Former Tesla chief Drew Baglino has quietly founded a heat pump startup, TechCrunch has learned.
This is Baglino’s second company in two years since leaving Tesla. Sources confirmed the existence of a startup called Sadi Thermal Machines, and TechCrunch reviewed company filings in Delaware and California.
Sadi was founded in June 2025 and shares its headquarters in Scotts Valley, California. Heron Poweralso a startup founded by Baglino sale of solid state transformersaccording to company filings.
The company’s name is an obvious reference to Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, the pioneering French physicist who laid the foundation for modern thermodynamics, including the internal combustion engine and the heat pump. Little is known about Sadi Thermal Machines, but it appears to be hiring several Tesla graduates, according to a LinkedIn review and a source familiar with the startup.
TechCrunch was unable to reach Baglino or the PR firm representing Heron Power. This article will be updated if they respond.
Before founding Heron Power and Sadi Thermal Cars, Baglino spent nearly two decades at Tesla, where he worked on everything from the original Roadster to the Powerwall and Powerpack energy storage systems. Baglino time He left Tesla In April 2024, he was promoted to senior vice president, overseeing the development of the company’s core energy technologies, including electric motors, batteries and power electronics.
Along the way, Baglino worked on Tesla’s heat pumps. He is noted as an inventor patent for a thermal management system that operates two cooling circuits, one to cool the battery and the other to cool the drivetrain components.
To handle the two loops, Baglino and his teammates developed three- and four-way valves that give the EV’s thermal management system more refined control over the temperatures of various components. Such a system allows Tesla, for example, to harvest heat from the traction motor and use it to preheat the battery to ensure optimal performance during rapid charging in cold weather.
The patent lays out some of the design principles behind the “octovalve” system that first appeared in Tesla’s Model Y. The heat pump in that car controls the temperature of the cabin, batteries and engines. suitcase size.
When it debuted, Tesla’s eight-valve system was more advanced than its competitors, and at least briefly, the company considered developing a heat pump for residential and commercial use. Tesla executives, including Baglino and CEO Elon Musk, have considered such a system. earnings call in 2022. They discussed a heat pump that would handle both the HVAC and water heating.
“Mission-wise, it’s a great fit,” Baglino said. “We’ve learned a lot about how to develop capable and reliable heat pumps that work in all environmental conditions, and we’re excited about the idea of one day working on this challenge. Let me say this, it’s definitely in line with our mission to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy.”
It would be easier to make a heat pump for the house. “It’s harder in a car,” he said. “It is very limited in mass, volume and energy.”
But Musk later added one of the popular picks. “It’s something we’re going to do, but we don’t have a time frame commitment at this point,” he said. Tesla has yet to release a residential HVAC or water heating system.
“People should do it anyway,” Baglino said on the call. With Sadi Thermal Machines, he looks set to improve on that statement.
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