On May 17th, at the 2023 Tesla shareholder meeting held today, Tesla CEO Elon Musk first talked about child labor in lithium mines and forced labor in factories, stating that network cameras will be installed in lithium mines for third-party review; then reviewed the third part of Tesla’s secret master plan, stating how the road to sustainable development exists and can be accelerated.
He stated that the Model Y is expected to become the best-selling car globally in 2023. Tesla is developing two new models, which “will have design and manufacturing technologies far superior to any product in the industry.” He predicts that the annual production of these two models will exceed 5 million vehicles.
It is reported that Tesla’s next-generation drive unit only requires half of the current factory space, reducing silicon carbide by 75%, reducing rare earth demand to zero, and reducing costs by $1000.
He revealed that Tesla is expected to begin production of the Roadster sports car next year; he does not plan to resign as CEO of Tesla; and depending on demand, we hope to produce 250,000 Cybertrucks per year.
He said Tesla will play a very important role in Real World AI or AGI and he must ensure that it is done well, so he will not resign as CEO.
Tesla Q&A:
- Does Tesla plan to manufacture RVs?
Tesla currently has no plans to launch dedicated RVs, but the Cybertruck will be equipped with camping accessories, and third-party companies can create accessories for the pickup truck using reserved connection points.
- How does the company motivate customers to accept new energy products?
Musk said Tesla has made progress on some projects.
- Shareholders asked about Musk’s situation.
Musk said that he is constantly receiving negative media coverage, which is not very interesting, but he is optimistic. He also said that the new CEO of Twitter may make the platform effective.
- Is Tesla willing to extend vehicle financing terms?
Banks decide vehicle financing, so it is actually the bank’s choice.
- Some shareholders emphasized that Tesla needs advertising, at least to make people aware of Tesla’s amazing unknown features.
Musk said he will try to do some advertising and see how it works. The audience cheered, joking that he accepted the shareholder’s hint.
- Is Tesla developing the ability for third parties to develop games for vehicles?
Musk said that this is meaningful in the future, but currently Tesla’s software team is focused on FSD. Once full self-driving is achieved, there will be many opportunities for applications and similar things.
- Tesla lithium mining supply plan.
The limitation of lithium lies in refining, which is why Tesla is opening a lithium refining plant in Texas. The limiting factor is not how fast you can mine, but how much you can process.
- About the next generation Roadster.
Musk said that Tesla hopes to complete the engineering and design of the next generation Roadster this year and hopes to start mass production next year. He added that “Roadster is not just icing on the cake, it’s the cherry on top.”
- Issues with Tesla’s insurance business launching in more states.
Musk said that obtaining insurance business approval is very complex.
- The potential of Tesla’s software as a service and the company’s highest profit margin.
This is a highly speculative area. If customer vehicle prices are the same, there is a profit margin of 20-25%, but when FSD arrives, a profit margin of around 80% is possible. Of course, this is very speculative.
- Target production of Cybertruck and whether he plans to resign as CEO.
Musk denied rumors of resigning as CEO and said that production of Cybertruck will follow an S-curve. “We will see what the demand is,” Musk said, implying that Tesla may produce 250,000-500,000 units per year. He also pointed out that Tesla not only needs to increase production, but also should be able to optimize its production efficiency.
- Tesla’s career opportunities and diversity and inclusivity efforts.
Musk said that at all Tesla super factories, the company partners with schools to cultivate talent for its facilities, even though Tesla is already good at automation.
- Will Optimus Prime be deployed on Mars?
Musk said that Optimus Prime is not yet so thoughtful, but Tesla is emphasizing the safety of humanoid robots.
- Questions about network security and what measures Tesla is taking to protect itself and its products. Can Tesla make some improvements to navigation?
Musk said that Tesla is making a lot of effort to ensure its cars are not vulnerable to online attacks. “We take information security very seriously,” Musk said.
- About the “guest mode” for vehicles and the Plaid mode for Model X.
Musk said that Tesla will launch the Plaid mode for Model X.
- Tesla’s future pricing strategy for Model Y.
Musk said that Tesla focuses on demand and adjusts pricing to meet demand, as car companies have always done, and Tesla is no exception.
- Can a public timeline be set for FSD?
Musk reiterated that FSD is truly about safety. You realize that you are in a local maximum, a series of logarithmic curves. We are at a high enough local maximum. We are already almost four times safer than humans under human supervision, and we will see something this year.
