Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, took the stage after the announced proposal results at Tesla’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders .
He started to say “Welcome,” but a thunderous roar of applause made him stop. He grinned, surveying the admiring crowds, “I feel welcome.
Musk reiterated, “This is the best crowd,” as the Technoking Cult’s cheers continued to interrupt his impromptu speech.
Musk’s enthusiasm for the opportunity presented by the annual meeting of stockholders became immediately clear. In addition to securing his celebrity, he hoped to use the event to motivate the crowd of investors who had grown to be staunch supporters of Tesla.
As the crowd quieted, he said, “The Tesla team has done tremendous job.” He transitioned to announce a company milestone after calling it “an honor” to work with “such a fantastic team at Tesla.” “We produced our three millionth automobile just a few weeks ago.” (Something that CleanTechnica predicted at the same time.)
He predicted that the company would keep constructing factories in order to reach its production run rate target of 2 million vehicles annually by the end of 2022.
But for him and others, the process of getting those factories to their maximum production level “tracks to emotional suffering, psychic harm.” The corporation has attracted billions more in revenue than it has invested as a result of all the emotion and resiliency. Musk said to the sympathetic audience, “It’s pretty hard.” “This is a significant event. I think this is going to get better from here,” he said, referring to a symbiotic relationship between total earnings and investor happiness.
However, the enthused audience seemed more interested in Musk’s love than his goal. They shouted that they must be his favorite crowd of all because they are from Texas (the event was also advertised as Cyber Roundup 2022). He rebuffed and shook his head, adding that he also adored his Californian team and had nothing but praise for his groups in Shanghai, Germany, and other places.
A Discussion on Full Autonomous Driving in the Wake of Controversy He then moved on to the subject that meant the most to him. He claimed that “solving autonomy” would increase cash flow. As subsequent Full Self Driving (FSD) release objectives have come and gone, he laughed, catching himself in what has become a refrain of promises.
When the audience raised the issue of a well-known YouTuber’s unprotected-left-turn escapades, he responded that considerable architectural changes will result in greater precision in difficult left turns. Regarding the issues that have beset the FSD research team, Musk stated that he has “a lot of tolerance for valid criticism.” He said bluntly, “I think we’re nearly at 90% success rate for left turns.”
Overall, Musk’s speech was a little choppy and impromptu, but while discussing FSD, this was especially true. He said, “I think it’s working great for me. By converting what is intended for human perception and sight into a biological neural net and technological prowess, “we’re effectively solving some artificial intelligence” gaps. However, “we want smart folks out there working on AI to work with Tesla” for the project to be successful.
He used the evolution of elevators, which at first required an operator to travel between floors, as an analogy for how AI is progressing. But on rare occasions, someone might misjudge and “saw somebody in half.” The technology eventually advanced to the point that they were automated and performed “flawlessly.” (Upon reflection, Musk probably wishes he hadn’t acknowledged deaths as a vital part of innovation.)
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has accused Tesla of falsely advertising its driver assistance technology in two complaints, according to the New York Times the following day. This could have an impact on the company’s license to sell cars in the state. The organization said that Tesla had deceived consumers by portraying cars with its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability technologies as autonomous in ads.
The licenses for Tesla to produce and sell automobiles in California may be suspended or canceled if the agency’s objections to the state’s Office of Administrative Hearings are successful.
HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND FACTORIES — OH, MY The conversation switched to Tesla having “the biggest operating margin in the business,” according to Musk. He described Tesla as “an gigantic cybernetic collective,” adding that it is “as much a hardware firm as it is a software company,” which is largely the reason for this. He emphasized to the audience that not many other businesses share his viewpoint.
Although, if you look back five years ago, that wasn’t the case, Musk used the annual gathering to celebrate the fact that “EVs grab market share from” legacy car companies and poke fun at holdout manufacturers that are now embracing EVs. Tesla was unique. In a sort of field-of-dreams for personal mobility, Tesla was aware that if you produced “compelling electric automobiles, people would buy them.”
The Model Y is expected to generate the most income per unit this year and the most sales per unit the next year, according to the firm. The success of the Model Y depends on productive factories. He joked, “These factories don’t suddenly work magically,” adding, “we still have a lot of work to do” to get the two new gigafactories in Austin and Berlin up and running.
The velocity of production, according to Musk, “is how quickly you can fix the 10,000 problems” that come with a new factory. Such issues have historically been resolved by Tesla “quick.”
Musk chuckled and accepted recommendations as the site of the future Gigafactory was called out by the audience. He mentioned that Fremont is “already the highest output factory in North America.” He admitted to the Austin audience that the Shanghai team was challenging to beat. We’ll probably end up constructing at least 10 or 12 gigafactories in the end. They will “truly be gigafactories,” according to Musk, in that each facility will be capable of producing between 1.5 and 2 million units per year.
THE TESLA TRIAD: REFRESHABLE ENERGY GENERATION/STORAGE, BATTERIES, AND ELECTRIC CARS In a slightly pedagogical approach, he reminded the audience that “electric cars drastically cut CO2.” He explained how battery recycling “begins tiny but quickly becomes” big. Musk commanded that only approximately 50 batteries are recycled each week due to the fact that “the majority are still in use” when an audience member cried about the need for improved battery recycling practices.
“Scaling – What are all the things that are necessary for a truly sustainable economy?” is the focus of the company’s upcoming steps. It is necessary to “articulate” electronics and each of their individual components, which is something Tesla set out to do. We simply want it finished as quickly as feasible.
Musk said, “I meet a lot of folks out there who have lost hope,” as he began to think more deeply. He paused to laugh, as he did throughout his statements. He reassured the audience, saying, “Earth can and will be saved.”
He collected himself and went back to his producing triumphs. Additionally, “we’ve done a lot to simplify the structure” of auto castings, making them “better in every sense” by reducing them from 171 pieces to just two.
The factory’s layout has been upgraded by Tesla, he said, making manufacturing “the long-term sustainable aspect of Tesla.” He grinned, saying that other automakers would find it “impossible to recreate” such high-speed, highly automated skill.
Shortly later, the Musk portion of the annual meeting of stockholders came to a close.
It was obvious that his job as CEO of Tesla was laced with celebrity. His position as a powerful CEO is entangled in a tangle of original engineering insight, divisive public opinion, and influence from zero emissions. He is a legend who defies the CEO’s conventionally reserved voice and instead inspires new iterations of the American Dream.
Despite the controversy and doubt surrounding his efforts to save the world, his charming quirkiness frequently makes up for concerns about his leadership, as seen by his performance at the annual meeting/2022 Cyber Rodeo.
Like the uniqueness and cleantech news coverage of CleanTechnica? Think about becoming an Patreon patron or a member, supporter, technician, or ambassador for CleanTechnica. Don’t miss a cleantech story, will ya? Register for daily news updates from CleanTechnica by email. Or follow us on Google News Want to advertise with CleanTechnica, send us a tip, or propose a speaker for our podcast CleanTech Talk? You can reach us here.
