HyperChange

Reuters is reporting that Tesla is partnering with Chinese battery supplier CATL, to build Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), Cobalt-free, Prismatic battery cells for the Made In China Model 3. WHAT!? This is huge/totally unexpected news about Tesla's battery supply chains, and brings up far more questions than answers. Why is Tesla using less energy dense cells? Are they that much cheaper? Is Maxwell'...

Tesla surprises the market and announces a $2B+ capital raise. This will give the company capital to accelerate new Gigafactory plans (Texas?), and ramp battery production (Maxwell?), while only diluting by 1.5%. In its newly release 10K, Tesla has upped its CAPEX guidance to $2.5-$3.5B annually, for the next 2-3 years. Additionally, this raise will give the company a bigger cash cushion if a rece...

Louisville Colorado (just 20 minutes north of Denver), has become a hotbed for next generation EV batteries. Now Tesla is hiring for a 'Cell Technician' in the area to "assist anode development and optimization R&D." Additionally, the candidate is required to understand "electrode fabrication, delicate assembly of coin cells, cell dissection, running cell tests and data analysis & lab-scal...

SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell hinted at a potential IPO/spinout of SpaceX's internet satellite project, Starlink, at a recent investor conference. This is incredibly exciting for all Elon Musk supporters, but begs the question ... why not just IPO SpaceX? In this off the cuff podcast, I discuss a potential strategy SpaceX could use to direct list its shares on a new private exchange like Carta, to ma...

A breakdown of Rivian's self-driving hardware, and how the company plans to rollout autonomy features for its customers. With 10 cameras, 4 radars, 2 lidars, ultrasonic sensors and high-precision GPS, each Rivian is equipped with more tech than a Tesla! But does that mean they will be able to compete on true general autonomy???

The coronavirus originating in Wuhan China has infected 24,000+ people in 24 countries. If it keeps spreading, this could be a near-term headwind for the macro growth environment. Is this a threat to global financial markets? Will this significantly delay the growth of Tesla's Shanghai Gigafactory?

Analysis of Tesla's Q4 2019 financials, shareholder letter and conference call. Revenue hit a record high of $$7.4B, EBIT was $359M and Free Cash Flow came in at $1B. Model Y deliveries start in Q1, Demand for the Cybertruck and Made in China Model 3's is overwhelming. Battery investor day will likely be in April, and will have some huge announcements about scaling battery production and Tesla's n...

Netflix reported record revenue ($20B) and record earnings ($2.6B) in 2019 ... but also record negative operating cashflow of $2.9B. The company claims cashflow will improve from here as subscriber growth and revenue outpace original content spending. Will this be possible in the wake of massive competition from Disney, Comcast and others ... ?

Tesla will report its earnings after the bell on Wednesday. I'm estimating revenue of ~$7B, and EBIT of ~$400M, with exceptionally strong free cash flow ($700M!?). Additionally, I'll be looking for an update on Model Y deliveries, Gigafactory Shanghai production ramp and 2020 delivery guidance. What are your expectations for Tesla's report later this week??

An interview with Matt Joyce about Elon Musk's VTOL Electric Jet idea & how it could revolutionize the flying experience. Assuming ~5% annual improvements in battery energy density, this technology could be ready as soon as 2028.

At the Model 3 delivery event in Shanghai, Elon Musk hinted at Tesla's future plans in China. The company will set up a new design and engineering center, where they are planning to design a new EV from scratch, for "worldwide consumption." Does this imply Tesla is working on a smaller car/new EV form factor that they will build in China and export around the world? It sounds like it!

Apple changed the way we think about phones, and Tesla is going to change the way we think about cars. Software is eating the world, and the automotive market is no exception. Tesla's software-first approach to building EVs & the collection of billions of miles of Autopilot data, is ushering in the future of the transportation industry. This isn't a car company, it's a computer on wheels on co...

Tomorrow (December 30th), Tesla will deliver its first 15 'Made In China' Model 3s! This marks a huge milestone for Gigafactory 3 Shanghai, which began construction in 2019, and has vehicles rolling off the line just 11 months later ... This may be the fastest a factory has been built in the history of the automotive industry. Now the question is how fast will these sales ramp? I'm estimating Tesl...

