關(guān)于特斯拉,你不知道的五件事
本周,電動(dòng)汽車(chē)制造商特斯拉的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人兼CEO伊隆?馬斯克宣布,特斯拉即將收購(gòu)太陽(yáng)能廠商SolarCity。此消息令很多人感到驚訝。值得一提的是,馬斯克本人既是SolarCity的董事長(zhǎng),也分別是特斯拉和SolarCity的最大股東。(所以可以說(shuō)他是在自己收購(gòu)自己。) 雖說(shuō)華爾街對(duì)此次交易感到極為不爽——特斯拉股價(jià)一度出現(xiàn)驟跌,但有些行業(yè)觀察人士認(rèn)為,這兩家公司的聯(lián)姻是不可避免的,他們從一開(kāi)始就勢(shì)必走上合并的道路。無(wú)論是特斯拉還是SolarCity,他們都付出了艱辛努力以將生產(chǎn)抓在自己手里,并都斥巨資興建了規(guī)模龐大的工廠,而且這兩家公司都十分注重對(duì)清潔能源和可再生能源的應(yīng)用。 馬斯克是否一直都有將這兩家公司合并的意愿?或許吧。不過(guò)關(guān)于特斯拉,還有以下五件事是你可能不知道的。 |
EleElectric car maker Tesla surprised many this week when co-founder and CEO Elon Musk announcedthe company would buy solar installer SolarCity. Musk is the chairman of SolarCity and the largest shareholder in both Tesla and SolarCity (Musk is recusing himself from the vote). While Wall Street has so far panned the deal—sending shares of Tesla TSLA -0.13% plummeting—some industry watchers see the two companies as an inevitable pairing, groomed to be joined from the start. Both have tried hard to own their own manufacturing, investing huge amounts building massive factories, and both are focused on the applications of how to use cleaner and more sustainable energy. Was it always Musk’s intention to merge them? Perhaps. Here are five other things you may not know about Tesla. |
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1.特斯拉正在建造全世界最大的建筑之一 |
1). Tesla Is Constructing One of the World’s Largest Buildings |
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這座超級(jí)工廠占地達(dá)580萬(wàn)平方英尺,是世界上面積最大的建筑之一。建成之后,該工廠每年生產(chǎn)的電池將足以驅(qū)動(dòng)50萬(wàn)輛電動(dòng)汽車(chē),其產(chǎn)能大致相當(dāng)于當(dāng)前全球鋰原子電池產(chǎn)量的總和。 |
The huge battery factory will sprawl across 5.8 million square feet, making it one of the largest buildings by footprint anywhere in the world. When completed, the facility is supposed to churn out enough batteries to power 500,000 electric cars per year, which is about the equivalent of the entire world’s lithium-ion battery production. |
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2.特斯拉仍是一家很小的汽車(chē)制造商 |
2). Tesla Is a Tiny Automaker |
雖然人們對(duì)特斯拉給予了極大的關(guān)注,圍繞它的各種新聞報(bào)道也層出不窮,但特斯拉實(shí)際上仍是一家產(chǎn)量極小的汽車(chē)廠商。自從該公司成立之日起,它總共生產(chǎn)的汽車(chē)也不過(guò)10萬(wàn)輛左右。而相比之下,美國(guó)汽車(chē)產(chǎn)業(yè)去年的銷(xiāo)售量超過(guò)了1700萬(wàn)輛,預(yù)計(jì)今年的汽車(chē)銷(xiāo)量至少也與去年不相上下。去年一年,寶馬、雷克薩斯和梅塞德斯奔馳等豪車(chē)品牌的在美銷(xiāo)量都超過(guò)了34萬(wàn)輛。 |
Despite the amount of attention and headlines that Tesla receives daily, the company still produces a very small volume of cars. Tesla has shipped about 100,000 cars to customers over the course of its lifetime. By comparison, the U.S. auto industrydelivered over 17 million cars last year, and it isexpected to ship a similar number this year. BMW, Lexus and Mercedes all sold over 340,000 luxury cars in just 2015. |
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3.特斯拉曾數(shù)次瀕臨,還差點(diǎn)被谷歌收購(gòu) |
3). Tesla Almost Died a Bunch of Times (And Was Nearly Bought By Google) |
