Energy
Here’s what it takes to work at Tesla
The following post was originally published on EVANNEX
On March 28th, Andrew Stevenson of Tesla’s Special Projects delivered a keynote speech titled, “Opportunities for Students in Building a Sustainable Energy Future,” during the Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation* 2017 Energy Week. Stevenson works closely with Tesla co-founder and chief technical officer, J.B. Straubel, tackling projects that don’t always fit neatly into existing programs within the company. That said, Stevenson was certainly qualified to discuss what he described as Tesla’s “scalable approach to problem solving.”
The presentation appeared to be part of Stevenson’s efforts to actively recruit some of the best and brightest students from Carnegie Mellon University. He noted that most of Tesla’s hiring is currently focused on engineering students with an emphasis on mechanical engineering. Stevenson’s presentation revolved around what he referred to as the “six core building blocks” needed while working at Tesla: 1. Mission; 2. Teams; 3. First Principles; 4. Autonomy and self-motivation; 5. Critical thinking and root cause analysis; and 6. Continuous improvement.
Stevenson reiterated that Tesla’s mission continues to be “to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” He noted that Tesla started small with just 5 people on staff. Yet it’s grown to over 30,000 employees worldwide. Regardless of how big Tesla grows, the emphasis remains on small, entrepreneurial teams to handle the company’s challenges.
Stevenson described Tesla’s “first principles” approach as using “fundamental reasoning” — not deferring to “the way others have done it.” He pointed out the fact that the Model S was “designed from the ground up” to be an all-electric vehicle. And, he also described Tesla’s solar roof as another strong application of the first principles approach.
Another core building block Stevenson described was “autonomy and self-motivation” being a means for employees to be proactive instead of waiting for management to dictate deliverables. He described how the company (itself) used this approach. When rumors started about various government entities setting up charging networks, Tesla still went ahead and established their own Supercharger Network in advance of those efforts. This definitely paid off for Tesla and it’s customers later on.
With “critical thinking and root cause analysis,” Stevenson explained that, as part of Tesla’s mission, the company sought out renewable energy sources in hopes that they would become more prevalent on the grid. In turn, Tesla recognized that energy storage was “the missing piece.” Therefore, Tesla pushed forward and built their own Powerpack stationary storage product line in order to help implement grid-based solutions for renewables. One slide (see below) also highlighted Tesla’s recent acquisition of SolarCity as part of this 360-degree sustainable energy solution.
With “continuous improvement” Stevenson reminded us that software companies have been using this approach for some time. In Tesla’s case, the Gigafactory itself is a key example — as Tesla decided to build one section at a time in order to quickly start work within the building, it proceeded to continue construction — building additional sections and applying key learnings along the way. In addition, Stevenson also cited Tesla Autopilot as a prime example of continuous improvement.
Elon Musk unveils Tesla solar roof tiles [Source: Dennis Pascual]
Highlighting three of Tesla’s current special projects, Stevenson discussed: the solar roof, autopilot, and factory automation (the machine that builds the machine). Most fascinating was when Stevenson reviewed Tesla’s factory automation (referred to internally as MTBTM) as a mission-critical internal initiative. A slide (see above) also pointed out Germany’s Grohmann Engineering which the company recently acquired. He noted that Tesla didn’t want to rely so strongly on suppliers as it felt like “shopping from a catalog” and, instead, wanted more control via vertical integration.
Stevenson emphasized the Model 3 as the core focus right now companywide. But he also laid out five future challenges (see above) Tesla is currently facing: 1. Selling sustainable energy; 2. Scaling service and support; 3. Building a global company; 4. Re-thinking the materials supply chain; and 5. Recruiting and education. And he acknowledged plans for the Tesla truck (in the Q&A) and mentioned “developing a Tesla product to address all the vehicle segments” as part of Tesla’s future plans. For Stevenson’s full presentation, check out the video below.
Energy
Tesla Energy is the world’s top global battery storage system provider again
Tesla Energy captured 15% of the battery storage segment’s global market share in 2024.
Tesla Energy held its top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year, capturing 15% of global market share in 2024, as per Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings.
Tesla Energy’s lead, however, is shrinking, as Chinese competitors like Sungrow are steadily increasing their global footprint, particularly in European markets.
Tesla Energy dominates in North America, but its lead is narrowing globally
Tesla Energy retained its leadership in the North American market with a commanding 39% share in 2024. Sungrow, though still ranked second in the region, saw its share drop from 17% to 10%. Powin took third place, even if the company itself filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, as noted in a Solar Power World report.
On the global stage, Tesla Energy’s lead over Sungrow shrank from four points in 2023 to just one in 2024, indicating intensifying competition. Chinese firm CRRC came in third worldwide with an 8% share.
