Every technology hits roadblocks and the story of how we solve those problems is as interesting as the technology itself. For the most part, I’ll be focusing on battery technology. Energy is the the ability to do work, and the cheaper the energy, the more work we can do. With every new energy source, we change the face of humanity – wood, coal, oil.
From The Limiting Factor. CATL Tech Day included technology breakthroughs such as the Shenxing 3 battery that than can charge from 10-80% in under 4 minutes. However, there was more to the presentation than that. It was a mini masterclass in batteries and it provided insights into CATLs overall market strategy…but it was also a…
From The Limiting Factor. In the past year, Tesla’s made comments about battery shortages. In last week’s earnings call, they finally clarified what they meant by battery shortage. They were referring to the assembly of the battery pack itself, not the cells. Given that battery packs are easier to manufacture than cells, and Tesla’s vehicle…
From The Limiting Factor. Elon Musk has consistently promoted solar as the best power source for civilization. If that’s the case, why has he primarily chosen gas generation for xAI’s data centers? And more surprisingly, why has he said that SpaceX and Tesla could start making turbine blades for gas generation? I think I’ve put…
From The Limiting Factor. CATL recently published a paper detailing the manufacturing challenges involved with sodium ion batteries. So, although there’s now a basic supply chain in place for sodium ion batteries, it’s not a solved problem in the way that it is for lithium ion batteries. Ziroth Antimony Coated Sodium Ion Cathode: Will Prowse…
From The Limiting Factor. A new paper from The University of Chicago has been able to achieve a 21.8% increase in energy, with long cycle life, through a small change to the cathode design. The catch is that Tesla is currently the only company in the world with the technology stack to make it work…
From The Limiting Factor. Why are space-based AI data centers inevitable? In this video I provide analysis at 3 levels of analysis: Level 1: Starlink’s 10,000+ satellites already prove onboard compute, power, cooling, and laser links work reliably in orbit today. Level 2: Techno-economic models from Andrew McCalip, Mach 33, and Pranav Myana show costs…
From The Limiting Factor. Donut Lab claims to have a battery that achieves a whopping 400 Wh/kg of energy density, charges in 5 minutes, lasts for 100,000 cycles, uses abundant non-toxic materials, can maintain performance at extremely low temperatures, is safe at very abusive temperatures, and is lower cost than lithium ion batteries. The question…
From The Limiting Factor. It’s been 6 years since I started the channel and 5 years since Battery Day, and Tesla has now finally and officially cracked the fully dry 4680 production process. In this video I’ll also cover Tesla’s Q4 2025 earnings call. Channel Sponsor: https://www.rebellionaire.com/ Signature Solar Referral Link: https://signaturesolar.com/?ref=TheLimitingFactor These are the…
From The Limiting Factor. One of the most frequent arguments against renewable energy is that it’s unreliable because solar and wind can’t provide power when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. But is that the case? No, grid reliability is primarily a function of regulation, planning, and design. Channel Sponsor: https://www.rebellionaire.com/ Signature…
From The Limiting Factor. Tesla’s recently filed a patent application for ‘Method of Soda Ash Preparation for lithium mineral refining.’ Today I’ll walk you through the detail, the stated benefits, and some hidden benefits. Channel Sponsor: https://www.rebellionaire.com/ Signature Solar Referral Link: https://signaturesolar.com/?ref=TheLimitingFactor These are the part of my system I purchased from Signature Solar: -EG4…
From The Limiting Factor. In this video, I’ll walk you through how Elon could power 1 Terawatt of off-grid compute, and the implications. Channel Sponsor: https://www.rebellionaire.com/ Signature Solar Referral Link: https://signaturesolar.com/?ref=TheLimitingFactor These are the part of my system I purchased from Signature Solar: -EG4 6000XP Off-Grid Inverter (I use this for my grid-tied solar system…
From The Limiting Factor. Today I’ll run you through analysis of the EVE 4695 and CALB 4695 in comparison to the Tesla 4680. They both have higher energy density, but they’re also 2-5 years behind Tesla in terms of manufacturing scale. Thanks to James Ma of Caishen Road: https://x.com/Jamesma1109 Channel Sponsor: https://www.rebellionaire.com/ Signature Solar Referral…
From The Limiting Factor. Where will Elon build his 1 TW of compute and beyound? In this video I define what type of compute he means, explore the limits of the grid, and why eventually AI compute will have to go off-grid or off-world. Channel Sponsor: https://www.rebellionaire.com/ Signature Solar Referral Link: https://signaturesolar.com/?ref=TheLimitingFactor These are the…
From The Limiting Factor. After over a year of radio silence from Tesla on the 4680 ramp we finally received some tidbits of information from the Annual Shareholders meeting. Tesla has staked their new product lines on the 4680, but there are still questions around the dry coating process. Channel Sponsor: https://www.rebellionaire.com/ Signature Solar Referral…
From The Limiting Factor. In Tesla’s Q3 2025 earnings call, they provided important updates across their product portfolio. In my view, it was an under rated earnings call, despite the lack of updates on the fully dry 4680 ramp. Channel Sponsor: https://www.rebellionaire.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thelimitingfactor Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/limitingfactor42069 Teespring: https://teespring.com/stores/the-limiting-factor Twitter: https://twitter.com/LimitingThe Venmo: @thelimitingfactor *Timeline* 00:00 Introduction…
From The Limiting Factor. In this video, I’ll take a hard look at sodium ion batteries component by component to understand at a first principles level what their strengths and weaknesses are, along with their projected cost compared to lithium ion batteries, and how fast the sodium ion battery industry will scale. Yao, et al…
From The Limiting Factor. Elon Musk wants to build one terawatt of compute, and many people are saying that the primary bottleneck for achieving that goal will be 1 computer chips. In this video, I’ll investigate that and question whether that’s even the best way of looking at the scaling problem for 1 TW of…
From The Limiting Factor. Amprius Technologies is producing battery cells that can charge from 0-80% in as quick as 6 minutes and have an energy density of up to 500 Wh/kg. What’s the catch and is there a market for these batteries? Channel Sponsor: https://www.rebellionaire.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thelimitingfactor Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/limitingfactor42069 Teespring: https://teespring.com/stores/the-limiting-factor Twitter: https://twitter.com/LimitingThe Venmo: @thelimitingfactor…
From The Limiting Factor. One Terawatt of compute roughly equivalent to the U.S. power grid. Why does Elon want that much power? He want to usher in an era of abundance by using AI to do mental and physical work at low cost. The best way to achieve low cost and win the AI game…
From The Limiting Factor. Tesla filed a patent application for high voltage electrolytes, and after I dug into the research they done with their research partners, I found it’s useful for high manganese cathodes in ways that I didn’t expect. Channel Sponsor: https://www.rebellionaire.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thelimitingfactor Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/limitingfactor42069 Teespring: https://teespring.com/stores/the-limiting-factor Twitter: https://twitter.com/LimitingThe Venmo: @thelimitingfactor *Timeline* 00:00…