為了建立一家獨(dú)立的電動(dòng)汽車(chē)公司(這個(gè)目標(biāo)從來(lái)沒(méi)有別人完成過(guò)),馬斯克也做過(guò)一些極大的賭注,其中一些最終也以失敗告終。特斯拉的創(chuàng)業(yè)經(jīng)歷就像坐過(guò)山車(chē)一樣,經(jīng)歷過(guò)大起也經(jīng)歷過(guò)大落。馬斯克在最近的年度股東大會(huì)上提起,特斯拉曾經(jīng)一度面臨過(guò)現(xiàn)金耗盡的窘境,并幾乎到了崩潰的境地。2013年,特斯拉在生產(chǎn)其第一款產(chǎn)品——Model S汽車(chē)的過(guò)程中,公司賬上的現(xiàn)金一度只夠支撐兩個(gè)禮拜,馬斯克差點(diǎn)就頂不住壓力,將公司賣(mài)給谷歌——谷歌的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人拉里?佩奇也是馬斯克的好朋友。 |
In an effort to build an independent electric car company—a feat that no one else has accomplished—Musk has taken some big gambles, some of which haven’t paid off. The company has been on a roller coaster ride throughout its life, which Musk detailedduring the company’s annual shareholders meeting recently. Tesla has run through cash and come perilously close to collapse. In 2013, Tesla only had two weeks of cash left after struggling with production of its Model S car, and Musk was close to selling his company to Google, which was co-founded by Larry Page, a Musk pal. |
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4.特斯拉也生產(chǎn)用于建筑物和公共電網(wǎng)的電池 |
4). Tesla Makes Batteries for Buildings and the Power Grid |
眾所周知,特斯拉生產(chǎn)的電池主要是為了給自家的電動(dòng)汽車(chē)提供動(dòng)力的。但去年特斯拉卻成立了一個(gè)新部門(mén),專(zhuān)門(mén)研究怎么用自家的電池給樓宇、家庭和公共電網(wǎng)提供電力。比如電力公司將電網(wǎng)與它的大型“電池農(nóng)場(chǎng)”連接后,就可以將白天發(fā)的電力儲(chǔ)存到特斯拉的電池組中,留待晚上進(jìn)行使用;或者用這些電池來(lái)協(xié)助調(diào)控電網(wǎng)的能源供需。有些企業(yè)——比如加州北部的一家釀酒廠,雖然面臨電網(wǎng)電費(fèi)漲價(jià)的壓力,但在使用了這些電池之后,其用電費(fèi)用卻呈下降趨勢(shì)。 |
Tesla already packages batteries to power its electric cars, but last year Tesla launched a division that packages similar batteries to be used for buildings, homes and the power grid. Connected together in big battery farms, utilities can use Tesla batteries to store solar energy produced during the day to be used at night, or use the batteries to help manage supply and demand of energy on the power grid. Some companies, like this winery in Northern California, are using the batteries to lower their energy bills by shifting their energy usage onto batteries when the cost of grid power goes up. |
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5.特斯拉的Model 3轎車(chē)已經(jīng)收到了近40萬(wàn)份訂單 |
5). Tesla Already Has Nearly 400,000 Orders for its Model 3 |
今年年初,特斯拉開(kāi)放了對(duì)其低價(jià)車(chē)型Model 3的預(yù)訂。該車(chē)型最早也得等到2017年年初才能上市。再過(guò)幾周,Model 3便將首次向車(chē)迷揭露其神秘面紗。特斯拉表示,雖然要等待很久才能提車(chē),但目前已有近40萬(wàn)人掏了1000美元的訂金(可返還),訂購(gòu)這輛售價(jià)為3.5萬(wàn)美元的電動(dòng)汽車(chē)。馬斯克稱(chēng):“任何產(chǎn)品剛上市的第一周都沒(méi)有這么火。”(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)) 譯者:樸成奎 |
Earlier this year, Tesla opened up reservations for its low cost Model 3 car, which won’t be delivered to customers until late 2017 at the earliest. Despite the long wait time, within a couple weeks of the unveiling of the Model 3, Tesla said almost 400,000 people had put down $1,000 (refundable) reservations for the $35,000 car. Musk called the response “the biggest one-week launch of any product ever.” |