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Redwood CEO JB Straubel talks battery supply crisis, dubs tenure at Tesla as “amazing adventure”

Credit: Julia Chatterley/Twitter

Published

4 years ago

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During a recent interview with CNN anchor Julia Chatterley, Tesla co-founder and Redwood Materials CEO JB Straubel shared his thoughts about what he estimates is an upcoming electric vehicle battery supply crisis, his thoughts on the adoption of recycled batteries, and his long tenure with the Elon Musk-led EV maker. 

With the world’s most prominent automakers embracing electric vehicles, the demand for EV batteries is expected to rise sharply in the coming years. This is an encouraging sign, though Straubel explained that the demand shift to electric vehicles could be very challenging for automakers, particularly those that are late to the EV game. The Redwood CEO even stated that the challenges connected to battery supply in the coming years could be a “2.0” version of the ongoing semiconductor shortage. 

“I think it’s going to be quite challenging for a lot of the automakers that are coming into this late. The market is making a dramatic shift. The demand shift toward EVs is phenomenal to see, it’s inspiring to see. But securing enough supply of both batteries and all the components that go into them is going to be challenging. I think we may see a version of the semiconductor shortage, kind of like a 2.0 version of that, coming in a few years as so many new automakers ramp up their EV production,” Straubel said. 

Battery recycling is still in its early stages, and while companies like Panasonic are poised to use Redwood’s recycled battery components for its cell production in Tesla’s Gigafactory Nevada later this year, the percentage of batteries produced today that use recycled materials is still very small. Speaking about where he believes battery recycling would be in the near future, Straubel noted that he believes Redwood’s work would help prove that recycled batteries are a feasible solution. 

“Batteries are amazing because they are so recyclable. More than 90% of the critical materials in the battery could be reused many, many times without degradation. Today, the batteries that we buy and put into our products admittedly still have a pretty small recycled material content, but this is changing fast… We’re demonstrating and showing that you can make batteries that have very high percentage (of recycled materials) and still have extremely good performance and exceptional life,” the Redwood CEO said. 

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Being a Tesla co-founder, it was no surprise that the Redwood CEO was asked about his long tenure at the electric vehicle maker. The CNN anchor even mentioned one of Elon Musk’s past statements, where the CEO noted that Tesla would not exist without Straubel. The former Tesla CTO responded by stating that he actually enjoyed his tenure at Tesla, and he roots for the company every day. He also noted that he believes everyone should root for his previous employer for the sake of the planet and its future. 

“Tesla was an amazing adventure. I had such a fun time there helping build everything with the team. It is a wonderful team, and part of the joy of being there for so long was the caliber of the engineers and the people that made up that group. I still root for the Tesla team every single day. I love the mission and I love the company. I think we all need to root for them for the sake of the planet and the future,” Straubel noted. 

JB Straubel’s interview with CNN’s Julie Chatterley could be viewed below. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to tips@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla ‘Model Q’ gets bold prediction from Deutsche Bank that investors will love

Tesla’s Model Q could be on the way soon, and a new note from Deutsche Bank thinks it will contribute to Q4 deliveries.

Published

11 hours ago

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July 20, 2025

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Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer/X

The Tesla “Model Q” has been in the rumor mill for the company for several years, but a recent note from Wall Street firm Deutsche Bank seems to indicate that it could be on its way in the near future.

This comes as Tesla has been indicating for several quarters that its development of affordable models was “on track” for the first half of 2025. The company did not say it would unveil the vehicles in the first half, but many are anticipating that more cost-friendly models could be revealed to the public soon.

Potential affordable Tesla “Model 2/Model Q” test car spotted anew in Giga Texas

The Deutsche Bank note refers to one of the rumored affordable models as the “Model Q,” but we’ve also seen it referred to as the “Model 2,” amongst other names. Tesla has not officially coined any of its upcoming vehicles as such, but these are more of a universally accepted phrase to identify them, at least for now.

The rumors stem from sentiments regarding Tesla’s 2025 delivery projections, which are tempered as the company seeks to maintain a steady pace compared to 2023 and 2024, when it reported 1.8 million deliveries.

Deutsche Bank’s analysts believe the deliveries could be around 1.58 million, but they state this is a cautious stance that could be impacted by several things, including the potential launch of the Model Q, which they believe will make its way to market in Q4:

“Looking at the rest of the year, we maintain a cautious stance on volume calling for 1.58m vehicle deliveries (-12% YoY) vs. consensus +1.62m, with the timing of Model Q rollout as the key swing factor (we now assume only 25k in Q4). In China, Tesla will introduce the Model Y L this fall (6 inch longer wheel base allowing for larger 3-row seating with six seats).”