Wood Mackenzie ranked vendors based on MWh shipments with recognized revenue in 2024. According to analyst Kevin Shang, “Competition among established BESS integrators remains incredibly intense. Seven of the top 10 vendors last year struggled to expand their market share, remaining either unchanged or declining.”
Chinese integrators surge in Europe, falter in U.S.
China’s influence on the BESS market continues to grow, with seven of the global top 10 BESS integrators now headquartered in the country. Chinese companies saw a 67% year-over-year increase in European market share, and four of the top 10 BESS vendors in Europe are now based in China. In contrast, Chinese companies’ market share in North America dropped more than 30%, from 23% to 16% amid Tesla Energy’s momentum and the Trump administration’s policies.
Wood Mackenzie noted that success in the global BESS space will hinge on companies’ ability to adapt to divergent regulations and geopolitical headwinds. “The global BESS integrator landscape is becoming increasingly complex, with regional trade policies and geopolitical tensions reshaping competitive dynamics,” Shang noted, pointing to Tesla’s maintained lead and the rapid ascent of Chinese rivals as signs of a shifting industry balance.
“While Tesla maintains its global leadership, the rapid rise of Chinese integrators in Europe and their dominance in emerging markets like the Middle East signals a fundamental shift in the industry. Success will increasingly depend on companies’ ability to navigate diverse regulatory environments, adapt to local market requirements, and maintain competitive cost structures across multiple regions,” the analyst added.
Energy
Tesla inks multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution to avoid tariff pressure
Tesla has reportedly secured a sizable partnership with LGES for LFP cells, and there’s an extra positive out of it.
Tesla has reportedly inked a multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution in an effort to avoid tariff pressure and domesticate more of its supply chain.
Reuters is reporting that Tesla and LGES, a South Korean battery supplier of the automaker, signed a $4.3 billion deal for energy storage system batteries. The cells are going to be manufactured by LGES at its U.S. factory located in Michigan, the report indicates. The batteries will be the lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, chemistry.
Tesla delivers 384,000 vehicles in Q2 2025, deploys 9.6 GWh in energy storage
It is a move Tesla is making to avoid buying cells and parts from overseas as the Trump White House continues to use tariffs to prioritize domestic manufacturing.
LGES announced earlier today that it had signed a $4.3 billion contract to supply LFP cells over three years to a company, but it did not identify the customer, nor did the company state whether the batteries would be used in automotive or energy storage applications.
The deal is advantageous for both companies. Tesla is going to alleviate its reliance on battery cells that are built out of the country, so it’s going to be able to take some financial pressure off itself.
For LGES, the company has reported that it has experienced slowed demand for its cells in terms of automotive applications. It planned to offset this demand lag with more projects involving the cells in energy storage projects. This has been helped by the need for these systems at data centers used for AI.
During the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja confirmed that the company’s energy division had been impacted by the need to source cells from China-based suppliers. He went on to say that the company would work on “securing additional supply chain from non-China-based suppliers.”
It seems as if Tesla has managed to secure some of this needed domestic supply chain.
Energy
Tesla Shanghai Megafactory produces 1,000th Megapack for export to Europe
The Shanghai Megafactory was able to hit this milestone less than six months after it started producing the Megapack.
Tesla Energy has announced a fresh milestone for its newest Megapack factory. As per the electric vehicle maker, the Shanghai Megafactory has successfully produced its 1,000th Megapack battery.
The facility was able to hit this milestone less than six months after it started producing the grid-scale battery system.
New Tesla Megapack Milestone
As per Tesla Asia in a post on its official accounts on social media platform X, the 1,000th Megapack unit that was produced at the Shanghai Megafactory would be exported to Europe. As noted in a CNEV Post report, Tesla’s energy products are currently deployed in over 65 countries and regions globally. This allows Tesla Energy to compete in energy markets that are both emerging and mature.
To commemorate the 1,000th Megapack produced at the Shanghai Megafactory, the Tesla China team posted with the grid-scale battery with celebratory balloons that spelled “Megapack 1000.” The milestone was celebrated by Tesla enthusiasts on social media, especially since the Shanghai Megafactory only started its operations earlier this year.
Quick Megafactory Ramp
The Shanghai Megafactory, similar to Tesla’s other key facilities in China, was constructed quickly. The facility started its construction on May 23, 2024, and it was hailed as Tesla’s first entry storage project outside the United States. Less than a year later, on February 11, 2025, the Shanghai Megafactory officially started producing Megapack batteries. And by March 21, 2025, Tesla China noted that it had shipped the first batch of Megapack batteries from the Shanghai plant to foreign markets.
While the Shanghai Megafactory is still not at the same level of output as Tesla’s Lathrop Megafactory, which produces about 10,000 Megapacks per year, its ramp seems to be quite steady and quick. It would then not be surprising if Tesla China announces the Shanghai Megafactory’s 2,000th Megapack milestone in the coming months.
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