Elon Musk made numerous significant announcements at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting. He expressed optimism about the economy’s future and told shareholders that the company will begin manufacturing Cybertrucks later this year. Elon Musk teases 2 new affordable Tesla EVs in the works, both of which are expected to be economical and popular.
In addition, he delivered Cybertruck updates, apologizing for prior delays and ensuring that the vehicle will exceed expectations. Musk boasted that Tesla’s energy storage segment, notably sales of “big batteries,” was booming.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk addressed shareholders at the firm’s annual meeting on Tuesday, predicting that the economy will improve in 12 months and pledging that the business would deliver manufacturing Cybertrucks later this year.
During the event, Musk teased two new affordable Tesla EVs, particularly affordable EVs that will join the company’s lineup. The CEO stated that “Tesla was in the midst of building one and developing another, although he did not specify whether he meant a prototype or a production vehicle.”
Musk further said that he didn’t want to delve into specifics of the additional vehicles, which would necessitate separate launch ceremonies, although Tesla did show a silhouette of one of them. Based on the dimensions, it’s probable that Tesla was teasing the $25,000 hatchback that Musk mentioned back in 2020 during the company’s battery day.
Both of the new Tesla EVs joining Tesla’s inventory are projected to be inexpensive and sell in substantially bigger volumes. “Estimated we will produce more than 5 million units of these two models combined per year,” said Musk.
Updates on Cybertruck
The Cybertruck was first announced by Tesla in 2019, but vehicle manufacturing has been continually postponed. Musk apologised for the delays on Tuesday and assured that the product would exceed expectations. In July last year, Musk stated that the Cybertruck will begin manufacturing in summer 2023.
During the shareholder meeting on Tuesday, Musk stated that the Cybertruck will have numerous attachment points so that third parties may create additions to augment the truck and “turn it into a camper and will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat.â€
He drove a Cybertruck with a roof rack addition to Tesla’s groundbreaking ceremony for lithium refinery plant in Texas last week.
Following the shareholder vote, CEO Elon Musk began his section of the meeting by promising to conduct a third-party audit of Tesla’s cobalt supply chain to verify there is no child labor among Tesla’s cobalt suppliers. Cobalt is a vital component in the manufacture of batteries used in Tesla’s electric vehicles and in backup battery packs used in households and utility-scale energy projects.
Musk said to the cheers of investors, “Even for the small amount of cobalt that we do us, we will make sure six weeks till Sunday that no child labor is being exploited.”
After Musk teased two new affordable Tesla EVs in his presentation, he boasted about the company’s energy storage division, claiming that sales of “big batteries” were growing faster than sales of the company’s main car segment.
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Other important Highlights from Tesla’s shareholder meeting include:
- Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that the company will deliver its first Cybertrucks this year. The company aims to produce 250,000 to 500,000 vehicles per year once production begins. He stated that he will be driving a Cybertruck on a daily basis.
- The economy will be in a slump for the next 12 months, and many businesses will fail, but Tesla will be well positioned for the long term.
- The “No. 1 selling car on earth this year†will be the Model Y.
- Tesla may reconsider its long-held opposition to traditional advertising: “We’ll try out a little advertising and see how it goes,†said Elon Musk.
- Tesla intends to develop a new type of drive unit, which Musk claims will use less silicon carbide and no rare earth elements than previous drive trains. Tesla will also use a new low voltage architecture in its vehicles, which will require less copper.
- JB Straubel, former Tesla CTO and current CEO of e-waste recycling startup Redwood Materials, was elected as an independent director to the board.
