AD #3609 – Tesla Hits Record Sales & Revenue; Nissan To Make Solid-State Batteries In IC Engine Plant; Stellantis Shrinks EV Charger & Inverter

This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

TESLA HITS RECORD SALES & REVENUE
Tesla reported its second quarter earnings last night, and here are the highlights from that and Elon Musk’s call with financial analysts.

• Tesla delivered over 466,000 EVs to customers, up 83% compared to a year ago and an all-time record. It was also up 10% from the first quarter.
• Revenue came in just below $25 billion, or 24 billion, 927 million to be exact. That was up 47% from a year ago. And also, an all-time record.
• It posted an operating profit just below $2.4 billion, but that was actually down 3% from a year ago. And it posted a net profit of $2.7 billion, which was up 20%
• It also generated $1 billion of free cash flow which was up 62% from last year.

Everyone was wondering how price cuts would affect Tesla’s profit margins, and it did take a bit of a hit. Its gross profit margin fell to 18.1% versus 22.4% a year ago. And its net profit margin was 10.8%, versus 13.3%. Share prices fell a couple of bucks on the news, but it’s still up 6% for the week. So the stock market doesn’t seem very concerned about the drop in margins, and is focusing on top line growth and free cash flow instead.

TESLA IN TALKS WITH MAJOR OEM TO LICENSE FSD
On the earnings call, Musk also dropped this little news nugget. Well, maybe not so little. He said a major OEM is in talks with Tesla to license its Full Self Driving technology. That would be a major coup for Tesla if a legacy automaker signed up for FSD. Elon wasn’t saying who it is, so allow me to speculate for a moment. Ford was the first automaker to sign up for Tesla’s NACS, or North American Charging Standard. Elon and Ford’s CEO Jim Farley obviously have a lot of respect for each other. And Ford sold off its investment with Argo AI, which was developing autonomous technology. So we think Ford could be at the top of likely suspects who are talking to Tesla about using FSD.

A PEEK AT CYBERTRUCK’S GIGACASTINGS
One more nugget from Tesla. In its quarterly reports, it likes to post pictures that sometimes give us some really good insight into its new product or manufacturing processes, like this shot of a Cybertruck on a body framing line at the assembly plant in Austin, Texas. It clearly shows that the truck is made with two gigantic, 1-piece gigacastings for the front and rear structure. And they’re connected by a stamped center structure that is either aluminum or high strength steel. It also reveals how the battery pack, the roof, and the body panels will complete the structure of the vehicle. Musk made a big point that the Cybertruck will be the only pickup that will have a 6-foot bed but will have an overall length under 19 feet, meaning it will fit in most garages.

STELLANTIS SHRINKS EV CHARGER & INVERTER
Stellantis is aiming to come out with a new type of battery technology before the end of the decade that will make its EVs more reliable, last longer and have better efficiency. Most electric vehicles take in AC power from a charger, which is converted into DC before being sent to the battery. Then DC power from the battery goes into an inverter, which switches it back to AC so it can go to the electric motor. But the new jointly developed Intelligent Battery Integrated System or IBIS has shrunk the charger and inverter functions down small enough so they can be integrated directly onto each battery module. This gets rid of clunky charger and inverter units, which will clear up space, while also reducing the amount of wiring. It’s taken four years to get to this point of development, along with a demonstrator that’s been operational since last summer. It says it’s now focused on building a fully functional prototype vehicle and plans to make it available on vehicles before 2030.

NISSAN TO MAKE SOLID-STATE BATTERIES IN IC ENGINE PLANT
Toyota isn’t the only Japanese automaker developing solid-state batteries. Nissan is too and it’s gearing up to begin pilot production next year at its oldest plant in Japan, which currently makes internal combustion engines. The plant in Yokohama opened in 1935 and just celebrated its 40 millionth engine. If the pilot goes well, Nissan plans to begin mass-producing solid-state batteries in 2028. By that time, the company’s goal is to develop solid-state batteries that hold twice the energy of lithium-ion batteries, charge in one-third the time and cost $75 per kilowatt hour. And it believes it can eventually bring that down to $65 per kWh. But even though Nissan will build batteries at its Yokohama plant, the company says engine production will continue at the same level for “some time.”

MAGNA MAKES MAJOR INVESTMENT FOR FORD’S BLUE OVAL CITY
Magna is going to make a significant investment to support Ford’s giant manufacturing complex in Tennessee, which is where it’s going to make its next generation of electric pickups. Magna will invest $790 million to build three plants in Tennessee and two of the facilities will be located at Ford’s BlueOval complex. Magna will produce battery enclosures, vehicle frames and seats at the plants starting in 2025.

SODIUM BATTERY MAKERS TARGET LEAD-ACID BATTERIES
There’s been a lot of hype around sodium-ion batteries because they’re easier to make and sodium can be found just about anywhere so it’s cheap. But recent tests done by the China Electronic Standardization Institute show that it will be at least two to three years before sodium becomes competitive with lithium-iron phosphate batteries in larger EVs. That’s because they are less energy dense and charge slower. So in the meantime, sodium battery makers are targeting small, low-end EVs and two-wheelers and they’re looking at using them to replace lead-acid batteries.

KIA USING MORE SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
If you hadn’t noticed, there’s a growing trend in the industry around sustainability. And one of the things that many automakers are zeroing in on is going leather free. And while brands, like Kia, already have sustainable materials in some of its vehicles, it’s stepping that up with the 2024 EV9. It will feature 10 sustainable applications, including plant- and bio-based components as well as phasing out leather. Kia says the EV9 will become its baseline for all its future new models.

PORSCHE’S ALTERNATIVE LOGOS
If cooler heads didn’t prevail, one of these could have been the Porsche crest. Its cars originally only had the word P-O-R-S-C-H-E on them, but in 1952 the crest we now know today was designed. However, it wasn’t an instant success. Sales managers and dealers wrote to Porsche saying they didn’t like it, instead citing Mercedes and VW as having good logos. So an artist came up with these designs as an alternative and one was supposed to be used on the successor to the Porsche 356. However, it never happened, but could you imagine what could have been?

Don’t forget to check out Autoline After Hours at 3PM EST but that brings us to the end of today’s show. Thanks for tuning in.