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Tesla ramps up hiring at Megapack factory

Credit: Tesla

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Tesla is ramping up hiring at its Megapack factory in Lathrop, California. The automaker and energy company has several engineering positions it’s trying to fill as it focuses on meeting the demand for its utility-scale battery energy storage systems.

In late 2021, Tesla broke ground on its first dedicated facility for Megapack production, which opened in 2022 and is now capable of producing 10,000 Megapack units annually. This translates to sales of over $20 billion per year at the current prices of over $2 million each. This would enable the company to begin seeing substantial growth toward its bottom line from contributions of the energy side of its business if its gross profit per unit is significant.

Gary Black, manager of The Future Fund and Tesla investor in a recent podcast hosted by Farzad Mesbahi pointed out that Tesla could generate $10 billion in revenue this year from its energy side of the business if it produced half of what it’s capable of.

“The sell side is not talking about Megapacks,” he said.

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“If Lathrop can even do 5,000 per year, and a lot of it’s based on can they get the batteries needed to produce five or ten thousand units. Five thousand units at $2 million each is $10 billion.”

He added that there’s a lot of debate on the type of gross margin, so he assumed a more conservative 20%. “Even if it’s 20%, that adds incrementally 50 cents to a dollar per share in earnings, and you’re also going to get tax credits as a result of this.”

Although Black’s estimates were conservative, Tesla is seeing high demand for its Megapack batteries. In Q3 2022, Tesla said that its energy storage deployments increased by 62% year-over-year in Q3.

“By far the highest level we have ever achieved,” Tesla said.

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Tesla noted that this level of growth was accomplished as the semiconductor challenges were having an impact on its energy business. “Demand for our storage products remains in excess of our ability to supply.”

Those numbers could change tomorrow when Tesla releases its Q4 earnings report. Its hiring ramp at its Lathrop Megapack factory reflects this growth the company is hiring for various engineering positions.

It’s hiring quality engineers for stationary battery manufacturing, battery enclosure manufacturing, and quality systems engineers. Each position has various requirements. For example, the quality systems engineer would identify inefficiencies across the business and be responsible for driving business process design, implementation, and project management of technical solutions.

As demand for Tesla’s Megapacks continues to grow, delivery dates of the units are still expected to be towards the end of 2024.

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Disclosure: Johnna is a $TSLA shareholder and believes in Tesla’s mission.  

Your feedback is welcome. If you have any comments or concerns or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter at @JohnnaCrider1.

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Johnna Crider is a Baton Rouge writer covering Tesla, Elon Musk, EVs, and clean energy & supports Tesla's mission. Johnna also interviewed Elon Musk and you can listen here

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Tesla ships new feature that silences neighborhood Supercharger complaints

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is shipping a new feature that silences neighborhood Supercharger complaints, prompting drivers to be aware of those who might be impacted by excessive noise nearby.

Tesla is now rolling out a new location-specific “Quiet Charging Zone” that prompts drivers to lower their vehicle’s audio volume in an effort to make things comfortable for everyone, even those who are not Tesla owners.

This is an impactful feature that will resolve many complaints from those who are living nearby.

When a Tesla plugs into this Supercharger and its media volume exceeds a certain level, the vehicle’s central touchscreen displays a polite notification: “Could you turn the volume down? Please be mindful of our neighbors.”

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Accompanying the message is a prominent “Lower” button. One tap automatically reduces the audio to a more considerate level. Physical “Quiet Charging Zone” signs posted at the station reinforce the request, creating a cohesive experience that blends digital nudges with on-site reminders.

This feature highlights Tesla’s unique advantages. Unlike traditional automakers, Tesla owns both the vehicle software and the charging infrastructure.

Engineers can detect the precise location via GPS, trigger context-aware prompts, and deploy changes fleet-wide in hours or days without recalls or dealer visits. No public release notes highlighted the change, suggesting it was a quiet, site-specific rollout designed to test effectiveness before potential expansion.

