Peter Bannon

Chip Architect, Tesla

Search every verified Peter Bannon interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Pete Bannon, Tesla's head of low-voltage architecture, discussed the Cybertruck's power systems in a December 2023 interview on Munro Live. He described a new power conversion system (PCS2) that provides 11–12 kW of continuous bidirectional power from the charge port, enabling the vehicle to power a house. Bannon explained that the Cybertruck can natively charge at both 400 volts and 800 volts by reconfiguring the battery bus, splitting the battery in half to directly connect to Supercharger stations without a boost converter. He also highlighted the use of 48-volt architecture, planar magnetics, and surface-mount components to improve power density. At Tesla AI Day 2022, Bannon stated that Tesla is a "hardcore technology company" and defended the decision to build the Dojo supercomputer. He said the company rejected DRAM in favor of SRAM embedded in the chip, arguing that SRAM offers higher bandwidth and lower latency. During Tesla Autonomy Day in 2019, Bannon characterized lidar as a "shortcut" and a "crutch" that sidesteps the visual recognition problem necessary for autonomy. He also asserted that the probability of Tesla's computer failing is "substantially lower than somebody losing consciousness" by at least an order of magnitude.