I heard Elon say that if they were to produce 1M cars per year, they would need to consume all Lithium-Ion batteries produced in the year 2014. Obviously there will be more batteries produced in 2020, but Tesla's fate would be at the mercy of the battery producers, which could collude to drive the price of batteries.
For better or worse, Tesla is hell-bent on vertically integrating every single aspect of production. I believe they might be working on software that will allow them to stop relying on NVDA's chips for self driving as well. "First principles" business model will make or break Tesla/Elon.
For better or worse, Tesla is hell-bent on vertically integrating every single aspect of production. I believe they might be working on software that will allow them to stop relying on NVDA's chips for self driving as well. "First principles" business model will make or break Tesla/Elon.