Former Tesla SVP Drew Baglino discusses how early battery cell constraints at the Nevada Gigafactory impacted Tesla Energy delivery schedules.
Assertion Supported
Baglino: Tesla Energy Relied on Auto Business Before Reaching Standalone Profitability
“The energy business was heavily supported by the vehicle business through many years, to be frank, but finally kind of got out of that bird's nest and was able to fly on its own and generate serious profits and bring cash back to the Tesla broader company, and…”
Assertion Supported
Baglino: Tesla prioritized vehicles over energy products during COVID chip shortages
“The same thing happened, by the way, in the COVID crisis where, you know, there were semiconductor shortages. It was kind of like, hey, vehicles, the breadwinner energy, you know, you're going to have to get the scraps and figure it out. And I don't, I think t…”
Insight
Baglino: In-Office Culture Helps Engineers Spot and Reuse Colleagues' Components
“And this is actually, I think, one of the big benefits of an in-office culture, is you just see. It's like, hey, look at that thing over on that desk. Like, I think I could stick that and use that as my power supply or whatever. You know, it's like, it's more …”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Baglino: Tesla Optimus Progress Leverages Automotive Simulation and AI Stack
“When you look at, like, Optimus as an example, which is the robot program at Tesla, like, why is Optimus going quickly at Tesla? It's because, you know, hey, we're, there's a lot of reuse of platform technologies, whether it's, like, how do you opt, like, a si…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Baglino: Having a battery offering was almost existential for SolarCity
“When SolarCity saw the coming sort of net metering change of policy, they knew that it was almost existential to them to have a great battery offering.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Baglino: LG's Tesla Energy bet unlocked vehicle cell deals in China
“Ultimately, you know, they took a bet on Tesla on our team on the energy side and it ended up paying off for them when they ended up getting an opportunity to participate with the vehicle business in China and vehicle business in other places.”