Tesla to use rare earth permanent magnets to drive electricity in preparation for entering China

Tesla purchased neodymium iron boron magnets for use in the drive motors of its electric vehicles, which means that Tesla has begun to abandon its stubbornly adhered induction motor drive route and started to adopt the rare earth permanent magnet direct drive motor, which is the most widely used in the new energy field.

Perhaps due to historical reasons, Tesla has always used three-phase induction motors as the driving motors for electric vehicles. Induction motors are asynchronous motors, which are AC motors that generate electromagnetic torque and drive the rotor to rotate through the interaction between the rotating magnetic field formed by the stator winding and the magnetic field of the induced current in the rotor winding.

Not only because of historical circumstances, the asynchronous motor technology used by Tesla has made breakthroughs, and Tesla has invented and applied many patents. In the past, the biggest drawback of asynchronous motors was that it was difficult to control the rotation speed of the rotor, but with the development of modern semiconductor control technology, this problem has been solved.

Asynchronous motors have their own advantages. They can tolerate large changes in operating temperature. The output torque of induction motors can be adjusted over a wide range. They have good efficiency and low cost in the high-speed range. However, due to unilateral excitation, asynchronous induction motors require more current to produce unit torque, so they consume more energy. In addition, the power factor is lagging, the high-efficiency zone is narrow, and there is reactive excitation current in the stator, so the power is low (especially in the constant torque zone), which in turn restricts the performance of the vehicle.

Permanent magnet motors have advantages such as wide high efficiency range, energy saving, small size, and light weight; their disadvantages are complex structure, complex control system, and high cost. Industry Frontier believes that from the current demand for electric vehicles and overall economic efficiency, the comprehensive capabilities of high efficiency + energy saving + endurance are the most important.

Although Tesla electric cars entered China with good preparation, the development of its mid-to-high-end pure electric cars in China has not been so smooth. At the current stage of historical development, China's local new energy vehicle manufacturing level is not low. It is not so easy for Tesla to become the second "Apple" in China.

Tesla CEO Musk is probably aware of these problems and has started to take a two-pronged approach, opening up a new rare earth permanent magnet drive route to meet the general needs of the Chinese market. Currently, Tesla has chosen Zhongke Sanhuan as its NdFeB supplier, no doubt because of its No. 1 strength in China. However, according to industry insiders, Tesla will eventually choose 3-4 Chinese suppliers.

Tesla's recently released third quarter financial report for 2016 shows that the company's net profit was $22 million, marking its second profitable quarter since its listing. After experiencing multiple hardships since its founding, Tesla's situation is gradually improving. But electric cars are not the end of Tesla, and Tesla's purpose is not to build cars. "Accelerating the world's transition to sustainable energy" is the dream that Musk planted when he was a teenager.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.