Tesla Strengthens with New Partnership & Expansion

Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer/X

Tesla is bolstering its development with a massive supercomputing center in Texas, a supply of battery materials, and a partnership that will see it ramp up production of 4680 battery cells. Welcome to Jowua's weekly roundup of news from the Tesla universe.

FSD continues to be available for transfer

Tesla is stepping up efforts to boost sales and expand its fleet of self-driving cars. The company is once again allowing owners to carry over the Full Self-Driving (FSD) software package when purchasing a new car. This is the fourth and perhaps last time this will be possible. Earlier this month, Elon Musk agreed to extend this opportunity for another quarter. This offer is valid on the purchase of new Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y vehicles from now until August 31, 2024.

The last time the FSD transfer was offered was earlier this year, but its availability lasted just over a week. It is worth keeping in mind that this opportunity can also be terminated suddenly.

Tesla bolstered by new lithium deal

Last week, Tesla signed a long-term lithium carbonate supply deal with China's Yahua Industrial Group. Lithium is one of the key components of battery production. Tesla's ability to diversify its supply of material from different suppliers is a good sign. The new agreement should begin in 2025 and last until 2027, with a possible extension through the end of 2028. It stipulates that Yahua Lithium Ya'an will supply Tesla with high-quality lithium carbonate.

LG intends to start production of 4680 batteries for Tesla in August

Inside sources said LG Energy Solution (LGES) is set to start producing new batteries for Tesla in August. Production will begin at its Ochang plant in South Korea. The South Korean company will be the first global battery manufacturer to mass produce 4680 batteries. The LGES Ochang plant's estimated initial production capacity for Tesla batteries is 8 GWh. This should be enough to produce up to 110,000 electric vehicles.

Tesla builds supercomputer at Giga Texas

Tesla is building a huge supercomputing cluster at Giga Texas. This week, Musk revealed some details about the facility. The center's capacity this year will be approximately 130 MW of power and cooling. Over the next 18 months, this will increase to more than 500 MW. Musk noted that half of the chips used will be Tesla hardware, and the other half will be Nvidia or another company's hardware.