Interestingly, the same firm also predicted that the Model Q would launch in the first half of the year based on a note that was released in early December 2024.

Those estimations came from a reported meeting that Deutsche Bank had with Tesla late last year, where it said it aimed to launch the Model Q for less than $30,000 and aimed for it to compete with cars like the Volkswagen ID.3 and BYD Dolphin.

Tesla’s Q2 Earnings Call is slated for this Wednesday and could reveal some additional details about the affordable models.

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Elon Musk

Tesla preps to expand Robotaxi geofence once again, answering Waymo

Just days after Waymo responded to them, Tesla is preparing for a potentially massive expansion of the Robotaxi geofence.

Published

12 hours ago

on

July 20, 2025

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Credit: @AdanGuajardo/X

Tesla is preparing to expand its Robotaxi geofence yet again, just days after Waymo responded to its initial broadening of the area.

Tesla launched its first expansion last week, less than a month after introducing Robotaxi rides in Austin.

The company opted for a very interesting shape for its geofence expansion, which was more of an indication that it could launch more rides in virtually any area of the city due to the new geofence it chose.

Waymo then responded to Tesla shortly after with an expansion of its own. After Tesla’s first expansion of its geofence, it had 42 square miles of Robotaxi-accessible travel region. This was larger than Waymo’s 37 square miles.

However, the Waymo expansion last week brought the company to a substantial 90 square miles of Austin:

Waymo responds to Tesla’s Robotaxi expansion in Austin with bold statement

Tesla appears to be ready to respond. Drone operator and Gigafactory Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer spotted Tesla Robotaxi validation vehicles well west of downtown Austin in the area of Marble Falls, Texas.

This would significantly increase Tesla’s square mileage if it could manage to bring its geofence to that size:

The two companies are not directly responding to one another with these expansions, but it appears that there is a significant amount of competition underway, which ultimately benefits the consumers.

Waymo has been operating in Texas since March from a fully public perspective, while Tesla is still slowly expanding its test size for the Robotaxi fleet on a nearly daily basis. Tesla launched Robotaxi rides to a handful of Early Access Program members on June 22.

Tesla is also expanding to other regions of the United States, particularly in Arizona and California. However, the Texas expansion is a priority currently, as it is the only region where Tesla has received approval to operate passenger rides in a driverless setting in the country.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk confirms awesome new features at Tesla Diner Supercharger

More details continue to be revealed about the Tesla Supercharger Diner as its opening seems to be imminent.

Published

1 day ago

on

July 19, 2025

By

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

Elon Musk has confirmed a few new features that will be present at the Tesla Diner Supercharger in Los Angeles.

Musk confirmed these two new details as he revealed he recently ate at the Supercharger Diner. We also recently confirmed a few menu items as a soft launch has already occurred, and a public launch date appears to be within reach.

The new features were revealed by Tesla Joy on X. We shared the details, and Musk confirmed that these are, in fact, features of the Diner that Tesla owners will be able to enjoy.

Tesla reveals key detail of Supercharger Diner, but it’s bigger than you think

The Diner is not exclusive to Tesla owners, but these two features do require a Tesla for compatibility purposes.

Order Food from Your Car

As you pull into the Supercharger Diner, you can order any food item you want, including burgers, wings, fries, shakes, cookies, and more, directly from your vehicle.

A prompt will likely appear that will open a menu to the Supercharger Diner, allowing you to order food. An employee will bring the food out, that is, if Tesla decides to continue with a true and traditional 50s diner theme.

We get it, it’s not a groundbreaking feature. It’s still cool, convenient, and another advantage to visit the diner as a Tesla owner.

Movie Screen Audio Will Sync to Your Tesla

There are two massive movie screens that will play various entertainment options during your visit to the Supercharger Diner. There have been movie clips and even SpaceX launch highlights playing during recent drone flyovers at the location on Santa Monica Boulevard.

Instead of having to open your windows to hear the content on the screen, it will instead sync the audio and play directly in your vehicle through your car stereo speakers.

The Supercharger Diner has also appeared on the Tesla app for the first time, and is currently showing 80 stalls at the location:

Although the stalls are not yet active, the culmination of all the details we’ve learned over the past week about the Diner only points to one thing: an imminent grand opening.

Tesla has not yet confirmed a date for the Supercharger Diner’s opening, and Los Angeles building and construction permits also do not state a specific target date for opening.

It seems as if Tesla will reveal the date itself, potentially in the coming week, as it will report earnings on Wednesday, July 23.

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