Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

On March 3, Tesla, a US electric car maker, said at its first investor day that it planned to reduce the use of silicon carbide transistors in the powertrain of next-generation electric vehicles. Shares of related chipmakers fell on Thursday local time.

One of the main topics discussed in Tesla's investor day on Wednesday was efficiency improvement and cost control. Colin Campbell (Colin Campbell), head of powertrain engineering at Tesla, took the stage to demonstrate how the company plans to reduce the cost of the car's powertrain while maintaining high performance and conversion efficiency.

"Silicon carbide transistors, which are key components in our next-generation power system, are expensive, but we have found a way to reduce usage by 75% without affecting car performance or efficiency," Campbell said. "

Shares of chipmakers fell as investors worried that Tesla's move would gradually extend to the entire car manufacturing industry. Shares in on Semiconductor and St fell about 2 per cent on Thursday, while Wolfspeed fell 7 per cent on the day.

Campbell also said at the event that Tesla's next-generation power system will use engines that do not contain any rare earth metals. Shares in MP Materials, a maker of rare earth materials that supply neodymium to carmakers, fell about 11 per cent.

Campbell did not say when Tesla's next-generation powertrain will be mass-produced and used in electric vehicles, nor did he specify how much money has been invested in these transistors. Tesla executives also did not disclose any details about the "next generation" Tesla electric vehicles.

Chips made of silicon carbide transistors are widely used in electric vehicles. According to the American Society of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), generally speaking, this kind of chip has better heat resistance, longer life and more energy saving than the chip made by silicon transistor.

Bank of America analysts called Tesla's statement "noteworthy, but premature." But analysts also admit, "if this is true, this technological advance could be a major risk for the silicon carbide industry and the corresponding devices."

"cheaper silicon carbide chips may lead to the adoption of electric vehicles around the world, so the increase in total sales may partially offset suppliers' losses in silicon carbide use," they added. "

Analysts at New Street Research generally agree and wrote in a report on Thursday that Tesla's statement is actually a good thing for chipmakers because they expect demand for silicon carbide chips both inside and outside the electric vehicle industry to remain high.

Referring to Tesla's statement, they wrote: "the inverter of the new transmission system will use a hybrid structure," allowing silicon transistors and silicon carbide transistors to work together, so that they can handle peak loads such as those caused by car acceleration. And "this hybrid architecture is only applicable to the new platform, that is, small electric vehicles with low price and low performance, and will not be used in existing Tesla models such as Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y or CyberTruck electric pickups."

Xinjie Research also predicts that the next generation of lower-priced Tesla cars will not be "mass-produced before 2025 or 2026".

Analysts at Wells Fargo maintained their overweight ratings on Wolfspeed and OnSemi, setting a target price of $110for Wolfspeed and $95 for on Semiconductor.

Analysts at Wells Fargo said in a report on Thursday that the supply chain of silicon carbide chips will remain tight in the near future because of the high demand from the entire auto industry. They say every growing electric car maker will seek to control costs while expanding, but will focus more on how to secure the supply of silicon carbide chips for new models in the short term.

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