Replies to post #350 on Deere and Co (DE)

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https://www.theverge.com/22533735/john-deere-cto-hindman-decoder-interview-right-to-repair-tractors

John Deere employs more software engineers than mechanical engineers now

Do you think about doing a fully electric tractor? Is that in your technology roadmap, that you’ve got to get rid of these diesel engines?

You’ve got to be interested in EVs right now. And the answer is yes. Whether it’s a tractor or whether it’s some other product in our product line, alternative forms of propulsion, alternative forms of power are definitely something that we’re thinking about. We’ve done it in the past with, I would say, hybrid solutions like a diesel engine driving an electric generator, and then the rest of the machine being electrified from a propulsion perspective.

“YOU’VE GOT TO BE INTERESTED IN EVS RIGHT NOW.”
But we’re just getting to the point now where battery technology, lithium-ion technology, is power-dense enough for us to see it starting to creep into our portfolio. Probably from the bottom up. Lower power density applications first, before it gets into some of the very large production ag equipment that we’ve talked about today.