Is your Model 3 a $40,000 electric vehicle, or a $40,000 video game console? Both!! In the past year Tesla has began to launch video games you can play in your car. I think this is a sneak preview of entertainment in a self-driving/autonomous future & an amazing example of the possibilities that over the air software updates enable. In the long-term, Tesla's active user/driver/rider-base will...

Tesla stock hits all-time highs as the market begins to look towards 2020, and the company's growth potential with Gigafactory 3 Shanghai and the Model Y. Per my estimates, Tesla could deliver 615,000 cars in 2020, produce $36B in revenue and be significantly profitable. What are your projections for next year??

Exclusive interview with Rahul Sonnad, the CEO/Co-Founder of Tesloop, a Tesla rental service. Tesloop has operated a fleet of 8 Tesla's (and growing) and driven them millions of miles offering rides & rentals to its customers. Through this process, they have incredible data proving the service & maintenance savings of operating an EV versus an ICE car. This conversation is a sneak peak at...

An interview with Arcimoto CEO/Founder Mark Frohnmayer in LA at the LD Micro conference. Arcimoto is currently ramping production & deliveries of its Fun Utility Vehicle, a 3-wheel, all-electric two-seater that can go 100 miles per charge. In this video we also discuss the company's latest funding round, and the potential for partnerships with bigger companies like Uber & Tesla.

A conversation with Alex Heath, reporter with The Information. Alex is a thought leader in the world of augmented reality smartglasses, reporting on Snap Spectacles, Apple's rumored smartglasses, Facebook's mind control device project & more.

Tesla has launched the Cybertruck. Available for delivery in late 2021, starting at $39,900, and made out of a steel alloy exoskeleton. This Bladerunner-looking vehicle has taken over the internet and generated 250,000 pre-orders in just 5 days. Are we looking at the future of trucks, or has Elon Musk lost his mind? I think demand will be at least 350,000 units per year, and drive significant shar...

This episode is brought to you by FOUR Organic Lip Balm, use the code 'hyperchange' for 10% off :) https://fourorganicsnyc.com/ My moonshot/conspiracy theory that Tesla has been secretly working with John Goodenough, to commercialize his next generation solid-state lithium-ion glass electrolyte battery. The timeline of the research paper, clues about Tesla testing solid state batteries, and the mo...

This episode is brought to you by FOUR Organic Lip Balm, use the code 'hyperchange' for 10% off :) https://fourorganicsnyc.com/ Bloomberg reports that Tesla has signed a preliminary partnership with Chinese battery maker CATL, to supply battery cells for the Model 3 at Gigafactory Shanghai. What does this mean for Tesla's relationship with Panasonic, and the company's potential to build there own...

This episode is brought to you by FOUR Organic Lip Balm, use the code 'hyperchange' for 10% off :) https://fourorganicsnyc.com/ An inside look at my (Galileo Russell's) personal investment portfolio. From Tesla, Bitcoin, Maker, Arcimoto to Snap, I walk step-by-step through each of my stocks/cryptoassets and explain my investment thesis.

HyperChat #15 - A sit down with Truman's CMO/Co-Founder Alex Reed to talk about disrupting the cleaning market, and entrepreneurship in 'boring' industries. Truman's DTC concentrate products, promise a simpler and more sustainable solution to household cleaning.

Tesla's solar roof is ready for primetime. The company has announced the launch of a V3 solar tiles, greatly reducing costs and installation time. Elon Musk claims the company is planning to ramp to installing 1,000 roofs/week in the next few months, and 10-20,000 per week in the long-term. This could be a multi-billion dollar revenue stream for Tesla in the coming years.

Full analysis and recap of Tesla's Q3 '19 financial results and conference call. So much news! Model Y is confirmed to arrive early (Summer 2020), Gigafactory 3 Shanghai is already building prototype Model 3s, and there will be a solar roof announcement tomorrow!  Financially, the results were also impressive. A strong sequential improvement in gross margin, and tight cost control led to posi...