Welcome to Electrified, it's your host Dylan Loomis, quick shout out to my newest patron, Tiger Bee. Thank you for choosing to support the channel. On yesterday, just want you guys to know there is a lot going on behind the scenes of Electrified. Most of it is really good, some of it's not so great, but the latter is mostly minor.
Just know that over the summer and into the fall, I'll finally be able to talk about some of these things that I've been working on, and no worries, it will only enhance what's going on here at Electrified. And it's a smaller project, but I'll also be able to give a quick update on what happened to the store.
It was live for like two days, and then a bunch of things happened, and it's all being revamped, so update on that also coming soon. So I appreciate everyone's patience as I work to make the Electrified experience even better in the months and years ahead. Last thing, I will be out of town for a portion of next week, so expect videos from me on Monday and Tuesday only.
Then hopefully, I should be back the following week, either Monday or Tuesday, depending on travel. Some of you may remember, back in 2022, there was an Indian company using the Tesla brand name, at the time Tesla filed a cease and desist, but two years later, and that didn't get the job done. Now, Tesla has sued that same company. It's an Indian battery maker, and they're using the name Tesla Power.
That company is arguing its main business is to make lead acid batteries, and it has no intention of making EVs. This case will next be heard on May 22nd. In 2021, Tesla did a recall of about 135,000 model SNX vehicles for a media control unit failure, where the rear camera would not work on the touch screen. After three years today, NHTSA has finally closed the investigation of that recall. NHTSA said the touchscreen failures posed significant safety issues, including the loss of backup camera images, exterior turn signal lighting, and windshield defogging and defrosting systems that may decrease driver visibility.
NHTSA said today the MCU has a finite lifespan and believes that a five or six year life expectancy for a component integral to providing the driver with safety functions is insufficient. Tesla said all units will inevitably fail given the memory device's finite storage capacity. As of February, Tesla said 104,000 of the 135,000 recalled have already been repaired.
The Treasury Department has decided to give automakers additional flexibility on battery mineral requirements for EV tax credits on some crucial trace minerals from China, like graphite. The department said it would give automakers until 2027 to remove some hard to trace minerals like graphite contained in anode materials and critical minerals contained in electrolyte salts, binders, and additives.
Thus, the Treasury has temporarily, for the next two years, exempted graphite and other trace critical minerals from the FEOC rules. Those foreign entity of concern rules for the battery components actually kicked in earlier this year. Then in 2025, the critical mineral requirements are supposed to begin as well. The Treasury has said the materials being exempt only account for less than 2% of the value of battery critical minerals.
So yes, automakers will be exempt for the next two years for some of these materials like graphite that are much harder to trace, but only if they lay out plans for how they will comply with these by 2027. So far in 2024, more than 100,000 credits, the EV tax credit, have been used at point of sale, representing more than $700 million in upfront savings. Basically, the Treasury has recognized that most automakers are going to need more time to comply with these requirements because, if not, then most of these vehicles will not qualify at all.
As it stands now, the regulations have only about 20% of EVs available qualifying for the credits. The problem here is this ruling will most definitely be challenged in public and potentially in the courts. Joe Manchin has already come out saying these final regulations are outrageous and illegal, effectively endorsing made in China. Given the less than 2% stat we just mentioned, that seems a little aggressive. The word is he plans to lead a charge to overturn this ruling and will use a lawsuit if necessary. Republicans have already introduced a bill that would eliminate the credits entirely.
Now from everything I'm reading, I think that would be pretty tough to do, but certainly something to watch. According to the Treasury, the main thrust behind this exemption determined it was impractical to require automakers to trace graphite in several electrode powders back to their origins given the complexity of the supply chains. As it stands now, this exemption would expire at the end of 2026.
We've known the rule allows automakers to source minerals from the 20 or so countries that the US has free trade agreements with, but it also extends eligibility to countries that have signed a narrower critical minerals FTA. We also learned the US continues to hold talks for critical mineral agreements with the EU, the UK and Norway. As it stands now, the IRS will launch an upfront review process for automakers to submit documentation to certify their vehicles will meet all the requirements. The Treasury said today that review process will begin this summer. For Tesla, the main question becomes, will this exemption change anything for the Model 3's eligibility for the tax credits? At this point though, it's all speculation there really is no way to know for sure without insider information, although this exemption definitely would move closer to that direction. I've said it before though, assuming these tax credits last until past 2030 as it's written now, I think Tesla's best chance of having the Model 3 vehicles qualify from a long-term perspective is the Panasonic factory in Kansas that will mainly supply Tesla.
When it comes to that factory, the last update we got was that production is expected to begin in early 2025. The last we heard Tesla's Model 3 long range in the United States is using 2170 cells from LG that are imported from South Korea, then the standard range variant is using CATL's LFP cells. The DOE did put out this press release today saying they clarified how they defined an FEOC. Essentially, the takeaway is China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia. So for 2024, for Tesla's Model 3, the question is which battery components in these battery packs from LG and CATL are causing the problems and thus the reason they don't qualify. And then beginning in 2025, the requirements get harder because the critical mineral requirements then kick in, although we do now have this exemption for 2025 and 2026 for graphite and some other hard-to-trace minerals. This exemption does provide a bit of hope for Tesla and others, but when it comes to the Model 3 re-qualifying, most of my eggs are still in that Panasonic factory basket for early next year.
