關于特斯拉，你不知道的五件事

本周，電動汽車制造商特斯拉的聯合創始人兼CEO伊隆?馬斯克宣布，特斯拉即將收購太陽能廠商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，也分別是特斯拉和SolarCity的最大股東。（所以可以說他是在自己收購自己。）

雖說華爾街對此次交易感到極為不爽——特斯拉股價一度出現驟跌，但有些行業觀察人士認為，這兩家公司的聯姻是不可避免的，他們從一開始就勢必走上合并的道路。無論是特斯拉還是SolarCity，他們都付出了艱辛努力以將生產抓在自己手里，并都斥巨資興建了規模龐大的工廠，而且這兩家公司都十分注重對清潔能源和可再生能源的應用。

馬斯克是否一直都有將這兩家公司合并的意愿？或許吧。不過關于特斯拉，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.

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

這座超級工廠占地達580萬平方英尺，是世界上面積最大的建筑之一。建成之后，該工廠每年生產的電池將足以驅動50萬輛電動汽車，其產能大致相當于當前全球鋰原子電池產量的總和。

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.

2.特斯拉仍是一家很小的汽車制造商

2). Tesla Is a Tiny Automaker

雖然人們對特斯拉給予了極大的關注，圍繞它的各種新聞報道也層出不窮，但特斯拉實際上仍是一家產量極小的汽車廠商。自從該公司成立之日起，它總共生產的汽車也不過10萬輛左右。而相比之下，美國汽車產業去年的銷售量超過了1700萬輛，預計今年的汽車銷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品牌的在美銷量都超過了34萬輛。

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.

3.特斯拉曾數次瀕臨，還差點被谷歌收購

3). Tesla Almost Died a Bunch of Times (And Was Nearly Bought By Google)

為了建立一家獨立的電動汽車公司（這個目標從來沒有別人完成過），馬斯克也做過一些極大的賭注，其中一些最終也以失敗告終。特斯拉的創業經歷就像坐過山車一樣，經歷過大起也經歷過大落。馬斯克在最近的年度股東大會上提起，特斯拉曾經一度面臨過現金耗盡的窘境，并幾乎到了崩潰的境地。2013年，特斯拉在生產其第一款產品——Model S汽車的過程中，公司賬上的現金一度只夠支撐兩個禮拜，馬斯克差點就頂不住壓力，將公司賣給谷歌——谷歌的聯合創始人拉里?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.

4.特斯拉也生產用于建筑物和公共電網的電池

4). Tesla Makes Batteries for Buildings and the Power Grid

眾所周知，特斯拉生產的電池主要是為了給自家的電動汽車提供動力的。但去年特斯拉卻成立了一個新部門，專門研究怎么用自家的電池給樓宇、家庭和公共電網提供電力。比如電力公司將電網與它的大型“電池農場”連接后，就可以將白天發的電力儲存到特斯拉的電池組中，留待晚上進行使用；或者用這些電池來協助調控電網的能源供需。有些企業——比如加州北部的一家釀酒廠，雖然面臨電網電費漲價的壓力，但在使用了這些電池之后，其用電費用卻呈下降趨勢。

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.

5.特斯拉的Model 3轎車已經收到了近40萬份訂單

5). Tesla Already Has Nearly 400,000 Orders for its Model 3

今年年初，特斯拉開放了對其低價車型Model 3的預訂。該車型最早也得等到2017年年初才能上市。再過幾周，Model 3便將首次向車迷揭露其神秘面紗。特斯拉表示，雖然要等待很久才能提車，但目前已有近40萬人掏了1000美元的訂金（可返還），訂購這輛售價為3.5萬美元的電動汽車。馬斯克稱：“任何產品剛上市的第一周都沒有這么火?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W）

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.”