These are usually referred to as “Undocumented Changes.”

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Beyond immediate noise reduction, the initiative underscores Tesla’s customer- and community-focused ethos. While EVs are inherently quieter than combustion-engine vehicles, auxiliary behaviors like loud infotainment can still create friction in dense cities. Tesla’s rapid response turns potential conflict into an opportunity to demonstrate thoughtful engineering.

As Tesla expands its Supercharger network, which is now open to other EVs in many places, features like location-based quiet modes could become standard tools for harmonious integration into neighborhoods.

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Ferrari unveils its Luce EV, and its reception has been a disaster

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Credit: Ferrari

Ferrari unveiled its Luce EV over the weekend, and so far, its reception has been an absolute disaster, gathering negative reactions from a wide variety of people, including former executives.

The stock even took a hit on its first day of trading following the unveiling, dropping over 7 percent at one point.

Ferrari moving to EVs from its traditional V12s and mid-engine sports cars is a massive move. It was designed by Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newsom’s LoveFrom studio, which is known for design work for tech giant Apple. “Luce” means “light” in Italian, so Ferrari drew inspiration for its name from its sleek design, characterized by a smooth, sculpted body with rounded edges.

But its reception has been far from what Ferrari expected. The overall design has drawn some harsh criticism since its reveal, and it is simply stunning that such a storied company, with a rich history of beautiful, powerful cars has revealed a design that many are not a fan of.

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Responses to the design were widely negative, with some saying, “Enzo is rolling in his grave,” and “This looks like a Nissan LEAF with a bad body kit.”

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Former Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo said:

“If I said what I really think, I’d harm Ferrari. We’re risking the destruction of a myth, I’m very sorry about that. I hope they at least remove the Prancing Horse from that car.”

Ferrari has scaled back EV commitments in the past, primarily in response to weaker-than-expected demand for its electric powertrains.

Priced at roughly $640,000 in the U.S., it is tough to see how this car will ever truly live up to the massive expectations many had for it. It almost feels like, to a certain extent, Ferrari is looking for a way to get out of building EVs.

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Tesla unveils juicy new detail on the Roadster and hints at new unveil timeline

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A red Tesla Roadster driving around a turn
(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla unveiled a juicy new detail on the Roadster, its long-delayed supercar project, and additionally hinted at a new unveiling timeline, as it appears yet another month will pass without seeing the capabilities of the vehicle.

Vice President of Vehicle Engineering at Tesla, Lars Moravy, revealed on the Ride the Lightning podcast that the Roadster will be built at Gigafactory Texas, adding that “you’ll start to see a lot of things unfold in the next months.”

While we get a good detail on the plant of manufacture, we also get another letdown, as it appears the unveiling event will not take place in May, as CEO Elon Musk hinted during the Earnings Call.

The Roadster was first unveiled back in 2017, alongside the Semi, which entered production earlier this year. It was Tesla’s attempt at a true supercar; it would be rare, expensive, and lightning quick, among other incredible capabilities, like potentially hovering for a short period thanks to a collaboration project with SpaceX.

However, the vehicle was set to be delivered in 2020. Parts and supply chain issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic started these delays, and since then, Tesla, and specifically Musk, have wanted to push the capabilities of the Roadster to somewhere the human mind may not be able to currently comprehend.

Both Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen and Moravy have said many things about the Roadster over the past few years, hinting that the car truly could be worth the wait. However, the continuous delays we’ve seen have undoubtedly been discouraging.

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With that being said, it’s not like Tesla has been doing nothing. Instead, the company has been focusing on revamping current models, phasing out others, and working on developing the cars of the future, specifically, the Cybercab, which entered production at Giga Texas in April.

Despite the Roadster’s delays, there is still a ton of anticipation for the vehicle to be released. It will have a steering wheel, as Musk said it will be “the best of the last of the human-driven cars.”

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