Lars Moravy on thermal management
From Tesla Model S Plaid: New Info from Chief Designer and Engineer | Jay Leno's Garage · · Jay Leno's Garage
“We have a brand new thermal system under here — it's called our Super Manifold V2 — with improved thermal conductivity by using cast aluminum instead of forged, which allows more efficient cooling and heating of the entire powertrain and therefore improves our overall real‑world range.”
On , Lars Moravy, Vice President of Vehicle Engineering at Tesla, Inc., spoke about thermal management during Tesla Model S Plaid: New Info from Chief Designer and Engineer | Jay Leno's Garage on Jay Leno's Garage.
About Lars Moravy
Lars Moravy, Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on February 4, 2026, regarding the future of autonomous vehicles. During the hearing, Moravy stated that Tesla believes autonomous vehicles are the future and present an opportunity to improve safety and accessibility. He also said that if a software error occurred in Tesla’s autonomous driving system, the company would take liability for that event. Moravy discussed Tesla’s cybersecurity measures, stating that two people must sign off with individual keys to upload encrypted firmware and that no one has been able to take over control of Tesla vehicles. He noted that Tesla actively participates in hacking events, paying people to attempt to access their vehicles. In interviews and public appearances throughout 2025, Moravy provided updates on several Tesla projects. He stated that the Cybercab is in development with an unboxed manufacturing process and a battery pack under 50 kWh targeting close to 300 miles of range, with prototype builds expected in summer 2025 and launch in early 2026. Moravy said the Tesla Semi is making progress toward broad commercial rollout, with first big builds at the end of Q2 2025. He described the Roadster as being in development and preparing for a demo. Moravy also discussed the unboxed manufacturing process, stating it radically reduces assembly time and is the basis for Cybercab production. He noted that Tesla’s approach to in-house manufacturing of automation equipment is a “superpower” that allows faster iteration.