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Elon Musk (here at a presentation in March) can also be unsexy - and that's not even bad
Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP
What hadn't Tesla fans dreamed of this day?
After company boss Elon Musk had headed the shareholders' meeting with "Battery Day", the speculations went off like an electric car at full acceleration.
A revolutionary battery technology was discussed, in which a battery pack could last for two million kilometers before it is no longer usable.
However, the car batteries are already good for around 250,000 kilometers.
Musk could present a completely new car that would be cheaper than the Tesla Model 3. That would also fit the daily solution, because the most expensive part of an electric car is the battery;
those who want to lower vehicle prices can do so particularly effectively with the battery.
Or maybe it would be about increasing the performance of the known batteries.
A lot is conceivable: ranges that are good for a trip already exist today, but electric cars can hardly keep up with the full tank of a gasoline engine - and if so, only at high costs and with a high weight.
But it didn't become that revolutionary.
Many shareholders were disappointed, the Tesla share price collapsed after the event.
It is often the case in the financial markets, where impulsive and hopeful deals are made: some courses illustrate the quality of expectations rather than the quality of companies.
At the moment, there is hardly a company that is as strong as Tesla.
The claim of the car manufacturer from California is nothing less than to save the world.
Elon Musk plays a lot with the expectations that are placed in him and Tesla.
This is an advantage for financing his massive expansion.
Even if the course dips briefly after such an event, there are enough people who provide money for Musk's visions.
Hard work between flashes of inspiration
Between the flashes of inspiration, it takes a lot of hard work to make electric cars suitable for the masses.
This was already evident at the time with the problems that Tesla had with the start of production of the Model 3.
It should show up again this Wednesday when the residents of the future Tesla factory in Grünheide in Erkner near Berlin explain their objections to the construction project and representatives of Tesla have to explain, for example, how the water supply for their production should work in the already chronically fire-endangered forests of Brandenburg .
But it was also shown at Musk's presentation for "Battery Day".
Because what sometimes seemed lengthy for friends of the (technical) revolution, is the bottom line an impressive development plan - and the dazzling Tesla boss doesn't seem to shy away from the efforts of the level.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that Musk is a manufacturing guy," says Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, economist and head of the Center Automotive Research in Duisburg: "He draws a lot of his advances from newly developed machines. That is not as sexy as a Mars rocket , but it works."
Musk, a machine man.
Ultimately, Musk delivered two of the three hits that were previously speculated about, albeit in a light version.
In the run-up to this, he had probably tried to lower expectations a little by tweeting that everything he presented on "Battery Day" would not go into mass production before 2022.
Although he has not presented a new car model, he is offering electric cars at a price of 25,000 dollars (around 21,000 euros).
"We don't have an affordable car," he said.
"We will have that in the future."
Sure, Musk is always in a hurry, but when exactly is open.
And to get closer to this goal, he outlined what the next generation of batteries at Tesla should look like: more powerful and cheaper to produce.
The battery blocks will consist of larger battery cells than before, which, according to his calculations, should save 14 percent in costs.
Automated production should bring a further 18 percent savings.
Key factors in the manufacturing process are being redesigned.
A welcome side effect: he can then do without cobalt, an expensive material that is mined under inhumane conditions and with child labor.
Overall, he wants to cut costs by 56 percent.
Of course, nobody can currently check the number.
But whether it is two percentage points more or less is also not so important, according to Dudenhöffer: "What matters is that Tesla itself further develops the batteries and thus gets exactly the batteries that the company needs. This is promising as a long-term strategy."
In the future, the battery at Tesla will also play a stronger role in the body structure.
"Traditional automakers, on the other hand, just hang other people's batteries in their cars."
Tesla could keep the German competition at a distance for the foreseeable future.
Will the new batteries later also be manufactured in Grünheide near Berlin?
That is not unlikely, but production will initially start in Fremont, California.
The more important news for Grünheide came from somewhere else: The responsible Strausberg-Erkner water association has approved the development application for the factory.
Tesla has reduced its water requirements, the association approved higher purchase quantities.
The critics in the town hall of Erkner will hardly be reassured on Wednesday.
There is still a lot of persuasion waiting, a lot of hard work.
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