Don't think its enough to cover just the Cybertruck's tonneau cover with PV and seems ridiculous not to cover semil trailers with PV. Also don't think adding solar to all the flat surfaces adds that much weigh. The weight of the 30x stainless 3mm is about 5lbs per square meter (based on weight of other closely related material) - super light given its the frame, part of why its used in rocketry and has been for a long time. If one tried to add the Tesla solar slate tiles which are are apparently half the weight of standard tiles that would likely at a minimum quadruple the weight of the exoskeleton. I tried to estimate the weight of that shell with just the metal and it was something like 300lbs- amazingly light. But adding the slate tiles at the very minimum might bring that total to 1650lbs- assuming the slate tiles are half the weight of the lightest available kind of tile (asphalt) and for course that tile likely isn't the standard tile Tesla is referring to and other tiles are much, much heavier. Too bad because those slate tiles would stand up to the beating. Without embedding the way Sonomotors does there has to be a way. Truck would then become black or something like that. Maybe not as easy to cool. Have to think through the trade offs but surely what is going on the tonneau cover could be spread across the body?
But the real point of this post: Tesla seems to be slow to cover its buildings with PV. What is that about? Is it because its waiting for its new battery cells or new PV cells? Is that because its getting green power from the grid? Is it because the fossil fuel industry gave it great or free power deals because it doesn't want the counter example? Is the government meddling? Are there stupid lock in fossil fuel contracts or bargaining chips that got in the way of the early facility installation- if so why can't these be voided they go against public interest and just public policy? Is that because Tesla needs cells to take advantage of this that would otherwise go into power packs and mega packs and go first to super charger stations? Is it because the tiny fraction of the Sparks Giga that is covered with PV cells already is enough to powe the entire factory? Really it seems there should be solar car ports at every tesla facility and every surface of every building should be covered. It has to be throwing away money on not putting these up.
With Austin, Berlin, Shanghai, Sparks, Freemont and Buffalo- Tesla now has enough spread and enough real estate from what I can tell to do 6-12 million cars a year and build all the cells and panels to power them and a lot more for other projects. Keep in mind that autonomy will collapse the number of vehicles needed but GM and other dinosaurs are giving way so no issue there. But I get that Musk has said that 100 gigafactories are needed. And if you look each gigifactory now is at about 1/4 increment in terms of scale available on the lots. For context building out a 1/4 giga factory, completed in Shanghai and started in Berlin and pending in Austin would mean that when Berlin and Austin are finished with their 1/4 part anchor installations that the equivalent of the Sparks Giga factory would have been built out or completed. All of that is just one real giga and that has to be enough for 2-3 million vehicles.
But the real point of this post: Tesla seems to be slow to cover its buildings with PV. What is that about? Is it because its waiting for its new battery cells or new PV cells? Is that because its getting green power from the grid? Is it because the fossil fuel industry gave it great or free power deals because it doesn't want the counter example? Is the government meddling? Are there stupid lock in fossil fuel contracts or bargaining chips that got in the way of the early facility installation- if so why can't these be voided they go against public interest and just public policy? Is that because Tesla needs cells to take advantage of this that would otherwise go into power packs and mega packs and go first to super charger stations? Is it because the tiny fraction of the Sparks Giga that is covered with PV cells already is enough to powe the entire factory? Really it seems there should be solar car ports at every tesla facility and every surface of every building should be covered. It has to be throwing away money on not putting these up.
With Austin, Berlin, Shanghai, Sparks, Freemont and Buffalo- Tesla now has enough spread and enough real estate from what I can tell to do 6-12 million cars a year and build all the cells and panels to power them and a lot more for other projects. Keep in mind that autonomy will collapse the number of vehicles needed but GM and other dinosaurs are giving way so no issue there. But I get that Musk has said that 100 gigafactories are needed. And if you look each gigifactory now is at about 1/4 increment in terms of scale available on the lots. For context building out a 1/4 giga factory, completed in Shanghai and started in Berlin and pending in Austin would mean that when Berlin and Austin are finished with their 1/4 part anchor installations that the equivalent of the Sparks Giga factory would have been built out or completed. All of that is just one real giga and that has to be enough for 2-3 million vehicles.