Tesla's Next Generation Of Permanent Magnet Motors Will Not Use Rare Earth Magnets(1)

Tesla held its first investor day in Austin, Texas, and Elon Musk announced that the next generation of permanent magnet motors would not use rare earths, leading to A sharp drop in the rare earth sector at the opening. Tesla Motors do not use rare earths. Why is the industry worried? So what should we be worried about? Where does the sense of crisis come from?

Tesla does not use rare earth behind the purpose and possible path

Tesla has compared the rare earths used in its permanent magnet motors to potential next-generation motors in the future. In current motors, 500g, 10g and 10g are used for the three rare earth elements. Tesla plans to reduce its use of all three rare earth elements to zero grams in the future.

Tesla's "return" to rare-earth-free motors could have several purposes. One is to get rid of the scarce supply of rare earths in the United States; The other is to continue to cut costs, reducing the complexity and cost of electronic devices. Third, the reliability and durability of Tesla's new rare-earth removal technology has not been proven. Perhaps Musk is just using the new technology to undercut rare-earth companies.

The motor is the core system of the automobile, and today, most electric vehicles are equipped with a permanent magnet motor driven by rare earth,most of which is in China.

Permanent magnet motor is widely used in new energy vehicles, which has the characteristics of high energy density, reliable operation and good speed regulation performance. Tesla didn't specify which elements are used in current motors, but some media outlets have speculated that neodymium could be the first element, since neodymium-based permanent magnets have been the standard formula for motor applications in the past. Dysprosium and terbium are the other two.

Other industry insiders believe that it is not so easy for Tesla to remove rare earth. What Tesla is talking about is the next generation of permanent magnet motor. Since it is still a permanent magnet synchronous route, it still needs magnetic materials. Rare earth permanent magnet materials have experienced three stages of development: the first generation of SmCo5, the second generation of SM2Co17 and the third generation of ndfeb Nd2Fe14B. It is understood that the fourth generation iron nitrogen (carbon) permanent magnet is still in the research and development stage, and there is still a certain distance from industrialization.