Fun fact about me, I oftentimes enjoy researching a new product purchase more than the actual act of buying the thing itself, so when it came to floor mats for our new Model Y, I spent an inordinate amount of time doing my homework. My must-have list was as follows. The mats had to be easy to put in and take out, I didn't want to fuss with clips or anything weird. I wanted them to have no movement at all when in place, I was looking for a perfect fit and full coverage as we live in a snowy and rainy climate, and they needed to be really easy to clean. I like maintaining things well, so after all kinds of research, I ended up pulling the trigger on 3D mats. Now, full disclosure, they do sponsor the channel, but in this case, I was actually reaching out to companies that I was interested in. So here's how they really look after about one month of use with zero cleaning. 3D mats has excellent coverage for every part of your Tesla. In the trunk, they have everything covered, including the sub-trunk, each different side, and that hidden space back here, plus the back of the second row seats, which is great. Taking them out and putting them in is a breeze. Not only that, but whatever material they're using here on the underside keeps them in place incredibly well, it feels like magic. And there are of course many different ways to clean these, but if you wanted to keep them in the car, you can actually just take some warm water, dish soap, and do a quick scrub, wipe it off with a rag, and boom. In seconds, they're nearly like new again. And I'll repeat, this dirt has been sitting here for over a month, continually getting ground into these mats. In my experience, so far, they're durable, water resistant, designed for all weather conditions, they're safe for children in pets, they're made with non-toxic materials, and something I think goes overlooked in the floor mat world, these ones are indeed odorless. Ashley and I both really do love these 3D mats so far, we think they're affordable, and if you use my link in the description below, you can get an extra discount as well. Shout out to 3D mats for sponsoring this video, and thanks to all of you for considering supporting the channel in this way.
Tesla Malaysia has opened its first two V4 supercharging locations for a total of eight V4 dispensers and two destination chargers. The peak rates, however, are still limited to 250 kilowatts, meaning no V4 cabinets yet. Tesla now has 10 supercharging locations and 11 destination charger locations in Malaysia. Looking at the order page for the Model Y, if you scroll down for the long range variant, you'll now see the quick silver paint option for $2,000. It's also available on the performance variant, but not for the rear wheel drive as of now. For the Model Y, the black paint color is down to $1,500 from 2000 before.
Tesla has begun deliveries of the Model 3 performance in Germany, marking the first vehicle of that variant in Europe. Several thousand units from Giga Shanghai have arrived on the European shores. I stand by what I said that I think we need quarter two sales data from Tesla before we really start to get a feel for how bad the demand picture actually is. For what it's worth, Troy Tesla is saying that quarter two is expected to be even worse than quarter one, both in terms of the percentage and unit decline. This does however feel contrary to the sentiment we heard from Elon and the execs on the Q1 call.
Plus, we should have a slight boost from that Q1 inventory that was just not yet delivered. Tesla has a new webpage up. It's vote Tesla dot com with information on how to vote your shares and a message from Robin Denholm. My advice would be if you're having trouble, just reach out to your broker directly because it's going to be slightly different based on where you have your shares. So check your email and if you're not receiving anything over the next few days, then reach out to your broker. Tesla also now has a page live. If you'd like a chance to attend the annual shareholder meeting this year on June 13th, I'll have a link to this page below. They'll determine who can go by a random drawing and the deadline for entry is Monday, May 13th.
From row motion, battery demand in quarter one this year reached 230 gigawatt hours across all end use markets a year over year increase of 20%. Electric vehicle battery demand accounted for 72% of that data. The stationary storage market saw the strongest year over year growth of around 40%. So at least for battery makers, despite the market's doom and gloom sentiment, battery demand marches on some Tesla employees that were just laid off are now giving some comments to different publications, but be careful with all of them. The word is the layoffs included most if not all of the team developing and servicing the Tesla supercharger network.
That latter part has been unclear, but one of these ex employees said what I'm hearing is there are still some guys in the field, but they're going to be pretty over tasked. He also said just two weeks ago, they told us in a meeting that charging is one of the most important things at Tesla. Now this report is from electric, so I hesitate greatly with this one, but an ex employee is saying it's been radio silence from Tesla since the layoffs, including details on whether these employees are getting severance. Now if these reports are true and honestly given the number of people that are laid off, I'm assuming some of them still have a lot of questions on how things will go, it's definitely not a good look for Tesla to do things in this way.
