An aerial view shows the Tesla Fremont Factory in Fremont, California on February 10, 2022.
(Photo : JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Tesla reached an important milestone to start the year, with its official Twitter account announcing on Friday, February 18, that the world's leading electric carmaker has produced its millionth large-format 4680 battery cell in January.
The 4680 cells, which Tesla currently makes at a facility in California, are integral to the company's plans to continue boosting the performance and range of its electric vehicles while lowering the cost of production.
The name 4680 references the cells' dimensions which measure 46 millimeters wide and 80 millimeters long. That makes the 4680 battery cell substantially larger than the 2170 cells that Tesla currently uses, which has a width measurement of 21 millimeters and a length of 70 millimeters.
Tesla gearing up for 4680 cells to power Texas-made Model Ys
The first Tesla vehicles to use these 4680 battery cells are Model Y crossovers that will be built at the company's new factory in Austin, Texas. Tesla has already revealed that the 4680 battery cells have about five times the energy density of the 2170 cells.
Celebrating our one millionth 4680 cell in January pic.twitter.com/d19IPFu18u
— Tesla (@Tesla) February 18, 2022
To put that into perspective, 4,416 cells in the 2170 format are used for Tesla Model Y vehicles currently being produced at Tesla's factory in Fremont, California. That means if Tesla sticks with the same energy capacity for the Model Y, it would need well under 1,000 cells in the 4680 format to produce. With Tesla already producing 1 million large-format 4680 cells, that is enough for Elon Musk's company to boost more than 1,000 Model Ys.
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More 4680 battery cells needed as demand for EVs soars
That may be a huge number, but it is still a small fraction of what Tesla needs to shift the production of all Model Y vehicles and other Model 3 cars to these 4680 battery cells. Demand has been soaring for Tesla's electric vehicles, with the company delivering 296,850 units of the Model Y and Model 3 combined last year.
Help is on the way, though, for the world's most valuable auto brand, with Panasonic reportedly set to mass-produce the 4680 battery cell format for Tesla to meet the latter's growing needs. The automaker plans to use the 4680 cells for the upcoming Model Ys built in Texas and its future Cybertruck and Semi models.
The launch date for both models is still a question mark at this point after Musk had little to say about them in last month's earnings report. Due largely to the ongoing global chip shortage, Tesla pushed back the release of the Semi, Cybertruck, and Roadster to 2023.
Panasonic being involved with the mass production of the 4680 cells is somewhat surprising given that the company's EV battery boss Yasuaki Takamoto shared his apprehensions about the battery format in a rare interview last year. According to Takamoto, large-format cells were more susceptible to particle contamination, resulting in battery fires. That would negate the benefit of having lower manufacturing costs for electric vehicles.
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