Technology 

 Vehicle Batteries

Tesla was the first automaker to use batteries containing thousands of small, cylindrical, lithium-ion commodity cells like those used in consumer electronics. Tesla uses a version of these cells that is designed to be cheaper to manufacture and lighter than standard cells by removing some safety features; according to Tesla, these features are redundant because of the advanced thermal management system and chemical in the battery to prevent fires.

Panasonic is Tesla's supplier of cells in the United States, and cooperates with Tesla in producing cylindrical 2170 batteries at Giga Nevada. January 2021, Panasonic had the capacity to produce 39 GWh per year of batteries at Giga Nevada. Tesla's battery cells used in Giga Shanghai are supplied by Panasonic and Contemporary Technology , and are the more traditional prismatic (rectangular) cells used by other automakers. As of April 2022, nearly half of all Tesla's vehicles produced last quarter are using cobalt-free Lithium iron phosphate battery (LFP) made in China.

Motors

Tesla makes two kinds of electric motors. Its oldest design in production is a three-phase four-pole alternating current induction motor with a copper rotor (which inspired the Tesla logo), which is used as the rear motor in the Model S and Model X. Newer, higher-efficiency permanent magnet motors are used in the Model 3, Model Y, the front motor of 2019-onward versions of the Model S and X, and are expected to be used in the Tesla Semi. The permanent magnet motors increase efficiency, especially in stop-start driving.

Autopilot 

Autopilot is an advanced driver-assistance system developed by Tesla. The system requires active driver supervision at all times.

Since September 2014, all Tesla cars are shipped with sensors (initially hardware version 1 or "HW1") and software to support Autopilot. Tesla upgraded its sensors and software in October 2016 ("HW2") to support full self-driving in the future. HW2 includes eight cameras, twelve ultrasonic sensors, and forward-facing radar. HW2.5 was released in mid-2017, and it upgraded HW2 with a second graphics processing unit (GPU) and, for the Model 3 only, a driver-facing camera. HW3 was released in early 2019 with an updated and more powerful computer, employing a custom Tesla-designed system on a chip.

new battery factory in Lathrop, California, and signed a lease in October 2021 for additional office space in Palo Alto.

Also in October 2021, Tesla's market capitalization reached $1 trillion, the sixth company to do so in U.S. history, on news that car rental company Hertz had placed an order for 100,000 Tesla vehicles for its fleet.

On March 22, 2022, Tesla launched its new car factory outside Berlin, with Chief Executive Elon Musk handing over the first deliveries to customers. The US carmaker's Giga Berlin plant is the largest for electric vehicles in Europe. On April 7, 2022, Tesla celebrated the public opening of the Giga Texas facility with its Cyber Rodeo event attended by an estimated 15,000 invitees.

Musk said in an email sent to employees that he was reducing salaried headcount by 10 percent because the company had become "overstaffed in many areas", adding that "hourly headcount will increase." He also said in a tweet Tesla's total number of employees would increase over the next year, but said the number of salaried staff would remain "fairly flat".