megapack 2XL, which was build a product in the factory
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that is factory tested, ship it to the field, ready to connect
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to the grid with 0 onsite assembly.
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So that effect, Megapack 3 can be easily transported using A7
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axle trailer with no onsite assembly.
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And with a higher energy rating, we have less Megapacks reducing
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the costs and we went from up to 24 cable connections between the
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Megapack and the transformer down to three simple busbar
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connections. Overall, Megabock is installed
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with 23% less labor hours, up to 40% lower costs and it's
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engineered for site level density.
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Now it's it's no secret that the industry has been trending
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towards higher and higher energy density containers.
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But as we developed this product, we realized there was a
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fundamental problem with that approach.
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Once you exceed the maximum shipping weight, you introduce
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risky and costly transportation permits and trailers or you you
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resort to on site assembly, installing batteries in the
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field, validating, integrating, commissioning them and not doing
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that in a factory setting. And the metric that actually
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matters is site level density, which includes the clearances on
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the ground needed to install and service your product.
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Said simply, it's, it's, it's not about what you can fit on
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your site. It's, I'm sorry, it is what you
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can fit on the site. It's not about what you can fit
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in the box. This is where we put our focus
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and our energy, site level, energy density and testing in
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the factory. And with that focus, Megapack
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delivery is an industry leading site level density.
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Commissioning speed. Commissioning speed is key.
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It really is what drives value because time is money,
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especially to a lot of people in this room.
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These large capital projects are tough.
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They require hundreds of people working across several
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disciplines over the course of months or years.
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Things that might go wrong probably will go wrong in that
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process and you need a partner that's going to stand by you
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through the whole process. With Mega Block we are targeting
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to Commission one GW hour in 20 business days, which is the
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equivalent of bringing power to 400,000 homes in less than a
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month, which is crazy. How are we planning to do that?
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Like most things at Tesla, we are ruthlessly attacking every
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opportunity to save our customers time.
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Simplify the process, remove steps, automate as much as you
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can. One example is how we use
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simulation. So we like to bring our
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customers and sometimes utilities and grid operators
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into a room with our engineers, sometimes months before the
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Megapacks are even delivered to the site.
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And we can take your actual hardware and your software
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controls, the actual software that you'll be using on your
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site. Simulate the grid at the exact
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point in the grid where you will be connecting and run a bunch of
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simulations, control scenarios, grid, grid scenarios to see is
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this going to work like I thought it would work.
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It's essentially a peek into the future to see if the project is
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going to work. Our customers love it.
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It's a great opportunity to sort out different bugs in the
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software and it allows you to have confidence that when the
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mega packs are connected to the grid, it is going to work.
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Commissioning this fast is a great example of how our
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vertical integration, our engineers across the full
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spectrum allow us to serve our customers.
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So at Tesla, we do more than build the batteries.
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With most battery OEMs and integrators, you have to go to
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different companies for different parts.
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The batteries for one, the inverter from someone else,
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service from someone else, maybe site controls again for 1/4
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counterpart. And you can imagine piercing all
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those things together and being successful can be difficult.
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What sets us apart and what we're proud about is our ability
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to provide all your needs in one place, to be your partner
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through the whole process. We provide hardware, software,
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service fully integrated in one package.
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And I just wanted to take a moment to talk about how this
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full ecosystem has helped our customers.
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Autobidder is our autonomous energy trading platform.
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It's built all right. It's built by Tesla's machine
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learning optimization software engineers.
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And in its most basic form, it is buying low and selling high.
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But in reality, there is hundreds of decisions that need
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to occur in real time in order to maximize profits.
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So here's an example leaderboard from ERCOT in Texas of one of
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Tesla's projects and it shows us at the top of the leaderboard in
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revenue per MW installed. And the reason I wanted to bring
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this up is that it's This site is not an exception.
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Autobidder launched in 2017 and we have maintained leadership in
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every market we operate in by constantly adapting and evolving
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our our algorithm. We're excited to launch into
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France later this year. We discussed grid forming
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software at Investor Day a few years ago, and we talked about
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how it's going to be the future of the grid.
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And honestly, there's been a ton of momentum over the past couple
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years. So what is it exactly?
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The analogy is that it contributes to grid stability,
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the way a car's shock absorber dampens vibrations and keeps the
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ride smooth. And the reality is you can't
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have a fully sustainable grid run on run on renewables without
16:33
grid forming software. It's what allows us to take the
16:35
traditional generation off of the grid.
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And I still, I still frequently hear that this technology is not
16:42
ready and it's still in the R&D phase.
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This is simply not true. Tesla has been deploying grid
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forming software since 2016. We have it operating on over 600
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projects, 600 projects across 4 GW hours with 10 GW hours coming
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online soon. Here you're looking at Plus
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Powers, Plus Powers project in Oahu.
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This project allowed the island to start the start
17:13
decommissioning and start taking the last coal power plant
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offline. It represents over 20% of the
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island's peak load. And recently and a few times
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actually, the battery has been able to stabilize the grid when
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one of the generators trips offline.
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It's doing that using grid forming software.
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So it works. It is the future and we are
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excited to see how it stabilizes grids around the world.
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All right, Our global service organization, this team is the
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best. They're they're, they're the
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best team in the world. And we're super proud.
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We're super proud of them. And I say that because over this
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last year, they, we, we had 99.3% uptime on our projects
17:56
around the world. And that is a big fleet to
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maintain above 99%. So, yeah, so how how are we
18:06
doing this? Again, it's like everything
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else, simplify the process, remove steps, automate where you
18:12
can. We are using automation to
18:15
detect issues and to trigger our field service teams to action
18:18
around the world. We have over the air firmware
18:21
updates that increase the performance and the security of
18:24
the product over the lifetime of the project just like we do with
18:28
the vehicles. And we have an entire
18:31
engineering team building software and hardware service
18:34
tools that are purpose built for Megapack, making every step
18:37
quicker and faster and focusing on time.
18:40
This year we also launched our certified service provider
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program. This enables our customers and
18:45
third parties access to all the service tools that our internal
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teams have been using for years. This enables our customers like
18:53
Southern Company to take advantage to take Megapack
18:57
service into their own hands. We are excited to bring our full
19:02
software suite and our service platform to Mega Block.
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And one day, not too distant future, we can see Optimus being
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a field service technician, reducing costs for both us and
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for our customers. Mega Block builds on 10 years of
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project experience around the world.
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It is simple, it's fast to install, it's flexible, and you
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get all the integrated service and software that you've come to
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love by working with Tesla, because with Tesla, and really
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it's been been like this since the beginning of the Megapack
19:38
program. The project is really our
19:40
product. Global power infrastructure is
19:46
under pressure and we need scalable and reliable energy
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solutions that can deploy quickly.
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Mega Block accelerates the ability to solve these problems.
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The people in this room, you guys are the ones changing the
19:58
world. You guys are building the
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projects. You're developing it over the
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course of a long time and investing your money.
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We are excited to transform. We are excited and humbled to
20:05
transform the grid with you. Together, we can deploy the
20:09
terawatt hours needed to power a sustainable future.
20:13
And tonight, we're excited to have a prototype of Megapack 3
20:15
upstairs. I just want to say thank you to
20:18
everyone that has made this trip.
20:20
Thank you for supporting us. Thank you for for being partners
20:23
and all these large projects and for trusting Tesla with those
20:26
projects. Have a great night.
20:40
Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
20:42
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