Tesla's environmental balance sheet - The end of the combustion engine?

Tesla published their 144-page Impact Report a few days ago. This includes several data on CO2 emissions, power generation and much more. Below are the most important data.

The installation of Tesla's solar panels; Image: Tesla

The electrical manufacturer says it has prevented 8.4 million tons of CO2 emissions by charging the cars with renewable energy. This data is recorded as soon as the car is in operation.

From 2012 to 2021, Tesla produced 25.39 terawatt hours of energy, all from its own solar panels. 25.27 of that was used, a small portion was used in Tesla's factories, and the rest was used to charge the electric cars.

Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y have a strong advantage over internal combustion cars in terms of CO2 emissions. From 10,000 kilometers (or 6500 miles) of driving, the two models have already saved CO2.

The report also shows that the new factory in Shanghai is better than the one in Fremont, California. This is because production in China requires 17% less energy. The main reason for this is that in Shanghai, production takes place under one roof. In Fremont, there are separate buildings that fulfill different production steps.

The Tesla Semi truck was also mentioned. It was announced in 2017, but to date there is no sign of it. The reason for this, is that the energy cells are barely available. This is because the Semi needs far more of them than a normal passenger car.

There was a lot more exciting information in the report, but this would go beyond the scope and would not fit into the QuickTechnics model, as we want our articles to be short and concise. Therefore, the entire report is linked here.