Of course long-term the dust will settle and life goes on, but you do want Tesla to be a company that does the right thing. It should come as no surprise, but there are reports that some of these supercharger locations that were planned in Australia are now being cancelled. A business owner that was trying to get these superchargers at his location got a voicemail from somebody at Tesla, saying that the team had been dissolved globally and there will be no more supercharger sites moving forward. There are now many different reports out there of Tesla backing out of certain lease deals, or people not having a point of contact at Tesla anymore, so plenty of sites that were pending are now up in the air.
So we just have to accept that over the next few weeks and months, it's not going to be a smooth transition, but hopefully either at the shareholder meeting or the Robotax event on August 8th, we get a lot more clarity into what Elon is thinking here. Rivian just hired Javier Varella, who used to work at Volvo as COO ahead of the launch of R2. He'll be responsible for Rivian's operations, procurement, manufacturing, and logistics. Green, the only has been looking at some source code in the Tesla spring update, and he's concluded a new Tesla voice assistant is in the works, saying it'll be narrated by the Jenny Natural Voice from Microsoft.
But this is still in the early stages of development, although it will have a wake word something like Alexa. It also looks like Amazon Music will be coming to your Tesla, so people will still be waiting for YouTube music. There will be restricted driver profiles, maybe limiting speed or things like that, and Tesla may be getting rid of the driver's seat occupancy sensor, perhaps because they can tell if somebody's in the seat with the cabin camera. You may have seen Jeremy Judkins doing some testing of the Cybertruck front closing, and as you can see, it got his finger pretty good. So yeah, PSA? I would not try that at home.
A Cybertruck Engineer replied to that, saying, The front pinch detection is a learning algorithm which will increase the closing force each time it's cycled back to back, without successfully latching. Example, if you have a bag in the front that's causing it to not close, but you keep pressing the button, saying you just want it to close, the algorithm assumes you know what you're doing and that it should be closing. So Jeremy also did multiple tests on this sausage, and by the seventh or eighth close, it actually closed right on it.
And yes, each time he was moving it around so it wasn't closing on the same weak spot. You may have seen this model wide that had flipped seven times, and the occupants were mostly unharmed and they walked away alive. Just a periodic reminder, when talking to friends or family members about Tesla, I would tend to lead with safety above all of the tech in the fun features. Having some examples like this or the cliff scenario are very strong reasons and incentives for someone to actually consider a Tesla. Plus, I think when it comes to Tesla's advertising, they need to have some of these survivors sharing their testimony about being in a Tesla.
A quick recap of the horrific accident and then expressing their genuine gratitude for Tesla safety should go a long way in selling more vehicles. Starting this year, Tesla will be able to sell greenhouse gas emission credits in Korea. In Korea, automakers must ensure their fleets stay under these emission requirements and if they don't, they have to pay a fine. Based on those fine amounts, Tesla has so far secured tradable credits effectively worth up to $200 billion or $150 million dollars. However, until now, Tesla has not been able to trade these emission rights. So this should serve as another revenue source for Tesla from the South Korean market.
From that Joe Tettmeyer video, it turns out that was a Tesla Megapack installer day that was held at Giga Austin. The Tesla team shared insights on installation, commissioning, service, controls, safety, and more. I will occasionally poke fun at Wall Street and I think over time if you've been here, the reasons are pretty well documented. Here's another one for you from Adam Jonas and Morgan Stanley. They said on the surface last weekend's China visit was related to the achievement of FSD tech on Chinese roads. But FSD in China, assuming it's actually approved and deployed at any material scale in the PRC at all, is not a long term needle mover in our view. So FSD in the biggest auto market in the world with the most support of EVs potentially with the most tech forward customers is not a needle mover. I'm sorry but that's insane.
As part of Tesla's mass layoffs, unfortunately many summer interns that were only a few weeks away from starting their internship at Tesla got emails saying it's not happening. I'd imagine Tesla won't save that much money resending these offers from the interns. It's just unfortunate that these students now have very little time to find new summer plans. Historically Tesla has brought on around 3000 interns each year so it's not clear if they're getting rid of that entire program or just a portion. In case you're interested in tracking the supercharger rollout as it goes from here, supercharge.info may be a good tool to use. Up at the top it'll show you how many are currently under construction in the orange and how many are planned in the blue for USA and the world. I'm guessing that the number four planned will gradually come down in the weeks ahead.
The information is also saying that Elon made Rebecca Tanucci his direct report two weeks before letting her go and that a Tesla exec Mike Snyder now oversees several teams previously under Drew Baglino. Mike Snyder will be a name to know as he will oversee the Tesla Megapack and Tesla Residential Energy, Service, Engineering and Manufacturing teams. Tesla stock closed the day at $181.19 up 0.66% while the Nasdaq was up 1.99%. It was a low volume day for Tesla stock trading about 30 million shares below the average volume the past 30 days and just FYI to actually put those numbers into context. The average volume for the past 30 days is always on the screen right here in the bottom right.
Don't forget check out 3D Maths linked below if you're interested even if you don't need them right now you can just save that link for later. Hope you guys have a wonderful and a safe weekend. Please like the video if you did.