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Hi everybody and welcome back to
the Elon Musk podcast where we 

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dig into the world of 
technology, sustainable energy 

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and groundbreaking advancements 
that are changing how we live 

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and interact with our 
environment and with technology.

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Today we're going to talk about 
two major stories making waves 

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in the automotive sector. 
The first is Volvo's strategic 

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partnership with Connected 
Energy to repurpose old EV 

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batteries into new energy 
storage systems, move that holds

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promise for reducing battery 
waste. 

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And that second story is all 
about Tesla hitting the 

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milestone of producing its five 
millionth electric car and its 

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ongoing experiments in vehicle 
manufacturing, which could 

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drastically cut costs now. 
Earlier this week, Volvo 

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announced A collaboration with 
Connected Energy, a firm 

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specializing in battery 
recycling, And Volvo has signed 

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a letter of intent to construct 
battery energy storage systems, 

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or Bess, following an initial 
investment announced last year. 

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Now, with E V's becoming 
increasingly popular, finding a 

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sustainable way to dispose of or
repurpose use batteries has 

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become a big concern. 
Now, Volvo and Connected Energy 

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aimed to tackle this issue by 
converting these old batteries 

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into energy storage systems, and
these systems will employ 

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batteries from Volvo's existing 
line of electric buses, trucks, 

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and other machinery. 
Matthew Lumsden, CEO of 

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Connected Energy, shared his 
enthusiasm about expanding their

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technology to the European 
market in collaboration with 

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Volvo Energy. 
Elizabeth Larson, Volvo's Energy

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Senior VP for Sales and 
Services, echoed these 

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sentiments, highlighting the 
benefits of aligning the project

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with the principles of the 
circular economy. 

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Now, Volvo expects to introduce 
this new energy storage system 

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in Europe by 2025. 
Furthermore, at its Gothenburg 

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facility in Sweden, Volvo has 
already started using connected 

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energies E store system to 
access grid response rates. 

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Now switching gears, let's talk 
about Tesla, the EV manufacturer

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that continues to make 
headlines. 

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This week, Tesla announced that 
it had produced its five 

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millionth electric vehicle, a 
staggering accomplishment when 

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you consider the pace at which 
the company has been ramping up 

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its production. 
The first million took 12 years,

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the second million 18 months, 
and now Tesla is on track to 

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reach the 6 million mark by 
early of 2024. 

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All of this production is 
contributing to Tesla's status 

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is the largest all electric car 
manufacturer globally, with a 

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growth rate that shows no signs 
of slowing down. 

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Now what makes this story even 
more interesting is the way 

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Tesla is changing the game in 
vehicle manufacturing. 

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And according to a recent port, 
Tesla is getting closer to 

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achieving its goal of die 
casting the underbody of its 

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cars in one piece. 
Now, traditional manufacturing 

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techniques often involve up to 
400 original pieces that need to

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be assembled, which can be both 
time consuming and costly. 

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And if Tesla succeeds, they 
could cut manufacturing costs by

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up to 50%, setting a precedent 
for the industry. 

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However, the shift in 
manufacturing isn't without 

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challenges. 
Tesla's working with 3D printing

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and industrial sand to make 
prototypes, which gives them 

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greater flexibility for design 
changes without breaking the 

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bank. 
And even then, achieving the 

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final product requires 
overcoming substantial hurdles 

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like the formulation of special 
alloys and fine tuning the 

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molten alloy cooling process. 
But if Tesla pulls this off, 

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they'll set a new benchmark for 
the industry, putting 

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considerable pressure on 
traditional manufacturers to 

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adapt or risk becoming obsolete.
Now let's do a bonus story here.

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Let's pivot from the roads to 
space, where something 

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monumental is happening. 
NASA is collaborating with 

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SpaceX to create the Human 
Landing system, the Starship 

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Human Landing System, which will
play a critical role in the 

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Artemis 3 and Artemis 4 
missions, and these missions aim

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to land American astronauts 
close to the moon's South Pole. 

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The HLS will use two distinct 
types of SpaceX Raptor engines, 

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one tailored for sea level 
atmospheric conditions and the 

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other for operations in space 
where there's no atmosphere now.

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Last month, SpaceX showcased an 
important milestone for the 

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vacuum optimized Raptor engine. 
They ran a test proving that the

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engine could successfully 
operate under extremely cold 

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temperatures, temperatures that 
a spacecraft would experience 

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after spending extended periods 
in space. 

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And this test is significant 
because one of the challenges 

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specific to Artemis missions 
compared to low Earth orbit 

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missions is that the landing 
systems might have to remain 

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inactive in space for an 
extended period of time. 

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Now this causes the temperature 
of the hardware to plummet to 

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levels much colder than what one
would typically find on shorter 

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missions closer to Earth. 
The company and already reach a 

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significant testing milestone in
November of 2021 and SpaceX 

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demonstrated the Raptor engines 
ability to manage a crucial part

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of landing on the Moon during a 
281 second test firing. 

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This test aimed to verify two 
things. 

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First, it tested the Raptors 
throttle profile, its ability to

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modulate engine power over time.
Second, it verified that the 

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engine could sustain a burn for 
the entire duration of the 

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descent phase of the mission. 
Both objectives were 

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successfully achieved bolstering
NASA's early trust in Spacex's 

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engine development program. 
Simulation and insitu testing 

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are vital for refining Artemis 
Moon Landers. 

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Now these test runs offer a kind
of mission like validation of 

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the systems that will be 
responsible for transporting 

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astronauts to and from the lunar
Surfaced and post test data 

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assessments offer NASA 
continuously growing confidence 

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in the preparedness of the US 
industry for the mission. 

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And what's next for Spacex's 
Raptor engines? 

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They're slated for further 
testing during Spacex's upcoming

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second integrated flight test, 
involving both the Starship in 

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its booster, the Super Heavy 
System, and by bringing in 

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SpaceX and its innovative engine
technology, NASA aims to ensure 

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the success of future lunar 
missions. 

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With rigorous testing and 
continued advancements, the 

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partnership could usher in a new
era of space exploration, paving

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the way for more advanced 
missions that extend well beyond

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the moon. 
While that was a packed episode 

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and we've covered Volvo's 
efforts and reimagining EV 

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battery waste, Tesla's 
groundbreaking vehicle 

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production and manufacturing 
methods, and NASA's partnership 

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with SpaceX for lunar landings, 
each of these stories presents a

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unique angle on how technology 
and innovation can address 

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challenges and create 
opportunities for a better 

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future. 
And if you found this episode 

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engaging, don't forget to hit 
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It's completely free and we'll 
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all the latest episodes of the 
Elon Musk Podcast. 

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O, thanks for tuning in today. 
I appreciate you and please take

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care of yourselves and each 
other and I'll see you in the 

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next one.